What does narrowband UVB treatment involve?

• Patients attend for phototherapy two to five times weekly. If whole-body treatment is recommended, the patient is placed in a specially designed cabinet containing fluorescent light tubes.
• The patient stands in the centre of the cabinet, undressed except for underwear, and wears protective goggles. Usually the whole body is exposed to the UVB for a short time (seconds to minutes).
• Shorter bulbs can be used for localised UVB treatment, eg of hands and feet or a small body region.
• The amount of UV is carefully monitored by the phototherapy staff. A number of protocols exist depending on the individual's skin type, age, skin condition and other factors.

Phototherapy offers safe, effective and painless treatment for a multitude of skin ailments like Vitiligo, Psoriasis, extensive Eczema, Lichen Planus, generalized severe itching not responding to oral and topical medications, to name a few. It has been found that “treatment using light” can also prove curative for certain diseases that are caused or aggravated by sunlight.
The use of sunlight to treat skin ailments started in India and Egypt over 3000 years ago. It is still used, not only by Dermatologists but by Ayurvedic and Homeopathy practitioners as well.
Phototherapy refines this very concept. It also uses Ultraviolet radiation – similar to sunlight. But unlike natural sunlight that cannot be ‘switched on, switched off, powered up, or turned down’, with Phototherapy, you can control, increase and modify the radiation, as per your skin’s needs.
The treatment only takes a few minutes. A private room is provided for you to undress (to the degree of exposing the afflicted parts of the body). Protective goggles are provided for eye protection.
A face shield will be provided for those who do not have any facial lesions, and want to protect their face from tanning. Treatments are needed 2-3 times a week. 15-20 sessions are generally recommended, though more treatments may be advised, depending upon the medical condition, its extent and its severity.

It is fine, perhaps preferable to use coconut oil or liquid paraffin oil to your body, say, one hour before the treatment. However, do not use any sunscreen, perfumes, deodorants, after-shaves or fragrance-containing creams or lotions.
Sunscreen and/or moisturizer can be used AFTER the treatment to soothe the slight redness or itching that is likely to appear for a few hours after the treatment.
UVB treatments are safe, even in children and pregnant women. It can eliminate the need for using immune-system suppressing drugs, in the above-mentioned conditions.
It is free from side-effects on the human system, so most patients can be good candidates for this treatment. It is relatively inexpensive, and hence, accessible to all.