Light for Eczema?

After I failed Dupixent, and because my skin used to like the sun, my dermatologist recommended phototherapy. Phototherapy is essentially dermatologist-sanctioned tanning (mostly kidding, but it kind of is). It uses light for eczema treatment – in this case UV light. There are other types of light for eczema, too, which are detailed below.

Phototherapy for Eczema

During phototherapy, you essentially go to your dermatologist, strip down to your undergarments, and stand in a big tube (with tanning goggles on), that zaps you with UV light. The staff at the medical office control the amount of time you’re in there and the intensity based on how long you’ve been doing the therapy, how easily you burn, and your skin tone.

How did this go for me? I very quickly got a tan line around my undergarments from this process that lasted quite a while. My stomach, in particular, became super tan, which was definitely weird! I’m pretty pale, normally.

You have to go quite often to get a dose of this light for eczema, so if you’re going to do this, ensure your dermatologist is nearby! Mine is about 30 minutes away with traffic, so when I was going at least once a week, this did not make for a pleasant experience. Some insurance companies will pay for you to get an at-home device if you can prove the therapy is working for you, which would make this far more convenient.

My early results of phototherapy seemed promising. My skin texture improved a bit. However, my skin was always super red and “peeling”, kind of like a sunburn after therapy. It was always dry. My dermatologist said this would resolve after a month or so, so when it didn’t, we had to take me off of the phototherapy as it wasn’t working as it should.

At least phototherapy was another checked box on the MD-prescribed therapies I’ve tried. Like most of these suggestions, it works wonders for some people and so was worth a shot.

Red Light Therapy

This is one of those things that seems to either super work for people, or not do much. I actually had two acupuncturists at two different clinics recommend this to me before I finally tried it. It’s all the rage in the skincare community and broadly in the wellness community. It’s another option in terms of light therapy for eczema.

There are literally devices that you can put on your face that just have space for your eyes and mouths that hit you with red light to improve facial texture, etc. Google that. The photos are kind of crazy.

Red light therapy is thought to stimulate cellular processes that promote healing, reduce inflammation, and improve tissue function. Sounds like that could be super helpful for eczema, right?

I asked my dermatologist before trying this and she said there’s not enough research out there to understand how or if it works, but it doesn’t seem harmful.

So what is red light therapy?

Red light therapy is literally just light bulbs that emit at visible red light’s wavelength, so it’s pretty straightforward. It seems to work best for people who have eczema on small patches, e.g. I wish I’d tried it when I just had eczema in one small patch on my hand. For this sort of “patch treatment”, you can use a handheld device that you can order online. Here’s one option that’s well-reviewed.

Given I have eczema all over my body, however, I needed a more whole-body solution. Many wellness centers and spas have red light saunas and machines, but I figured this would get expensive as it’s recommended to try red light therapy for at least a month before deciding whether or not it works for you (so it’s a commitment).

I did some Googling and luckily found my answer in Planet Fitness, of all places. Planet Fitness has what they call a “Total Body Enhancement” machine, which is essentially a full-body red light therapy machine. I was skeptical, but this article by a dermatologist convinced me this machine was, at least, not harmful. So, I bought the Planet Fitness “Black Card” membership which allows members to use its “spa” services.

Don’t expect any instruction when you get to Planet Fitness.

Here’s how it works:

How to use the red light machine at planet fitness

Getting set up:

1. Sign up for the black card membership.
2. Go to your local planet fitness with tanning goggles (cheap on Amazon) or at minimum, sunglasses.
3. Scan in your entry barcode then tell them you’d like to use the Total Body Enhancement machine.
4. If it’s open, they’ll “sign you up” for the spot in the machine.
5. They’ll give you a sign with your assigned room number on it. Go to that room in the “spa” area.
6. In that room you’ll see a large, intimidating machine. Close and lock the door (of course), and take off your clothes (assuming you also have full body eczema). I kept my bra and underwear on.
7. Put tanning goggles on your head so you’re ready to wear them.

Using the machine:

1. Go to machine and hit the “on” button. If you’re like me you’ll want the fan down and music off. The fan really aggravated my eczema because it feels like a cold wind, and the music was just annoying. Click the button that looks like a fan and press the “minus” button. Do the same for the music (the music button looks like a music note). There’s a “vibra-shake” feature to the machine that’s optional – it basically jiggles your body and is supposed to promote relaxation. I didn’t try it the first time but did thereafter and did find it relaxing. Trying to meditating while in the red light machine was also relaxing.
2. If you’re using the “vibra-shake” feature, click the vibra-shake button, and for your first time set it to “Level 1.” Quickly get onto the floor of the machine and put your feet as shown by the feet outline on the floor, i.e. align your feet with the feet drawn on the gray floor of the machine. The floor will quickly start shaking, so you want to be in the correct position right away. Again, this part is completely optional. You have to choose to turn this on.
3. Whether or not you’re using the shake setting, close the machine’s doors and put your goggles on, then … just relax and wait until your 12 minutes are up. (The machine automatically shuts off at 12 minutes, but you can of course get out at any time). A robotic woman’s voice will talk you through both the vibra-shake process (if selected) and the red light therapy. She was a little loud and startling when I truly was trying to meditate, so be prepared.
4. When the therapy is over, the machine’s lights turn off and you can exit the machine (or exit earlier as you see fit). Put on your clothes, unlock the door, and give the sign back to the nice folks at the desk.

My conclusions

I did this light therapy for eczema 2-3 times a week for about a month. My skin texture seemed to improve a bit, but it certainly wasn’t a cure for me like it is for some people. Maybe it was in my head, but it did seem to help if I wet wrapped with green tea right before doing red light therapy. There are also lotions online that are made with green tea for this purpose, likely due to this article that was published a while ago regarding how green tea can supercharge red light therapy.

Again, probably worth a shot if you have the time, but this one wasn’t it for me.

And once again – I’m not a doctor. This is all just my experience and not medical advice.