Tanning Bed Treatment Diary Thread

[satchmorules]

Hi Guys,

Today was my first try in a tanning bed EVER and I'm going to keep going and record my results after each time I go.

To give you a baseline of the severity of my condition, the right half of my right thigh is about 75% covered in p, same with my right calf. I have about 15% on my left thigh, and maybe 10% on my left calf. My left forearm has less than 5%, as well as my right forearm. The rest of my body is clear.

So anyway, I did a 15% UVB bed for 5 minutes, and it basically did nothing lol. I guess I am more tolerant to UV than I thought I was. Tomorrow I am going to go for 10 minutes and see what happens.

My experience with UV in treating my p in the past has been great, but typically what I would do is go until my skin would get mildly burnt, and it was like the p would just get burnt off. I know this is bad for my skin but so is p...

Anyway if anyone else has experience with using tanning beds as treatment, I'd love to hear about it!

----
Tyler

[sharka]

Be careful. From your picture you seem to be fair skinned. I would wait several days before I jumped to 10 minutes. IMHO
I tan easily, but I usually start at 5 then go up a minute every couple of sessions. A lot of people get worse if they burn.FWIW

[flgirl4e89]

I started yesterday too, I did 7 mins I'm not going again till Mon I will do 7 mins again. Well actually I keep my socks on my feet for five and then took them off for two I was scared that I would burn them. They r the worst part of me and all the skin on top of the foot is new becouse I had all the scally fish skin all the way to my ankle.

I have cleared that much w/ juicing, vitamins and probiotics plus changing diet...

I live in Florida and last wk it got up in the high 70 maybe even 80 and I layed out for a good hour the next day I noticed a big defernce in my p. then this cold front came in and its FREEZING it got down to 27. So I'll let u know in a wk what I think.

So far I'm fine I do think real sun is better than tanning though...

flgirl

[DottieD]

I have a home UVB unit, and it says that the goal is to get pink but not red. So if you aren't seeing any color on your skin, you probably need to increase the time. My reaction was to get red around the edges of the lesions but very little pink on the unaffected skin. Then after a few more sessions, the lesions start to go away.

I read once that using a steroid ointment in conjunction with the UV light improved the effectiveness. Now when I have a flare, I use my light unit regularly and once my skin starts to get better, I apply a steroid ointment once a day for a few days. I think this helps. If you don't have prescription strength ointment, you could use the OTC 2% hydrocortisone cream.

DottieD

[mstaylor]

Some times it takes 24 hrs to see if you got any color. I wouldn't double it so fast maybe try 7 min and work it up from there. Could be the bulbs are weak and need changing that's something to consider when going to a tanning salon you don't know how well they maintain the bed lights and you don't know how truthful they would be if you asked them.

[MuchasManchas]

Hey Tyler. I used tanning beds consistently for 12 years as my primary line of defense against P and it worked wonders for me! I have guttate P and though I've never been told exactly what percentage of coverage I have, as a rough estimate I'd say anywhere from 40-60% at any given time. Tanning did such a good job of keeping it under control that people straight up thought I was lying when I told them about my affliction. Currently, I have chosen to stop utilizing this form of treatment because as we all know, it carries with it certain risks. I figured that after 12 years of repeated exposure, I should tone it down a notch, so sadly I am experiencing one of the worst flare-ups in over a decade but I am seeing a little improvement using supplements and diet.

I highly recommend doing this for a while, it can be extremely effective if your skin is responsive to it. However, as others have mentioned, you HAVE to be careful not to burn. I know it can be frustrating because we all want that immediate gratification but wait the extra 2 weeks. Ease into it increasing your exposure time by a minute or so every 2nd or 3rd visit. Once you have a base tan, you can maintain your skin going 2-3 times a week. Best of luck to you, I hope it works!

[sabatia]

should you put sun tan loyion or sunscreen on in the tanning booth? If so what ###

[DottieD]

If you use a sunscreen you will just block out the rays that you are trying to get into your skin. My derm told me that if you have silvery crusts on your lesions you need to use baby oil (or something similar) because the white scales reflect the light and not as much UV gets into the skin. If your lotion has petrolatum (vaseline) as an ingredient that will work.
DottieD

[MuchasManchas]

Definitely don't use sunblock because as Dottie said it will just block out the rays you need. I used to use just a little on my face because since I tanned over such a long period of time I didnt want to worry about premature wrinkling too And everyone is different but I personally would NOT use oil in a tanning bed. It's concentrated UV exposure and I think it would definitely increase your chances of burning! They sell tanning lotions. You can buy them at the salon but they tend to be way overpriced. I used to buy mine on Amazon. Buy one with lots of moisturizer or hemp. This is good for your skin, it keeps it from drying out and decreasing your chances of burning by building a base tan.

Regarding the scales - its true, you have to somehow remove that prior to tanning or the rays wont go through, I can vouch for that. What I used to do is shower right before tanning, gently scrub my skin with a washcloth and some gentle cleanser until most flakes were washed off, over-moisturize and then head out to the salon. Just be gentle because if not, your skin will be raw and you dont want to tan over that. Best of luck!

[KarenV1234]

After a year of fear due to a derm telling me all the horrible risks of a tanning bed, I realized that they are just trying to sell you the treatment so they can charge enormous costs to do the therapy in their office. The tanning beds I go to have UVB and UVA lights. SAME THING. Not only that, my copay for the phototherapy was $50 per visit plus the parking for the docs office was $4.25. My tanning salon... $50 a month unlimited visits and free parking.

So far I have been 5 times. I go every other day and have only gone for 6 minutes. Next week I plan to up it to 8 minutes and stay with that for a while. So far, so good! I feel great. For the first time in a long time my skin feels flexible again and I don't hurt. The pain seems to be gone!!!!! The plaques are feeling a lot smoother and don't scale nearly as badly as they were before. I use a sea salt/lavendar oil in the bath and rub some of the dead scales off with a pumice stone or a sponge depending on how attached they were.

I am addicted and excited. If the only result I see is the pain going away, it's worth it!

[sharka]

When I had my appointment last week they told me to go tan for 2 minutes - 3 days a week. I'm olivish but I was very tender w/ a loooot of coverage. I'm just going to stay with that until my appt. next week. Maybe my Humira will be approved.(oh pleeeease!)

[flgirl4e89]

I have been tanning for 6 wks... Ok so I started 3 days a wk mon, wed, fri for 7 min... I would live my socks on as that is were it is the worst and very new skin so I left my socks on the first wk for 5 mins and the 2nd wk for 3 mins... after the second wk I started going 4 days a wk for 12 mins...
I notice a great inprovent every time I see my skin getting clearer..

I have noticed if my last day is on thurs by sat I can feel swelling starting and my pinky toes get cutes on them again and start to hurt..

I am thinking tanning beds r a lot like staroids once you start you need to be careful when you stop.. slowly stop going

I also do diet and juicing, I think also does me great wonders in clearing up my pppp

my nails r coming back and I really only have it left on my feet and a little on my hands

flgirl
I think I'm starting to like tanning beds

[Mommyisme]

I agree, and think that ten minutes is a long time to start. And you are never sure with the quality of the bulbs in public tanning booths. I know, I worked for one for 7 years. If this is your only choice rather than the UV treatment the doctor prescribes, then try to stay in the same bed each time and ask each time if they changed the bulbs or not.

I have experience with the UV booth and the foot and hand booth specifically done by the nurses 3 x's a week. I can tell you from experience, that results don't show over one time, but over at least 4 months or so, for me that is. Good luck, and I hope that you see improvement!

[HGPHK]

It's good to hear some positive stories above! I've had mild scalp psoriasis since I was a child and it's never really bothered me. In late April last year, a minor rash on my back developed over over a couple of weeks to cover my entire body, including face, hands (even my palms) and feet. This was eventually diagnosed as Guttate Psoriasis, which I'd never heard of before. I had to take time off work as it really looked quite bad. I also completely freaked out, wondering what had triggered my immune system to do this (beware searching the internet - you can scare yourself needlessly).

I tried the usual regimen of steroids and other creams. This didn't have much effect.

After about a month, it began to abate, but would then come back again and again over subsequent months, though fortunately not quite as severe. All in all it was a very depressing experience.

The ONE THING I have found to be effective in combating Guttate is UV light. Sun beds (I am very, very fair) are a bit of a risk, but I have used some low power beds from time to time, but it takes time, is a bit risky (think skin cancer) and dries out your skin. The best is natural light - simply lying out in the sunshine has a really dramatic effect in reducing lesions and general discomfort. The lesions go very red around the edges and disappear in a few days. Of course, more often take their place.

Some eight months later, it has now almost completely cleared. As my skin is so fair, the marks where I had the largest lesions are still there (a pale pink). It does still flare a little bit from time to time, but it seems to be controllable with sun.

Reducing alcohol & sugar intake also seems to have calmed down my system.

So....good luck!

[RichJ]

hi hgphk,
welcome to the p family. you have meet some of the wonderful people on here and will find alot of great info. welcome and nice to meet you.

have a good weekend all

richard

[SandyinCA]

I was given a gift certificate at christmas, from a family member, for 2 free months of tanning, and though i was skeptical I gave it a try. I started with 5 minutes 3 times then upped the time by a minute every few sessions. I am up to 10 minutes now and its taken me 6 weeks to build up to that. I think with all things tried, you have to have patience.

Both my arms and thighs front and back, were completely covered with psoriasis. As well as my stomach, buttocks area and lower back. My stomach is completely cleared, but in place of the psoriasis, i have little dots all over my stomach that are a darker tan than the rest of my skin lol. My knees are cleared. my arms also have the shade darker spots. So i have to decide is the trade off worth it? For me yes! I am not itching, bleeding, or in pain.
I know the dangers of tanning.... I also know the dangers of some of the biologics.... So what does one do? Right now tanning helps, maybe tomorrow it wont... and i'll have to search for something else. I use the tanning creams for the beds... and then moisturize afterwards. After my morning shower I replace the oils lost from tanning with Lavender oil, which is a known help for replacing natural essential body oils. It's also known for its healing effects on skin.
I am not saying this will help anyone, just sharing my own experience and what's working for me.

Sandy

Never Judge a book by its cover, you might just miss your happy ending!

[RichJ]

hi sandy,
welcome to the p family. you have meet some of the wonderful people on here and will find alot of great info. welcome and nice to meet you.

try and have a good day all

richard

[okiedokie]

I asked my derm about tanning beds and they said it isn't very effective. They said they only recommend tanning beds when someone is waiting to get light treatment and can't yet due to schedule conflict. I personally use a full body UVB unit from http://phototherapystore.com. The nurse at the dermatologist has me push the light until I almost burn when psoriasis is getting worse. When psoriasis is gone, they have me skip treatment and just moisturize. When the psoriasis comes back a bit, they have me start up slow on UVB and increase time again each session until I almost burn. Then they have me eventually maintain the same dosage until it is gone.

Hi Guys,

Today was my first try in a tanning bed EVER and I'm going to keep going and record my results after each time I go.

To give you a baseline of the severity of my condition, the right half of my right thigh is about 75% covered in p, same with my right calf. I have about 15% on my left thigh, and maybe 10% on my left calf. My left forearm has less than 5%, as well as my right forearm. The rest of my body is clear.

So anyway, I did a 15% UVB bed for 5 minutes, and it basically did nothing lol. I guess I am more tolerant to UV than I thought I was. Tomorrow I am going to go for 10 minutes and see what happens.

My experience with UV in treating my p in the past has been great, but typically what I would do is go until my skin would get mildly burnt, and it was like the p would just get burnt off. I know this is bad for my skin but so is p...

Anyway if anyone else has experience with using tanning beds as treatment, I'd love to hear about it!

----
Tyler

[Twmuise]

Hi: I too started tanning on Saturday and have twice a week scheduled. No one said much about lotions so I'm not sure if you use them. I just bought some Aveeno Sunscreen Spray 30 SPF, because it was the only one on the shelf that said Dermatologist recommended. I haven't used this product yet, I will use it tomorrow but I always use something on the skin that is not affected by p....I figure I don't want to invite any more skin trouble than I already have. I too will keep everyone posted on my progress. I did 10 minutes on Friday and my face was the only thing that was noticably pink although my legs had a burning sensation after I had been out 15-20 minutes. Not burnt or tanned but I am hoping this will give me some relief.


Wendy