Can a tanning bed stand in for medical phototherapy?
No. A commercial tanning device and prescribed narrowband UVB are not interchangeable. A tanning booth is not a shortcut around a medical light-treatment plan. Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
People I have heard from ask whether a tanning bed is the same thing as prescribed light. The guidance I read separates sunlight, tanning devices, narrowband UVB, PUVA, and targeted light because the light source, treatment purpose, controls, and safety steps differ.
Considerations
- Depends on you
I cannot turn any ultraviolet source into a personal plan from here. If cost, travel, or access is pushing you toward a substitute, bring that barrier to your care team before exposing your skin.
Questions for your phototherapy team
Which medical light source are you considering, and why?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What safer access path could fit if clinic treatment is out of reach?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
What is my role, and what is my care team’s role?
Your role is to prepare, observe, record, and report. Your prescriber decides whether to start, continue, change, pause, or restart treatment, and the current instructions for your exact device govern its operation. Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
The phototherapy guideline I read places assessment, prescribing, monitoring, and decisions about reactions within a clinical service. Skin products, sun exposure, medicine changes, interruptions, shielding, and device changes may all need advice specific to your plan.
Considerations
- Depends on you
Do not turn general information into a personal rule. Ask your care team which instructions apply to your diagnosis, medicines, skin, and device.
Questions for your phototherapy team
What should I watch for and report after treatment?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What should make me pause and contact you before the next treatment?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.Can I have my action plan in writing?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
What will my clinician review before I start?
The guideline I read describes reviewing the diagnosis and how it appears, current medicines, sensitivity to light, skin-cancer history, prior ultraviolet treatment, pregnancy, and other individual risks. Use this as a conversation starter - not as a self-test that says NB-UVB is or is not safe for you. Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
Some factors can rule treatment out in a particular situation. Others may change the risk–benefit discussion, monitoring, or treatment choice. A clinician who knows your diagnosis and current health context has to interpret them.
Considerations
- Depends on you
Bring a current medicine list and your personal history to the assessment; the examples here are not exhaustive, and only your clinician can apply the guideline to you.
Questions for your phototherapy team
Do my medicines or health history change this decision?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What will you check before treatment and during follow-up?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What would make another option safer or more appropriate for me?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
Which medicines and supplements can raise light sensitivity?
Several common medicine groups can make skin react more strongly to ultraviolet light. Your prescriber reviews everything you take before and during treatment. Bring the complete list, and do not stop or change anything on your own. Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
Screening often flags some antibiotics, such as tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones. It can also flag some diuretics, some heart and mental-health medicines, and oral retinoids. Herbal products can matter too. St John’s wort is a commonly cited example, and some traditional skin preparations contain strongly light-activating compounds called psoralens.
- List prescriptions, over-the-counter products, herbs, and supplements together in one place.
- Tell the phototherapy team when any clinician starts, stops, or changes a medicine mid-course.
- Treat “natural” products as part of the medicine review, not as automatically safe with light.
Considerations
- Depends on you
No public list is complete, and taking one of these medicines does not by itself rule treatment in or out. Your prescriber weighs the product, the dose, your history, and the plan together.
Questions for your phototherapy team
I take ___ (medicine or supplement). Does it raise my light sensitivity?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What should I do if a new medicine starts mid-course?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
Will a reaction always be obvious by looking at my skin?
No. A color change can be subtle or hard to interpret, especially in deeper skin tones. Know what your skin looks and feels like before treatment, and report pain, tenderness, heat, swelling, blistering, marked itching, or another concerning change. No visible redness does not mean you should change the plan yourself. Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
A useful reaction record includes more than a color label: when the concern appeared, which areas were involved, what you could feel, and how it changed. That information can help your clinical team understand what happened.
Considerations
- Depends on you
Report your observations to the treating team rather than diagnosing the cause or choosing the next step yourself. Your plan must address both depigmented and surrounding skin without relying on a general color threshold.
Questions for your phototherapy team
Which skin changes should I watch for?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
More on sun exposure, product timing, cumulative risk, eye protection and device problems
Can I be in the sun while I am having treatment?
Ask your team, and ask before the sunny week rather than after it. The light you are given and the light outside are the same kind of energy, so time outdoors is not separate from your course. The British patient leaflet asks people not to sunbathe or use a sunbed for the whole of a course. It also asks them to keep out of the sun enough that skin does not burn. Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
That leaflet explains that phototherapy uses the ultraviolet part of sunlight. UVB is the part that burns, and a service gives it in measured amounts to keep that risk low. Its sun-protection list is covering up, a hat and a sunscreen used to its label. It asks patients to tell the unit about any medicine or cream started during the course, and about anything that leaves skin newly exposed, such as a haircut.
- A burn is also a skin injury, which is its own question for someone with vitiligo.
- Ask what the plan is for a holiday, a new job outdoors or a change of season.
- Say what you actually do outside, not what you think you should be doing.
Considerations
- Depends on you
The leaflet is written for a hospital unit whose nurses look at your skin at every visit, and it sets no rule for a panel at home. Nothing in it measures how much an afternoon outdoors adds for one person, and I name no amount of either kind of light. The leaflet has also not been updated since June 2022 and its own next review date has passed.
Questions for your phototherapy team
How should I handle sun on the days I treat?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.If I get sunburned between sessions, do you want me to skip the next one or call you first?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
What about creams, deodorant or perfume before a session?
Some ordinary products change how skin answers ultraviolet light. The British leaflet asks people not to wear perfume, deodorant, aftershave or other cosmetics to a treatment. Some of them contain substances that make skin more sensitive to light, and the result can be patchy discoloured skin that takes months to fade. Evidence Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
The same leaflet asks patients not to put creams or ointments on before a session, other than a suitable moisturiser. It says a water-based one helps skin take up the light, and that oily ones can burn or block it. Separately, the US labels for Protopic (tacrolimus) and Elidel (pimecrolimus) tell people using them to keep out of sunlight and to avoid ultraviolet treatment. I carry that in full on the Protopic and Elidel pages.
Considerations
- Depends on you
Which products, and in which order around a session, is a question for the people who prescribe both halves of your plan. I name no product, no brand and no timing here. A unit checks skin before each treatment; at home nobody does that for you.
Questions for your phototherapy team
What can I put on my skin before a session, and what should wait?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.If a cream is part of my plan, how does it fit around the light?
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Does treatment light add up over the years the way sun does?
The leaflet treats them as one account, and it is honest that the account is estimated rather than measured. It says the full risk of this particular light is not known, and that the estimate it gives assumes narrowband UVB behaves like sunlight. On that assumption, courses repeated across a lifetime raise the risk of treatable skin cancer. Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
The leaflet gives the plain background figure that roughly one in ten people in the UK develop skin cancer at some point. It says the risk is lower for someone whose face is not treated. It also describes a point in a treatment history at which a skin-cancer review becomes usual practice. It also describes photoageing: with many treatments, skin can take on the wrinkling and discolouration that sunlight or smoking produce.
Considerations
- Depends on you
An assumption is not a measurement, the background figure is a UK population one, and neither tells you your own risk. That review point is that service’s; yours may differ, so I give no number here. Any skin change you have noticed is worth raising whether or not a review is due.
Questions for your phototherapy team
Is there a point in this course at which you would want my skin reviewed?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What should I be watching for on my own skin between reviews?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
What should I know about protecting my eyes?
Use only the eye protection approved for your exact device or by your phototherapy team. Keep it on unless that team gives you a specific plan for treating the eyelids. Evidence Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
Protection depends on documented compatibility with the device, as well as fit and condition. Sunglasses, prescription glasses, contact lenses, tanning eyewear, and medical-phototherapy protection are not automatically interchangeable.
Considerations
- Depends on you
Color and appearance do not prove that eyewear is protective. Current guidance and device manuals do not certify every product sold today. Treatment near the eyes needs its own clinical plan.
Questions for your phototherapy team
Which exact eye protection should I use with my device?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.How will you treat my eyelids while protecting my eyes?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
Does safety guidance change with the condition being treated?
Yes. Using the same kind of equipment does not make the reasons for treatment, alternatives, or monitoring identical across conditions. A vitiligo decision needs vitiligo guidance as well as phototherapy guidance. A psoriasis decision needs psoriasis-specific guidance. Evidence Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
The condition-specific guidelines I read discuss different goals, patterns, alternatives, and evidence limits. General phototherapy safety information can explain shared boundaries, but it cannot erase those differences.
Considerations
- Depends on you
Even among people with the same diagnosis, the body areas involved, disease activity, other health conditions, prior care, and personal goals can change the decision. Ask your treating team to assess your individual safety.
Questions for your phototherapy team
How does my diagnosis change the options you are considering?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.Does my pattern of vitiligo change how you would monitor me?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
What if the device displays an error or behaves unexpectedly?
Stop and use the manufacturer’s official support route rather than testing, opening, bypassing, or repairing the device yourself. If you are in the United States, use the FDA route when a medical-device problem should also be reported to the regulator. Evidence Evidence Evidence Evidence
Why this matters
- Sources cited, not yet graded
The exact model, unit identifiers, manual revision, displayed message, and a factual description of what happened can help the manufacturer route the problem. Any effect on your skin or health should also go to your treating team.
Considerations
- Depends on you
A health concern and a device problem can happen at the same time without proving that one caused the other. Ask the manufacturer to inspect the unit and use current FDA guidance to decide whether to file a regulatory report.
Questions for the device company and your phototherapy team
What information should I gather before I contact the manufacturer?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.What should I report separately to my phototherapy team?
Saving keeps this on your device and needs JavaScript, which is off in this browser.
Evidence and update context
This optional layer shows the evidence boundary I reviewed as of 2026-09-19.
- What this evidence supports
- People I have heard from ask whether a tanning bed is the same thing as prescribed light. The guidance I read separates sunlight, tanning devices, narrowband UVB, PUVA, and targeted light because the light source, treatment purpose, controls, and safety steps differ.
- What it does not establish
- I cannot turn any ultraviolet source into a personal plan from here. If cost, travel, or access is pushing you toward a substitute, bring that barrier to your care team before exposing your skin.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Pending clinical review
This statement has a dated source and is waiting for a clinician's sign-off.
Applicability check
Who was studied?
These fields show what the cited evidence reports about the people and body sites behind outcome or safety claims. “Not reported” means the reviewed source omitted the field; “Pending exact source review” means SteadySkin has not made that determination yet.
No. A commercial tanning device and prescribed narrowband UVB are not interchangeable. A tanning booth is not a shortcut around a medical light-treatment plan.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the UK narrowband UVB guideline for clinic and home services. The other is a UK hospital unit patient leaflet, last updated June 2022 and past its own review date. Neither reports a study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: Both sources are guidance, not a study. They separate sunlight, tanning devices, narrowband UVB and other light treatments because the light source, purpose and safety steps differ. Neither compares outcomes between a tanning bed and prescribed treatment, and neither describes people who tried a substitute.
Your role is to prepare, observe, record, and report. Your prescriber decides whether to start, continue, change, pause, or restart treatment, and the current instructions for your exact device govern its operation.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the UK narrowband UVB guideline for clinic and home services. The other is a UK hospital unit patient leaflet, last updated June 2022 and past its own review date. Neither reports a study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: These are guidance documents. They place assessment, prescribing, monitoring and decisions about reactions within a clinical service. They report no patient group and set no rule a reader can apply without their own care team.
The guideline I read describes reviewing the diagnosis and how it appears, current medicines, sensitivity to light, skin-cancer history, prior ultraviolet treatment, pregnancy, and other individual risks. Use this as a conversation starter - not as a self-test that says NB-UVB is or is not safe for you.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- The narrowband UVB guideline is written for UK phototherapy services, in clinic and at home. It reports no study population of its own.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: The guideline lists factors a clinician reviews before treatment, such as current medicines, light sensitivity, skin-cancer history and pregnancy. It gives this as clinical assessment, not a checklist that tells a reader whether treatment is safe for them. It reports no patient group.
Several common medicine groups can make skin react more strongly to ultraviolet light. Your prescriber reviews everything you take before and during treatment. Bring the complete list, and do not stop or change anything on your own.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the UK narrowband UVB guideline for clinic and home services. The other is a UK hospital unit patient leaflet, last updated June 2022 and past its own review date. Neither reports a study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: The guideline and the leaflet name medicine groups that can raise light sensitivity, including some antibiotics, some diuretics, and herbal products such as St John’s wort. Neither is a study and neither reports how often a reaction follows. Taking one of these does not by itself rule treatment in or out.
No. A color change can be subtle or hard to interpret, especially in deeper skin tones. Know what your skin looks and feels like before treatment, and report pain, tenderness, heat, swelling, blistering, marked itching, or another concerning change. No visible redness does not mean you should change the plan yourself.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the UK narrowband UVB guideline for clinic and home services. The other is a UK hospital unit patient leaflet, last updated June 2022 and past its own review date. Neither reports a study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Any treated skin, both depigmented and surrounding. The guidance gives no body-site breakdown for recognising a reaction.
What that means for this page: Both sources are guidance. They ask people to know their own skin and to report pain, heat, swelling, blistering or marked itch rather than judge a reaction by colour. Neither reports a patient group and neither sets a colour threshold, so this record cannot describe one by skin tone.
Ask your team, and ask before the sunny week rather than after it. The light you are given and the light outside are the same kind of energy, so time outdoors is not separate from your course. The British patient leaflet asks people not to sunbathe or use a sunbed for the whole of a course. It also asks them to keep out of the sun enough that skin does not burn.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- The patient leaflet is written for a UK hospital unit whose staff check skin at each visit. It has not been updated since June 2022 and its review date has passed. It reports no study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: The leaflet asks people not to sunbathe or use a sunbed for a whole course, and to keep skin from burning. It sets no rule for a home panel and puts no number on how much time outdoors adds for one person. It reports no patient group.
Some ordinary products change how skin answers ultraviolet light. The British leaflet asks people not to wear perfume, deodorant, aftershave or other cosmetics to a treatment. Some of them contain substances that make skin more sensitive to light, and the result can be patchy discoloured skin that takes months to fade.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the UK hospital unit leaflet, past its review date. The other two are current US prescribing information for Protopic (tacrolimus) and Elidel (pimecrolimus). None reports a study population for this point.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: The leaflet asks people to arrive without perfume, deodorant or cosmetics and to use only a suitable moisturiser before a session. The Protopic (tacrolimus) and Elidel (pimecrolimus) labels tell people using those products to avoid ultraviolet treatment and limit sun. None of the three is a study, and none names a product, order or timing for one person.
The leaflet treats them as one account, and it is honest that the account is estimated rather than measured. It says the full risk of this particular light is not known, and that the estimate it gives assumes narrowband UVB behaves like sunlight. On that assumption, courses repeated across a lifetime raise the risk of treatable skin cancer.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- The patient leaflet is written for a UK hospital phototherapy unit. It has not been updated since June 2022 and its review date has passed. It reports no study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- The leaflet says the estimated skin-cancer risk is lower for someone whose face is not treated. It gives no other body-site breakdown.
What that means for this page: The leaflet states plainly that the full risk of narrowband UVB is not known, and that its lifetime-risk estimate assumes the treatment behaves like sunlight. Its one-in-ten skin-cancer figure is a UK population figure, not a personal risk. It reports no patient group.
Use only the eye protection approved for your exact device or by your phototherapy team. Keep it on unless that team gives you a specific plan for treating the eyelids.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the UK narrowband UVB guideline. The other two are manufacturer manuals and support pages for named phototherapy units. None reports a study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- The eyes and eyelids. The guideline covers eye protection during treatment; treating the eyelid skin itself is described as a separate clinical decision.
What that means for this page: The guideline recommends ultraviolet-protective goggles during treatment, and the device manuals state that protection is model-specific. None is a study, and none certifies a particular product sold today. An eyelid exception is described as a clinical decision, not a step to take at home.
Yes. Using the same kind of equipment does not make the reasons for treatment, alternatives, or monitoring identical across conditions. A vitiligo decision needs vitiligo guidance as well as phototherapy guidance. A psoriasis decision needs psoriasis-specific guidance.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- The sources are the UK narrowband UVB guideline, the 2021 UK vitiligo guideline, and the 2023 International Vitiligo Task Force statement. All are consensus guidance, not studies of a patient group.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: All three sources are consensus guidance. They describe different goals, patterns, alternatives and monitoring for different conditions, and say the same equipment does not make those the same. Body areas, disease activity and other health conditions still change the decision, so it is left to a treating team.
Stop and use the manufacturer’s official support route rather than testing, opening, bypassing, or repairing the device yourself. If you are in the United States, use the FDA route when a medical-device problem should also be reported to the regulator.
- Age range
- Not reported
- Condition subtype
- Not reported
- Severity or extent
- Not reported
- Sample size
- Not reported
- Geography and care setting
- One source is the US FDA MedWatch reporting page. The others are manufacturer support routes for named phototherapy devices. None reports a study population.
- Skin tone or phototype
- Not reported
- Race
- Not reported
- Ethnicity
- Not reported
- Body sites
- Not reported
What that means for this page: The MedWatch page is a reporting route and the device pages are manufacturer support routes. None is a study, and none decides whether a report is required or proves that a device caused a health problem. A device fault and a health concern can occur together and still need separate routes.
Evidence behind this page
Sources
Each evidence badge opens the source and its limits. The full list stays available here.
- Phothera PhototherapyManufacturer document · Manufacturer, tier 4Independence not established
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
Supports the current first-party route to Phothera device and accessory manuals and shows that instructions are model- and controller-specific.
What it does not support
It does not establish clinical suitability, comparative benefit, the condition of an individual unit, or that one manual applies to a related or legacy model; each exact linked manual and revision still requires verification.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- Solarc Systems Inc.Manufacturer document · Manufacturer, tier 4Independence not established
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
Supports one page of the named SolRx E-Series manual revision, its specifications page. That page carries the models covered, the narrowband waveband, the bulb type and count, the nominal irradiance figures with their stated caution, and the per-device electrical and fuse ratings. It does not support another SolRx family, confirm that this is the newest revision for an individual unit, establish clinical suitability, or prove comparative safety or effectiveness; the owner must verify the exact current manual with Solarc.
What it does not support
The linked file is that one page, not the whole manual. It does not carry the installation, protective-equipment, maintenance or support sections that the rest of the manual holds.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- Zerigo Health, Inc.Manufacturer document · Manufacturer, tier 4Independence not established
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
Supports Zerigo’s current first-party description of its United States prescription device, required mobile application, Member Guide, Care Guide support, data-enabled service model, transfer restrictions, and distinction between technical support and medical advice.
What it does not support
It does not independently establish comparative benefit, coverage, privacy quality, clinical suitability, or that the program terms will remain unchanged.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationRegulatory · Regulatory / guideline, tier 1Independent source
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
Supports that patients, consumers, and health professionals can use FDA MedWatch to report serious reactions, product-quality problems, product-use errors, and other serious problems involving human medical products, including medical devices.
What it does not support
It does not determine whether a report is required, prove causation, replace clinical care, or replace the manufacturer’s equipment-support route.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
Protopic (tacrolimus) ointment: US prescribing information and Medication Guide (opens in a new tab)
DailyMed, U.S. National Library of MedicineRegulatory · Regulatory / guideline, tier 1Relevant relationship disclosed- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
Why the independence label says this: The National Library of Medicine hosts DailyMed. The product company submits the label to FDA, so it is authoritative for product labeling but not independent efficacy evidence.
What this source supports
It establishes the US atopic-dermatitis indication, boxed warning, local effects, long-term-use precaution, and ultraviolet instructions for this product. Its mechanism-of-action section supports that tacrolimus binds FKBP-12 to block calcineurin phosphatase, preventing the T-cell activation that its boxed warning and local-effect data describe. Its local-adverse-reaction data supports burning in roughly 46-58% and itching in roughly 41-46% of studied patients, most often in the first few days and easing as treatment continues. Its Dosage and Administration section supports applying a thin layer twice daily and re-examining the patient if signs and symptoms do not improve within six weeks.
What it does not support
It does not approve tacrolimus for vitiligo or psoriasis, establish efficacy for either, or resolve off-label guideline discussion of supervised combinations. Its dosing and six-week re-examination window are stated for its approved atopic-dermatitis indication, not as a vitiligo-specific schedule.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- DailyMed, U.S. National Library of MedicineRegulatory · Regulatory / guideline, tier 1Relevant relationship disclosed
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
Why the independence label says this: The National Library of Medicine hosts DailyMed. The product company submits the label to FDA, so it is authoritative for product labeling but not independent efficacy evidence.
What this source supports
Supports the US atopic-dermatitis indication, boxed warning, application-site effects, long-term-use precaution and instructions to avoid ultraviolet treatment and minimize natural or artificial sunlight. This label itself is a generic pimecrolimus cream filing (packager Oceanside Pharmaceuticals, a division of Bausch Health US, LLC), not the original brand Elidel label, so it also supports that a generic pimecrolimus cream is currently marketed. Its Dosage and Administration section supports applying a thin layer twice daily and re-examining the patient if signs and symptoms persist beyond six weeks; its boxed warning separately supports that continuous long-term use should be avoided. Its adult 1-year active-comparator adverse-reaction table (328 pimecrolimus-treated subjects) supports application-site burning in about 25.9%, headache in about 25.4%, nasopharyngitis in about 7.6%, and influenza in about 9.8% of that adult trial population.
What it does not support
It does not approve pimecrolimus for vitiligo or psoriasis, establish efficacy for either, or resolve off-label guideline discussion of supervised combinations. Its dosing and six-week re-examination window, and its adult adverse-reaction percentages, are stated for its approved atopic-dermatitis indication and trial population, not as a vitiligo-specific schedule or vitiligo-trial safety rate.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and VenereologyGuideline · Regulatory / guideline, tier 1Relevant relationship disclosed
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
Why the independence label says this: The journal is the publisher. This label refers to extensive author relationships disclosed for the recommendation, not to the journal itself.
What this source supports
It supports current expert-consensus terminology, clinical assessment, disease-activity evaluation, treatment-goal discussion, and shared decision-making. Its modified assessment check list names where the patches are as a disease feature, and gives genital involvement as its own example. It records white hairs as an item of its own, apart from what the vitiligo has done in the past six months. Its classification table keeps mucosal vitiligo as a subtype, both across more than one site and at one site alone. It supports planning care around what is there to work with, and its example is hair that still has its color. It names stable vitiligo and active vitiligo as two different states that change the care plan. Its shared-decision steps ask what the patient wants from care. At the time it was written, one cream form of a newer drug type had just been approved. Pill forms of that same drug type were still being studied.
What it does not support
It is not independent comparative proof. It cannot diagnose a reader from a description or photograph. It gives no figure for genital involvement, and it does not name lichen sclerosus. It does not set out the Vitiligo European Task Force grading scale. It puts no figure on white hairs and predicts nothing for one person.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- British Journal of Dermatology (Eleftheriadou V, et al.)Guideline · Regulatory / guideline, tier 1Independent source
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
Supports the clinical history and assessment domains, evaluation of associated autoimmune conditions, its recommendation for thyroid function and antithyroid antibody screening, current classification context, treatment-option map, psychosocial assessment, medical photography and the limits of pediatric evidence. Its classification table defines mucosal vitiligo as the oral or genital mucosae. One mucosal site alone is filed as undetermined or unclassified. Its differential diagnosis table lists genital or extragenital lichen sclerosus among the conditions that can be mistaken for vitiligo. That table also lists eczema, psoriasis, lichen planus, pityriasis alba and piebaldism. It calls autoimmunity a contributor to the pathogenesis of vitiligo. It reports an earlier review finding a possible negative impact on intimacy and sexual functioning. It tells clinicians to discuss the psychosocial impact of living with the condition. R28 offers a skin camouflage visit to people who want one. R10 to R14 name potent or very potent topical steroids as the first choice, with a topical calcineurin-inhibitor cream as an option for the face. These are different creams with different proof behind them. R20 names narrowband UVB as the first light option. It says the skin often does better on the face and trunk than on hands and feet. It says there is not enough proof to use any one current pill alone for vitiligo that is not changing. R25 and Table 2 keep cell grafting for vitiligo that is not changing and did not respond to other care. They also say a doctor cannot always tell if the vitiligo has truly stopped changing.
What it does not support
It was designed for UK care and reviewed literature through May 2019; it does not establish a universal testing plan, prescribe an individual plan, or establish current US labeling or coverage. Its differential diagnosis table is a list, not a method a reader can apply to their own skin. It does not say how to tell any two of those conditions apart. It gives no figure for how often vitiligo affects genital skin.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- British Journal of Dermatology (Goulden V, et al.)Guideline · Regulatory / guideline, tier 1Independent source
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
It supports that traditional NB-UVB fluorescent lamps emit a narrow UVB band peaking around 311 nanometres. It backs wearing UV-protective goggles and keeping UV scatter off people nearby. It records the consent form naming goggles and the same clothing at each session. It also covers clinical uses, how it compares with other light treatments, safety limits including sunburn-type reactions, and the added safeguards home phototherapy needs.
What it does not support
It does not provide a personal treatment plan, approve a particular home setup, or replace the instructions for your own device. SteadySkin never reproduces its treatment schedules.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.
- British Association of DermatologistsPatient education · Patient education, tier 5Independent source
- Published
- SteadySkin last checked
What this source can and cannot tell you
What this source supports
It supports a plain-language explanation that NB-UVB uses a small part of the UVB spectrum, is used for conditions including psoriasis, eczema, and vitiligo, and is distinct from sunlight or a sunbed. It also supports what a unit asks of its own patients during a course. It asks them not to sunbathe or use a sunbed for the whole of it, and to reduce sun exposure so that skin does not burn. It asks them to report a medicine, a cream, or newly exposed skin such as a haircut. It asks them to arrive without perfume, deodorant, aftershave or other cosmetics, because some of those raise light sensitivity and can leave patchy discolouration for months. It carries the unit’s own account of repeated courses. It states that the full risk of narrowband UVB is not known, and that roughly one in ten people in the UK develop skin cancer. It states that a review becomes usual practice past a stated number of treatments, and that many treatments can bring the wrinkling and discolouration of photoageing.
What it does not support
It is patient education, not primary evidence for an efficacy claim. Its printed next review date was June 2025 and it has not been updated since June 2022. It is therefore used only for what it plainly states, and never as current guidance. It is written for a UK hospital unit whose nurses examine skin at every visit, so it sets no rule for a device used at home. Its numbers stay in this record rather than in the copy. Those are the sun protection factor and star rating it names, the hours it names, the treatment count that triggers a review, and the multiple by which it estimates lifetime risk. That multiple is stated there as an assumption that narrowband UVB behaves like sunlight, not as a measurement.
Claim-specific review for this source is still in progress. Only the source-level evidence and limits are shown here.