FDA Approval

• The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved excimer laser treatment as a safe and effective method for treating psoriasis.
  
  

Functions

• Excimer lasers function to rid the skin of the raised red, scaly lesions caused by psoriasis. The laser cannot cure the psoriasis condition, as it is not curable, but it can significantly alleviate these uncomfortable and unsightly skin symptoms.
  
  

How It Works

• Highly intense beams of UVB light are emitted from an overhead or handheld device onto the affected skin area. These beams penetrate the skin's surface to stimulate the abnormal cells that formulate the skin plaques, and promote new cell growth to replace these abnormal cells, thereby diminishing the plaques.
  
  

Treatment Sessions

• To be optimally effective, psoriasis patients may require 25 to 30 excimer laser treatment sessions, according to Body-Philosophy.net (Ref. 3). Fortunately, sessions take only 5 to 10 minutes, and there is no downtime or recovery period after treatment.
  
  

Side Effects

• Side effects are minimal to none. Some patients experience redness, blistering, hyperpigmentation (dark patches on the skin) or sores on the treated area, all of which subside. All referenced sources report that excimer treatment is too new (as of 2009) to have collected long-term data that proves or disproves long-term effects.
  
  

Warning

• Patients of laser therapy are warned to avoid sun exposure on the treated area after and between treatment sessions, and to apply a high-strength sunscreen daily when the skin achieves desired results.