What is PUVA therapy used for?

What is PUVA therapy used for?

PUVA (psoralen and ultraviolet A) is an ultraviolet light therapy treatment for skin diseases: eczema, psoriasis, graft-versus-host disease, vitiligo, mycosis fungoides, large plaque parapsoriasis and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma using the sensitizing effects of the drug psoralen.

Is PUVA therapy covered by insurance?

Policy: Phototherapy and photochemotherapy (PUVA) for the treatment of psoriasis, eczema, and neoplastic disease (i.e., cutaneous T-cell lymphoma) is a covered benefit when the skin disease has not responded to conventional methods of treatments. Coverage: Benefits may vary between groups/contracts.

What is psoralen used for?

Psoralens boost the amount of ultraviolet light your skin absorbs. This lets the light into your skin. The ultraviolet radiation helps treat severe skin diseases like psoriasis, vitiligo, polymorphic light eruption, and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, a type of cancer.

How long does PUVA treatment last?

How Many Treatments Will I Need? PUVA must be administered in a physician’s office and requires treatment two to three times a week for 12 to 15 weeks for significant improvement. In psoriasis cases, therapy may be required indefinitely as PUVA does not cure the disease.

Is light therapy covered by insurance?

Your doctor may recommend a specific light box, but most health insurance plans do not cover the cost.

What is Actino therapy?

Medical Definition of actinotherapy : application for therapeutic purposes of the chemically active rays of the electromagnetic spectrum (as ultraviolet light or X-rays)

Does insurance pay for red light therapy?

Currently, RLT isn’t endorsed or covered by insurance companies for these conditions due to lack of sufficient evidence. Although, a few insurance companies now cover the use of RLT to prevent oral mucositis during cancer treatment.

What is the meaning of heliotherapy?

Medical Definition of heliotherapy : the use of sunlight or of an artificial source of ultraviolet, visible, or infrared radiation for therapeutic purposes.

Does UVB light give you a tan?

UVB radiation burns the upper layers of skin (the epidermis), causing sunburns. UVA radiation is what makes people tan. UVA rays penetrate to the lower layers of the epidermis, where they trigger cells called melanocytes (pronounced: mel-an-oh-sites) to produce melanin. Melanin is the brown pigment that causes tanning.