The effects of NB-UVB home phototherapy are not immediate. During the initial treatment phase, patients may feel "no effect" or "too slow to see results." In reality, it is often not that the treatment is ineffective, but rather that the timing is not yet right, nor is it due to inadequate patient compliance.
Persistent lack of visible improvement over an extended treatment period can erode patient confidence and patience, leading to treatment abandonment or arbitrary increases in dosage and frequency. When this occurs, careful analysis is essential to identify the cause, make an accurate assessment, and implement appropriate measures.
When patients report "no effect," it is often due to insufficient treatment sessions or inadequate cumulative exposure. Typically, vitiligo requires at least three months of treatment before noticeable improvement, while psoriasis treatment shows significant progress after approximately 20 sessions. Patience is essential. Generally, three weekly sessions yield faster results than two, potentially shortening the treatment timeline.
Additionally, ultraviolet phototherapy involves a phenomenon known as light adaptation. Some vitiligo patients reach a plateau phase after a certain number of sessions, where continued treatment yields no further pigment restoration in the white patches. If this plateau phase occurs, it is advisable to pause phototherapy for 3 to 6 months. This allows the skin to regain its initial photosensitivity before resuming treatment.
Sometimes, significant histological improvement may occur even when visible changes are not yet apparent.It is recommended that vitiligo patients undergo verification of pigment recovery by professionals using multiple methods—such as Wood's lamp, dermatoscopy, or skin CT—after approximately 30 consecutive phototherapy sessions. Before determining continuous phototherapy as "ineffective," at least 30 sessions should be completed, extendable to around 40 sessions in some cases. If no response is observed, it indicates insensitivity to phototherapy, and treatment may be discontinued.
Due to individual variations and differences in UV sensitivity across body regions, phototherapy outcomes often differ. However, truly refractory cases—those unresponsive or resistant to UV—remain rare. For instance, NB-UVB phototherapy demonstrates superior efficacy on facial, neck, and trunk lesions;and is more effective for common vitiligo than segmental vitiligo. It is less effective for lesions on joints, lips, fingertips, ankles, palms/soles, and nipple vitiligo. Combining phototherapy with other treatments not only yields better results than phototherapy alone but also shortens the treatment cycle and reduces potential adverse reactions. It is also suitable for lesions unresponsive to monotherapy.
Some patients experience insufficient irradiation doses due to energy decay in phototherapy lamp tubes. Additionally, some patients apply topical ointments before phototherapy, mistakenly believing this enhances drug efficacy. However, the ointments block or absorb ultraviolet energy, resulting in inadequate phototherapy doses. Therefore, equipment should be calibrated regularly, and patients should bathe before treatment to facilitate tissue absorption of light energy.
Founded in 1992, Shanghai Sigma High-Tech Co., Ltd. is a medical instrument company specializing in the R&D and production of phototherapy products in China. For over two decades, guided by the mission of "Advancing photomedicine technology to serve human health," the company has transformed proven photomedicine methods into medical products through technological innovation. Strictly adhering to the requirements for medical devices to be safe, reliable, and effective, it has established a high-standard production quality management system.
Shanghai Sigma High-Tech Co., Ltd. has developed multiple series of professional phototherapy products for hospitals, including full-body, half-body, and localized units, as well as photomedicine diagnostic products such as sunlight UV simulators and Wood's lamps. These solutions meet the diverse phototherapy needs of dermatology departments across various disease types and treatment levels.Simultaneously, Sigma pioneered the development of China's first home-use portable phototherapy device, the SS-01, which received regulatory approval from the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). This product remains a classic, consistently popular home phototherapy solution in the domestic market. Building upon this foundation, the newly developed SH series further expands the home phototherapy product line, offering patients more tailored options based on their specific symptoms and treatment needs.
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