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Rosacea, light and phototherapy

September 13th, 2005, by Digital Davo | laser therapy, metrogel

Rosacea, light, and phototherapy, Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 2005 May-Jun;4(3):326-9.

Melvin Lee, Medical Student, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Chicago, IL

John Koo MD: Professor and Vice Chairman, Department of Dermatology, UCSF Director, UCSF Psoriasis and Skin Treatment Center and Phototherapy Unit, San Francisco, CA

The long-established notion that rosacea is worsened by light is of particular concern in the phototherapy of diseases such as psoriasis, eczema, or vitiligo, which often can be coexistent with rosacea. A literature search was conducted and much evidence was found to challenge this belief that light adversely affects rosacea. In fact, more patients actually improved with sunlight in a more recent published survey. Several other studies have also shown that rosacea patients were similar to control subjects in sun exposure, solar skin damage, and sun sensitivity. Additionally, all clinical trials to date have failed to find a difference between rosacea patients and control subjects when challenged with ultraviolet light. Thus, phototherapy with rosacea may be safer than is commonly believed.

Conclusion

The traditional belief that sunlight exacerbates rosacea must be questioned. Several recent surveys have found no relationship between sun exposure and rosacea and that, in some patients, sunlight may even have a beneficial effect. Furthermore, five different clinical trials to date all have shown no difference in the way ultraviolet light affects rosacea patients and control subjects. These data strongly suggest that ultraviolet exposure per se may not be a problem in rosacea patients after all and that phototherapy in patients with rosacea is safer than commonly believed. However, cautions cannot entirely be discarded when treating these patients. Phototherapy units are known to produce much heat, which in an ingested liquid has been shown to induce flushing in rosacea patients. In addition, no trial has yet been done to directly observe the response on rosacea after ultraviolet light therapy to the face. Further studies such as these are needed in order to ascertain in more detail the effect of light on rosacea.

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