DEAD-SEA SUN VERSUS DEAD-SEA WATER IN THE TREATMENT OF PSORIASIS

At the Dead Sea spas, which are 400 m below sea level, both the ultrav iolet radiation from the sun and the mineral-rich waters of the lake h ave special features, The separate influence of these two factors was studied in 81 patients with psoriasis, The condition was assessed duri ng 4 weeks of treatment using the psoriasis area and severity index (P ASI), In subjects who only bathed in Dead Sea water the improvement wa s 28%, in those who only sunbathed it was 73%, and in those who did bo th it was 83%, The main therapeutic factor was thus shown to be sun ex posure, possibly enhanced by bathing in Dead Sea water, Similar degree s of improvement in spring, summer and autumn led to speculation about the optimum dose of solar radiation needed.