Post Your Experience Using UV-B For Vitamin D Exposure

[LeeLemonoil]

@Memento

I see many people keeping reptiles and talked to a Red-light therapy guy, they all say that Exo-Terra mercury lamps often explode or break under semi heavy-duty application. Wouldn’t want that happening near my face

 

[Atman]

Is there any additional benefit from UV exposure except for vitamin D? If not, why risk the skin damage?
Why not use a vitamin D supplement and a red light device instead?

 

[YourUniverse]

Is there any additional benefit from UV exposure except for vitamin D? If not, why risk the skin damage?
Why not use a vitamin D supplement and a red light device instead?

I got one because it seemed like a cheaper solution long term, but you're right

 

[Lejeboca]

Is there any additional benefit from UV exposure except for vitamin D? If not, why risk the skin damage?
Why not use a vitamin D supplement and a red light device instead?

UV light is anti-bacterial and anti-viral of a wide spectrum that is hard to replicate with topical/ingested antibiotics and antivirals.

 

[Memento]

Supplemental vitamin D does exactly nothing for me, sunlight makes me feel amazing. I have a suspicion that there is a lot more to light than just vitamin D synthesis, if you look at some of the links posted and look at vit d metabolites and intermediates, they might have some functions too.

What I wonder now if the UVA/UVB ratio of sunlight has any significance to secondary products and should I add more blue and UVA to my lighting to mimic the effects of sunlight.

edit:

And I seem to have overdone it, even with the bulb quite far away and halogen light for protection at the same time. Here is a quick guide from vitamindwiki:

• UV Skin light is 100X more powerful than sunlight
  (Wonder: at noon, at equator, in summer?)
• keep at least 2 feet away
• initially: once per week, work up to 3 times per week
  (Suspect this is not necessary if you already have an adequate amount of vitamin D)
• Never use with reflector or foil
  (wonder why? Perhaps because it increases the intensity even more?)
• Always use with a time (not provided)
• A session might consist of 30 seconds per side: front, right, back, left
• keep away from temporary color dies of wall paper, paint, fabric and carpet which could bleach
  (similar to bleaching of dies in sunlight - but apparently much faster)
• they recommend that bulb will slowly dim at 300 hours and should be replaced.

Vitamin D from low-cost UVB lamps | VitaminDWiki

Science-based Vitamin D

vitamindwiki.com

 

[Peroxphos]

Supplemental vitamin D does exactly nothing for me, sunlight makes me feel amazing. I have a suspicion that there is a lot more to light than just vitamin D synthesis, if you look at some of the links posted and look at vit d metabolites and intermediates, they might have some functions too.

What I wonder now if the UVA/UVB ratio of sunlight has any significance to secondary products and should I add more blue and UVA to my lighting to mimic the effects of sunlight.

edit:

And I seem to have overdone it, even with the bulb quite far away and halogen light for protection at the same time. Here is a quick guide from vitamindwiki:

Vitamin D from low-cost UVB lamps | VitaminDWiki

Science-based Vitamin D

vitamindwiki.com

What makes you suspect you overdid it?

 

[Dutchie]

For people not into tech stuff (*raises hand*)
What's a good,preferably cheap option in Europe for a lamp?

I'd been pondering a reptile lamp,but since they're prone to explode,that's not an option. I have a red (heat)lamp,which is nice during the cold days but other than that I feel that it doesn't do a thing for me.
During the Summer I felt that the sunlight was so healing for me. Neurologically, energy/strength wise,positive vibes, it even seemed like my layer of fat was decreasing.
Before someone recommends vit.D supplement, I've taken D and it didn't have the same effect at all and ultimately turned on me. Besides, I get a good amount of D3 daily through food.

 

[Memento]

What makes you suspect you overdid it?

Skin damage.

For people not into tech stuff (*raises hand*)
What's a good,preferably cheap option in Europe for a lamp?

I'd been pondering a reptile lamp,but since they're prone to explode,that's not an option. I have a red (heat)lamp,which is nice during the cold days but other than that I feel that it doesn't do a thing for me.
During the Summer I felt that the sunlight was so healing for me. Neurologically, energy/strength wise,positive vibes, it even seemed like my layer of fat was decreasing.
Before someone recommends vit.D supplement, I've taken D and it didn't have the same effect at all and ultimately turned on me. Besides, I get a good amount of D3 daily through food.

Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb 12 UV B 23 Watt E27 Compact Lamp | eBay

Vind fantastische aanbiedingen voor Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb 12 UV B 23 Watt E27 Compact Lamp. Winkel met vertrouwen.

www.ebay.nl

Fluorescent tubes are safer than mercury lamps, I bought the T5 version just because it was tested by the uvguide people. Not much help knowing the output though if you overdo it anyways.

 

[Dutchie]

Skin damage.

Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb 12 UV B 23 Watt E27 Compact Lamp | eBay

Vind fantastische aanbiedingen voor Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb 12 UV B 23 Watt E27 Compact Lamp. Winkel met vertrouwen.

www.ebay.nl

Fluorescent tubes are safer than mercury lamps, I bought the T5 version just because it was tested by the uvguide people. Not much help knowing the output though if you overdo it anyways.

Thanks.....Arcadia is a brand I've never seen here, will search if I can find it here. I can't buy it from the eBay link bc it comes from the UK since they're no longer part of the EU ....and customs is acting weird here.

 

[Peroxphos]

Skin damage.

You got a UVB-induced sunburn?

Is that from some dose of a high UVB reptile lamp? Which lamp & what dose?

It seems there are 4 classes of reptile UVB lamps :
- 15.0 (very high UVB/UVA ratio)
- 10.0/desert (high UVB/UVA ratio)
- 5.0/tropical (moderate UVB/UVA ratio)
- 2.0 (low UVB/UVA ratio)

I understand that a lower UVB/UVA ratio reduces vit.D synthesis speed (for an equal vit.D UVB dose), and increases tan formation, which also reduces vit.D synthesis speed and increases sunburn threshold dose. So more UVA would tan and reduce sunburn risks, but also reduce vit.D synthesis.

Also to reduce sunburn risk, you can try using some kind of sunscreen such as topical niacinamide/caffeine/salycilic acid mix like Idealabs Solban.

The Sperti lamp which has FDA approval has some UVB/UVA ratio but I'm not sure if it's closer to 10.0/desert or 5.0/tropical. They recommend gradual exposure increase, every other day, up to 5 minutes every other day. They recommend alternating the skin area exposed, and regularly check for burning which would suggest the dose is currently too high.

I measured the Sperti output with a vit.D-weighted UVB meter (Solarmeter 6.4), and at the recommended distance (45 cm), it measures 100 UI/minute per 10% skin, on the whole abdomen.
To get the same vit.D-weighted UVB output, I need about 10 reptile desert/tropical UVB lamps of 25 watts, slightly closer (30 cm).
But I can't measure the UVA yet.

 

[Redroad]

This is an extremely interesting piece of the puzzle.

 

[Peroxphos]

I forgot to mention, I also measured the vit.D-weighted UVB output of the Osram Vitalux 300W. It was very high (170 IU/min per 10% skin) at ~50cm distance. So you would need to put it even farther away than that if you take the Sperti's 100 UI/10%skin as guidance for safety. Anyway I don't use it for vit.D as the spectrum seems too dangerously unbalanced, with too much terrestrial and non-terrestrial UVB.

 

[Redroad]

Skin damage.

Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb 12 UV B 23 Watt E27 Compact Lamp | eBay

Vind fantastische aanbiedingen voor Arcadia D3 Compact Bulb 12 UV B 23 Watt E27 Compact Lamp. Winkel met vertrouwen.

www.ebay.nl

Fluorescent tubes are safer than mercury lamps, I bought the T5 version just because it was tested by the uvguide people. Not much help knowing the output though if you overdo it anyways.

Is there a reason why mercury lamps aren’t as safe? And if it’s a obvious thing I apologize I just started learning about uv lamps. Thanks

 

[golder]

RAWG UV Tool - Mercury Vapour Lamps - Osram UltraVitalux

www.uvguide.co.uk

Osram has plenty of UV output, though it might not be safe for few reasons: "spiky" spectrum, non-terrestrial UVB (wavelengths below 290nm), low UVA to control vitamin D synthesis, spectrum also falls well within the action spectrum for DNA damage. Some mercury vapor lamps also emit in UV-C spectrum and I don't know if the outer layer can degrade in a way that will increase that portion over time. I used a different kind of mercury vapor lamp to generate ozone with the outer layer removed.

I chose this for above reasons and for the tested output at given distance:

RAWG UV Tool - Fluorescent Tubes - Arcadia D3+ 12%UVB T5

www.uvguide.co.uk

Memento. Great insights from you in this thread, thank you. I've noticed that Arcadia bulb is also avaliable in a 55w version: Amazon product ASIN B01BI39UPSWhat are your thoughts on this compared to the 24w? Thanks in advance!

 

[Memento]

You got a UVB-induced sunburn?

Is that from some dose of a high UVB reptile lamp? Which lamp & what dose?

It seems there are 4 classes of reptile UVB lamps :
- 15.0 (very high UVB/UVA ratio)
- 10.0/desert (high UVB/UVA ratio)
- 5.0/tropical (moderate UVB/UVA ratio)
- 2.0 (low UVB/UVA ratio)

I understand that a lower UVB/UVA ratio reduces vit.D synthesis speed (for an equal vit.D UVB dose), and increases tan formation, which also reduces vit.D synthesis speed and increases sunburn threshold dose. So more UVA would tan and reduce sunburn risks, but also reduce vit.D synthesis.

Also to reduce sunburn risk, you can try using some kind of sunscreen such as topical niacinamide/caffeine/salycilic acid mix like Idealabs Solban.

The Sperti lamp which has FDA approval has some UVB/UVA ratio but I'm not sure if it's closer to 10.0/desert or 5.0/tropical. They recommend gradual exposure increase, every other day, up to 5 minutes every other day. They recommend alternating the skin area exposed, and regularly check for burning which would suggest the dose is currently too high.

I measured the Sperti output with a vit.D-weighted UVB meter (Solarmeter 6.4), and at the recommended distance (45 cm), it measures 100 UI/minute per 10% skin, on the whole abdomen.
To get the same vit.D-weighted UVB output, I need about 10 reptile desert/tropical UVB lamps of 25 watts, slightly closer (30 cm).
But I can't measure the UVA yet.

I wouldn't call my skins response a sunburn. Just too much cumulative radiation for first week causing something weird.

What does that 10% skin mean in that context? I would expect spertis spectrum to be more optimal but that sounds like a huge difference.

I would likely pick a bulb with more UVA now. Maybe a 55w version with 6% UVB. I wouldn't mind using it longer for same vitamin d synthesis.

Hydroxylumisterols, Photoproducts of Pre-Vitamin D3, Protect Human Keratinocytes against UVB-Induced Damage

Lumisterol (L3) is a stereoisomer of 7-dehydrocholesterol and is produced through the photochemical transformation of 7-dehydrocholesteol induced by high doses of UVB. L3 is enzymatically hydroxylated by CYP11A1, producing 20(OH)L3, 22(OH)L3, 20,22(OH)2L3, and 24(OH)L3. Hydroxylumisterols...

www.mdpi.com

 

[Peroxphos]

What does that 10% skin mean in that context?

The number of IU of vit.D generated by a given UVB power depends on the amount of skin area exposed, and the sensor doesn't know how much skin you are exposing.

So they convert the measured UVB power, to an equivalent in IU of vit.D if you had 10% of your skin exposed, with a few assumptions (young skin, not damaged, etc.).

So if you expose the whole abdomen maybe you get 3 times the dose shown by the sensor.

What's nice is that the sensor applies a weighting to the UVB power that matches (not perfectly) the bandpass response of the UVB-vit.D conversion that peaks at a certain wavelength.

But really I don't know if those IU have the same impact than the same number of IU taken by navel route or oral route.

 

[Zpol]

I just got the standard vit D blood test. Below are my results. I have been using solely my SPERTI nUVB light, no vit D supplements and no sunlight (because it's winter, January 15th). I use the lamp 5 min per day, alternating front and back sides. I'm petite and pale skin, others might need more time.

25 HYDROXY VITAMIN D

Your Value51.1 ng/mL

 

[Sulcuscentralis]

I just got the standard vit D blood test. Below are my results. I have been using solely my SPERTI nUVB light, no vit D supplements and no sunlight (because it's winter, January 15th). I use the lamp 5 min per day, alternating front and back sides. I'm petite and pale skin, others might need more time.

25 HYDROXY VITAMIN D

Your Value51.1 ng/mL

Awesome, thanks!

 

[marko9437]

Is it safe for the eyes?

I picked up one years ago but then almost never used it because didn't know its effect on the eyes.