It's very fortunate that skin diseases are treated and can be cured not only by the use of drugs but by applying the medicines topically and some therapies are very much effective. These therapies can be used after applying drugs and without drugs as well. Phototherapy is also an emerging branch of photobiology which are frequently used in treating various skin conditions. It now has become a popular way of treating various skin conditions like psoriasis, vitiligo and several types of dermatoses. Phototherapy which was started through natural means like sunlight in the treatment of vitiligo by Egyptians now has become advanced where several types of light of various wavelengths are being used to treat diseased skin conditions. After frequent and common use of these phototherapeutic options scientists have come across various adverse effects of phototherapy. So some protocols and SOPs have evolved for better outcomes and lesser side effects.
The common adverse effects encountered are sunburn, erythema, pruritus, dry skin, and various types of dermatoses. These side effects are very much common after applying photosnsitizing drugs like psoralens. Besides these bad effects ocular and GIT-related side effects are also found. The most grievous adverse reactions are skin cancers which must be addressed. Here in this review, we are discussing some of them so as to avoid them and phototherapy can be used in a better way.
How to cite this article:
Dr. Dilshad Ali, Dr. Mohd. Rizwan. Adverse effects of phototherapy: A review. Int J Unani Integ Med 2022;6(3):41-43. DOI: 10.33545/2616454X.2022.v6.i3a.220