What is PUVA?
PUVA or photochemotherapy is a type of ultraviolet radiation treatment (phototherapy) used for severe skin diseases.
PUVA is a combination treatment which consists of Psoralens (P) and then exposing the skin to UVA (long wave ultraviolet radiation). It has been available in its present form since 1976.
Psoralens are compounds found in many plants which make the skin temporarily sensitive to UVA. The ancient Egyptians were the first to use psoralens for the treatment of skin diseases thousands of years ago. Medicine psoralens include methoxsalen (8-methoxypsoralen), 5-methoxypsoralen and trisoralen.
Blistery Margarita Burn Isn’t A Drink; It’s a Disease
The names for this disease are plentiful. Officially, and by officially we mean in medical textbooks, the condition is called phytophotodermatitis.
But it’s also called lime disease, lemonitis and margarita rash – or margarita burn or margarita dermatitis or margarita-itis.
All of the names boil down to this basic fact: There are plant juices out there – most often of the citrus variety, such as lime and lemon – that don’t react well when they hit the skin and then are exposed to sunlight.
Burns and blisters, severe blisters, can emerge. Entire hands can swell up. Pain and inflammation will wreak havoc. And people will have no idea what in the world happened to their skin.
In the dermatology community, phytophotodermatitis is well known. But among everyday users of citrus fruits, it most definitely is not.
Whole-body PUVA
For oral PUVA, methoxsalen capsules are taken two hours before the appointment for treatment. For bathwater PUVA, the patient soaks in a bath containing a solution of psoralens. In most cases, treatment is undertaken two or three times each week.
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii – Doesn’t like lime juice…8)
This thing looks like a precursor to giardia lamblia.
Linalool- and α-terpineol-induced programmed cell death in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Algaecide, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Linalool, Programmed cell death, α-Terpineol, apoptosis