After making some observations on animals and himself, the scientist developed heliotherapy to treat two skin diseases : smallpox and tuberculosis of the skin. Finsen suffered from poor health and limited ability to work, which led him to consider sunbathing as a means that could help him treat his illness and restore some of his limited energy. Īt the end of the 19th century, Niels Reiberg Finsen began using filtered sunlight for treatment. īy this time, lamps emitting light from quartz, mercury vapor, and other sources were created and used to treat acne, psoriasis, syphilis, leprosy, pellagra, and other diseases. And the discovery in the second half of the 19th century of the antimicrobial action of ultraviolet radiation transformed the practice of heliotherapy into clinical phototherapy. Data from many parts of the world show that heliotherapy was actively used to treat various diseases.Īt that time, the negative effects of the sun were not known until the discovery of ultraviolet in 1801. Therefore, even the most ancient schools of medicine knew about the healing power of sunlight. Since ancient times, people have noticed that some skin conditions improved in summer and worsened in the cold season. The UV spectrum is divided into three wavelength ranges with different effects on the skin: The fraction of ultraviolet rays in the solar spectrum is about 10%. Ultraviolet rays are part of the spectrum of solar radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface along with visible light and infrared rays. Scientists have investigated that the reason for the sun’s beneficial effects is mainly due to the effect of ultraviolet radiation. Heliotherapy (“helio” in Greek means “sun”) is a type of phototherapy therapeutic effect of which is realized by using natural sunlight or artificial wavelengths of light to treat various skin diseases and psychological disorders. This article will look at how heliotherapy evolved into phototherapy, what it is for, and how it is used now. But with the advancement of science, humans have not only begun to use the properties of the sun for health benefits but have also learned how to create those benefits regardless of the sun, its diurnal cycles, or the time of year. People have always noticed that the sun has a noticeable effect on them.
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