Psoriasis Treatment in St. Petersburg & Clearwater
Psoriasis is far more than a simple skin condition, it’s a chronic, often painful disease that affects quality of life. Tampa Bay Cosmetic Surgery Center offers LHE phototherapy, a safe, painless way to break the cycle.
What Is Psoriasis?
Far more than just a simple skin disease, psoriasis is a chronic, debilitating, and often painful condition. Skin regenerates approximately ten times faster than normal, creating a white, flaky buildup over a patch of red, inflamed skin. Psoriasis is characterized by dry, rough, and scaly skin that constantly flakes and peels, along with almost unremitting itching and burning.
Psoriasis affects 100 million people worldwide, with 150,000 to 200,000 new cases diagnosed in the United States each year. Its annual cost to society exceeds 3 billion dollars in the U.S. alone. It’s a disease of the immune system whose causes are still largely unknown.
Psoriasis is cyclical in nature, with patients experiencing flare-ups alternating with periods of remission that come and go over a lifetime. Although onset can occur at any age, most cases appear between ages 15 and 35.
Even in its mildest forms, psoriasis can make life miserable, and its costs can’t always be measured in money spent. Visible psoriatic lesions can negatively impact careers and social life, and patients often feel cut off, abandoned, and hopeless. Although rarely life-threatening, recent studies have shown psoriasis sufferers rate their quality of life lower than those with diseases usually considered much more serious, such as arthritis, diabetes, and cancer.
Psoriasis: A Non-Stop Cycle of Itching, Scratching, Stress, and Flare-Ups That Lead to More Itching
LHE Phototherapy for Psoriasis Halts the Cycle
LHE provides relief without the need for topical therapies, oral medications, painful injections, or exposure to potentially cancer-causing ultraviolet light.
LHE psoriasis phototherapy, for mild to moderate chronic plaque and guttate psoriasis, is a revolutionary and powerful tool in the never-ending battle against psoriasis. A completely safe and painless light-based therapy, LHE can bring complete relief from itching in as little as two to three sessions. Most patients experience a 75% clearance in psoriatic lesions after a full treatment course of 8 to 10 sessions carried out over 4 to 5 weeks.
How LHE for Psoriasis Works
In normal skin, cells grow, move to the surface, and are sloughed off at a steady, unnoticeable rate. This cycle takes about one month.
With psoriasis, the immune system sends faulty signals that speed up this cycle to only three or four days. The skin thickens with extra cells, and blood vessels grow larger in an attempt to feed those extra cells. Skin cells pile up on the surface, with dead cells creating a white, flaky layer over the patch of inflamed skin.
LHE uses specialized flashes of green and yellow light to shrink and eliminate the blood vessels that feed the abnormal growth of psoriatic skin cells. Heat combined with infrared wavelengths reduces swelling and inflammation and very effectively stops the constant itching associated with psoriasis.
Although psoriasis can occur on many areas of the body, LHE’s selective photothermolysis treatment ensures that only psoriatic lesions are treated while healthy tissue remains untouched.
Psoriasis Treatment FAQs
What causes psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a disease of the immune system that speeds up skin cell turnover, though the exact underlying causes are still largely unknown.
What is LHE phototherapy?
LHE (Light and Heat Energy) phototherapy uses specialized flashes of green and yellow light combined with heat to shrink blood vessels feeding psoriatic skin cell growth, reducing swelling, inflammation, and itching.
How many LHE sessions are needed to see results?
Complete relief from itching can occur in as little as two to three sessions, with most patients seeing about 75% clearance after a full course of 8 to 10 sessions over 4 to 5 weeks.
Is LHE phototherapy painful?
No, LHE is a completely safe and painless light-based therapy that avoids topical medications, oral drugs, injections, and cancer-associated UV exposure.
Does LHE affect healthy skin near psoriasis patches?
No, LHE’s selective photothermolysis ensures only psoriatic lesions are treated while surrounding healthy tissue remains untouched.
What types of psoriasis does LHE treat?
LHE is used for mild to moderate chronic plaque and guttate psoriasis.
How does psoriasis affect quality of life?
Beyond physical symptoms, psoriasis can significantly impact careers and social life, with sufferers often rating their quality of life lower than patients with more traditionally serious conditions.