By Marc Sorenson, EdD. Sunlight Institute…
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common form of many types of eczema, an inflammatory condition of the skin characterized by redness, itching, and oozing vesicular lesions which become scaly, crusted, or hardened.[1] UV radiation from sun exposure or sun lamps has been used successfully for decades for its treatment.[2] [3]
In the latest study on AD, researchers studied 72 youth with AD who were given sun exposure of varying intensities at the Dead Sea in Israel.[4] The subjects were divided into three groups and were exposed to increasing sunlight amounts during 28-day periods in March 2014, October 2014 and March 2015.
Eighty-seven percent of the subjects showed good clinical results immediately, and after three months, 71% still showed good results. One very important result, as stated by the researchers, was this: “Higher cumulative exposure times correlated with better results and enhanced remission.”
Also noteworthy was the finding that no adverse effects occurred.
Chalk up one more victory for the sun in its battle against disease!
[1] Palmer DJ. Vitamin D and the Development of Atopic Eczema. J Clin Med. 2015 May 20;4(5):1036-50.
[2] Palmer DJ. Vitamin D and the Development of Atopic Eczema. J Clin Med. 2015 May 20;4(5):1036-50.
[3] Falk ES. UV-light therapies in atopic dermatitis. Photodermatol. 1985 Aug;2(4):241-6.
[4] Kudish A, Marsakova A, Jahn I, Gkalpakiotis S, Arenberger P, Harari M. Dead Sea ultraviolet Climatotherapy for children with Atopic Dermatitis. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2016 Jul 5. doi: 10.1111/phpp.12250. [Epub ahead of print]