Uncategorized

Cryotherapy against psoriasis: will the cold save the skin?

With the development of low-temperature technologies, it became possible to use devices with low and ultra-low temperatures for the treatment of various diseases. Cryo devices or cryoapparatus are capable of producing liquefied gases : oxygen (-183 ° C), ordinary air (up to -180 ° C), helium (-269 ° C), nitrogen (-196 ° C), carbon dioxide (“dry ice” ( -79 ° C)). Cryotherapy is a branch of physiotherapy. The essence of the technique is based on the short-term exposure to ultra-low temperatures on individual parts of the human body or on the entire body.

Cold treatment techniques can be aimed at combating psoriasis , as a resolving agent for severe inflammatory processes of a chronic nature, for the destruction of benign neoplasms on the skin (tumors, hyperkeratosis, condylomas, etc.), for the treatment of erymatosis , neurodermatitis, eczema, scleroderma and other dermatological diseases. 

The essence of the procedure

From the outside, the treatment of skin diseases with ultra-low temperatures looks quite simple. The patient is placed up to his neck in a special unit, a cryosauna , where he is exposed to the scalding ice cold. The temperature in the cryosauna reaches -130 ° -160 C. The time a person spends in it is 2-3 minutes. It is recommended to treat psoriasis using the cryotherapy technique for a course of 3 weeks to one month, carrying out 3-4 procedures every day.  

In addition to cryosauna procedures, exposure to low temperatures can affect certain parts of the patient’s body. For this, either special applicators are used (a tampon soaked in liquefied gas), or a strong stream of liquefied low-temperature gas directed to the lesions.

Due to the shock effect of low temperatures on the body, the skin begins to rapidly cool, which is a powerful impetus for the active action of the immune system, thermoregulation system and other protective mechanisms of the body. That is, aerocryotherapy mobilizes all the forces of the human body, makes them work at an increased pace, direct all reserves to fight the present disease.

Cryotherapy has the maximum effect on human skin and is reliably fixed at the cellular level. After a series of cold treatment procedures in patients, infiltration is noticeably reduced and a persistent inhibition of response processes in the immunomodulatory system is observed. After cold treatment procedures, patients suffering from psoriasis noted a significant decrease in itching and pain, a decrease in the external symptoms of the disease, and an improvement in overall well-being.

“Pros and cons”

Cryotherapy, as one of the methods of combating psoriasis, has been used relatively recently. The visible effect after exposure to low temperatures on the body is obvious, however, the side effects that may occur after such treatment have not yet been fully understood. Contraindications to the procedures in the cryosauna are not defined either .  

Experts only have to find out what complications may appear in patients with psoriasis after courses of cryotherapy in the presence of certain accompanying diseases. Among other things, the claimed effectiveness of the technique did not find its valid confirmation, since in a number of cases, patients experienced recurrent attacks of psoriasis soon after the course of treatment.

In addition, the innovative technology for treating psoriasis and other dermatological diseases with ultra-low temperatures is still quite expensive. And the duration of the course of therapy and the frequency of sessions do not always allow for procedures on an outpatient basis.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *