Artificial hardening for polymorphic light eruption: practical points from ten years' experience.
The conservative approach of sunlight avoidance and broad-spectrum sunscreen is often disappointing in patients with moderate to severe polymorphic light eruption. A springtime course of prophylactic artificial hardening with ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy or psoralen plus ultraviolet A (PUVA) photochemotherapy will often allow patients to tolerate more sunlight and give them greater freedom during the summer. In this retrospective study we describe ten years' experience of such "desensitization" treatment. Individualized therapy with attention to detail will maximize the effectiveness of this treatment.
Department of Dermatology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, Scotland, UK.
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Man
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Dawe
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Ferguson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011701:PUVA Therapy; D010787:Photosensitivity Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014467:Ultraviolet Therapy