Home UV therapy is a type of patient centered alternative to office based treatments. Phototherapy was first introduced in 1979 as a treatment plan for psoriasis. The technique has been since adapted for controlling or curing vitiligo in the 1990s.
The key element of a UVB lamp is the PL-S 9W/01/2P tube. It produces narrow waveband emissions: between 305 and 315 nm with a peak at 311 nm - an effective waveband for the treatment of vitiligo.
Since the narrow band UV tube uses the same lamp caps and ballasts as general lighting lamps, we can fit the tube in a common desk-lamp and obtain the same beneficial results as we would from a dedicated UV lamp.
We went around online shops selling UVB lamps and scouted prices for hand-held units. As you can see prices vary depending on the producer/design/and functions.
The excimer laser was invented in the 70s and uses a combination of two gases and electrical stimulation to create a laser light in the UV range. Currently, the most widespread therapy for the repigmentation of vitiligo spots relies on narrow band UV radiation with a wavelength of 311nM (nbUVB), emitted by a medical light bulb. This light can also be produced using excimer technology, with the advantage of laser’s precision, controlled dosage and good response from the skin.
This article is a comparison between the most popular small scale lamps for the treatment of vitiligo. They both use the Phililips PL-S 9W/01/2P 1CT bulb (311 nm Narrow Band) which means the therapeutic principle is the same.
A study performed by researchers in Iran concluded that nbUVB vitiligo treatments are more successful when asociated with topical immunomodulators (Elidel, Protopic).
