What is UVB narrowband?

UVB phototherapy is a well-established therapy, used within the NHS and by Dermatologists world-wide for treating a range of skin conditions including psoriasis, vitiligo and eczema. It is also used as a therapy to combat Vitamin D deficiency (Click here for the Vitamin D page)

Narrowband UVB phototherapy therapy is generally prescribed when 1st line remedies such as moisturisers, anti-inflammatories or topical creams fail to improve the condition.

UVB phototherapy treatment exposes your skin to an artificial (man-made) UVB light source. The treatment involves  exposure to the light for very short periods of time (between 30 seconds and a maximum of 4 minutes) 2-3 times each week, typically seeing results within 4 to 8 weeks.

For the therapy to be effective you must stick to this regime rigourously. 

The practicality of fitting this regime into your life or work-life is where we can help. Our units allow you to benefit from the treatment in your own home. Taking the treatment when it’s convenient for you.

UVB phototherapy is a well-established therapy, used within the NHS and by Dermatologists world-wide for treating a range of skin conditions including psoriasis, vitiligo and eczema. It is also used as a therapy to combat Vitamin D deficiency (Click here for the Vitamin D page)

It’s an unfortunate fact that one in nine people suffer from a skin condition, such as psoriasis, vitiligo and eczema. People try creams (some steroid based), soaps, injections, salts and visit the Dead Sea all with varying results. However, the use of UVB Narrowband light treatment has a success rate of around 98%, not as a cure but as a way of controlling and in some cases clearing the condition and importantly, improving your quality of life.

Psoriasis is a skin condition which is caused by a malfunction in our own immune systems. In normal circumstances, on sustaining a cut or lesion, our immune systems trigger a response to activate a repair mechanism to heal the skin. Normally, our bodies produce skin cells via a process in which the new cells develop at the deepest (innermost) layer of the skin.

New skin cells are developed at the innermost layer forcing cell layers above upwards towards the uppermost layer of the skin. Once the skin cells reach the uppermost layer they die and flake off.

Normal skin cell development timescales are between 3-4 weeks, the time between a new cell developing to the skin cell dying and flaking off the epidermis. Psoriasis is triggered when our immune systems malfunction, going into hyperdrive, forcing this process of cell regeneration to completes in 3-7 days rather than the normal 3-4 weeks. Psoriatic skin cells reaching the surface in 3-7 days are immature and build up quickly on the outer layer of the epidermis as patches of inflamed flaky skin, easily susceptible to irritation.

Whilst we do not fully understand the mechanism that causes the body to malfunction, Psoriasis will remain a condition which is not curable; However, we can treat the symptoms of Psoriasis, these symptoms can be controlled with the correct remedy. Many treatments exist to relieve the symptoms of Psoriasis including lotions, tablets and injections, but by far one of the most effective treatments for Psoriasis is Narrowband UVB light therapy.

At MBS, we specialise in  a range of light therapy units, including hand held units, designed for use within your own home, enabling you to benefit from the same Narrowband UVB light that you would receive if you used similar equipment for Phototherapy in a hospital or care centre.

Vitiligo - Narrowband UVB light treatment is a very successful treatment for those with vitiligo. Please follow the link to view a video explaining how effective Narrowband UVB light treatment can be. This follows a patient’s journey receiving light therapy for vitiligo as prescribed by the University of Massachusetts Dermatologists.

Also, specifically for Vitiligo, the University of Nottingham under the auspices of the NHS performed similar trials of home based Vitiligo treatment using Hand-Held devices. As a consequence they produced  a sequence of videos which show you exactly how a handheld UVB device was used to treat Vitiligo at home.

Whilst light therapy for vitiligo is one of the most popular forms of treatment, it is important to note that it cannot cure the condition. This type of vitiligo treatment at home must be performed frequently, between 2-3 times a week to maintain results.

Some of the benefits of treating vitiligo with light therapy include:

• Convenience – save time and money by treating your vitiligo at home, no need to travel to appointments.
• Safe – UVB treatment for vitiligo is widely considered to be amongst the safest and most effective ways of reducing symptoms.
• Investment – our range of UV lamps for vitiligo vary from handheld to full body so that you can find a solution, no matter what your budget. They are each built to last for many years, and so make a great investment for long-term treatment.

If you’re looking for an effective vitiligo treatment at home, our UVB lamp units offer between 50-90% efficacy in reducing the symptoms of vitiligo, so it’s worth getting in touch with one of our team to discuss your specific requirements.

UVB phototherapy treatment exposes your skin to an artificial (man-made) UVB light source. The treatment involves  exposure to the light for very short periods of time (between 30 seconds and a maximum of 4 minutes) 2-3 times each week, typically seeing results within 4 to 8 weeks.

For the therapy to be effective you must stick to this regime rigourously. 

The practicality of fitting this regime into your life or work-life is where we can help. Our units allow you to benefit from the treatment in your own home. Taking the treatment when it’s convenient for you.

UVB light as a treatment of skin conditions has a long and rich history. “Heliotherapy” was described in the “Papyrus Ebers”, one of the oldest and most important medical documents of ancient Egypt (dated circa 1500 BC).

One treatment regime for Vitiligo, described in these papers, consisted of ingestion of a boiled extract derived from Ammi majus, a weed growing in the Nile Delta, followed by exposure to the Egyptian sun.

One of India’s sacred books, the Atharva Veda, compiled between 1200 BC– 1000 BC described how the seeds of the plant Psoralea corylifolia were used to treat “leucoderma” (Vitiligo). 

Later, around 1220 AD, an Arabian physician Ibn al-Bitar, born in Malaga, Andalucia in Spain, described the same treatment in his book Kitab Al-jami li-mufradat al-adwiya wa al-aghdhiya (the book of medicinal and nutritional terms), one of the earliest pharmaceutical encyclopaedias. 

These crude treatments were the very earliest forms of a Light therapy that we would recognise today, PUVA. 

PUVA photochemotherapy is a relatively modern treatment for psoriasis & vitiligo. 

Although somewhat depreciated against Narrowband UVB therapy, PUVA is still recognised & prescribed for phototherapy treatment today. The P in PUVA stands for Psoralen. Psoralen is an organic compound that can be derived from the Ammi majus plant mentioned in the ancient treatments. Modern research has enabled us to understand the mechanism which makes Psoralen effective in these therapies. Essentially, Psoralen acts as a photosensitizer, making the skin more sensitive to light and its therapeutic effect on conditions such as Psoriasis and Vitiligo.

Whilst PUVA treatment may still be in use, it has been depreciated against light therapy based on Narrowband UVB light

PUVA therapy, using Psoralen and exposure to UVA light was originally reported as beneficial in 1974. The light tubes that produce UVA light also generate a very small amount of UVB light (only 4% of the light emitted from these UVA tubes is UVB).

As research progressed, in the ‘80s Clinicians realised that it was actually the therapeutic properties of the UVB light that effected the improvement in conditions of Psoriasis and Vitiligo sufferers. This led to the introduction in 1978 of treatment based around UVB Cabinets (remarkably similar to their current-day counterparts).

Further research into the therapeutic effects of UVB light brings us up to the current day.

Narrowband UVB (nUVB) phototherapy has now been used for over 20 years. It is more commonly used today than broadband UVB (bUVB) and is the most common and current phototherapy treatment provided within the NHS for the conditions mentioned.

Studies show that narrowband UVB is safer and more effective than the full UVB wavelength used in broad-band UVB. Narrowband UVB may work with fewer treatments each week and can help you achieve longer remission (clearance of your symptoms for periods of time).

If you suffer from Psoriasis, Vitiligo or Eczema and are just at the start of your journey researching suitable treatments, it may be useful to follow some of the following links;

• The British Association of Dermatologists’ page on Phototherapy
• The National Eczema Association’s page on Phototherapy
• Vitiligo Support International