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Changes of minimal erythema dose after water and salt water baths
Author(s) -
Gambichler T.,
Schröpl F.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
photodermatology, photoimmunology and photomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.736
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1600-0781
pISSN - 0905-4383
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0781.1998.tb00022.x
Subject(s) - photosensitivity , bathing , salt (chemistry) , erythema , tap water , salt water , chemistry , linear correlation , cumulative dose , salt solution , zoology , medicine , dermatology , environmental engineering , materials science , mathematics , statistics , optoelectronics , pathology , engineering , biology
Knowledge about the influence of salt water baths on UV irradiation, especially balneophototherapy, is incomplete. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of various concentrated salt solutions on the minimal erythema dose (MED). We determined the MED dry (UVB) in 24 healthy, previously UV unexposed subjects on the inner forearm. Subjects were divided randomly into two groups of 12. Subsequently, the MED wet was assessed on each forearm after 30 min tap water or 5% salt water bath (group A), respectively, or after 30 min 10% or 20% salt water bath (group B), respectively. Compared with the MED dry , a significantly decreased MED wet , was observed after all exposures (group A? F = 18.94; P< 0.001; group B? F =11.73; P< 0.006). A maximal relative decrease in MED dry of about 51.4% was observed after the 10% salt water bath. The 5% salt solution caused a modest relative decrease in MED wet of 23.4%. We observed a markedly increased photosensitivity to UVB after all exposures, without a linear correlation between the MED and the salt water concentration. A determination of MED during balneophototherapy should be carried out after bathing in order to reduce the cumulative UV dose and to prevent acute photodamage.