Might be doing Restylane Friday...

[CJ2008]

CJ2008, I have terrible discoloration on my neck and upper chest. It is alway very dark and discolored. It can stay red for many hours after showering or when I get hot. I forgot what the doctor called it but said they also call it red neck disease. If looks awful. Supposedly they can try to treat it with a laser. The doctor said it would cost $5,000 and if I was lucky I may see a 20% improvement. $5,000 sounded like a lot to sound for only a 20% improvement. The doctor could not guarantee I would even see that much of an approve ment. I wonder I have what you have. I have to admit I would be thrilled if it looked like yours. The doctor said it was caused by sun exposure. I have used sunscreen on my face for the past 30 years but didn't apply it to my neck or upper chest. Big mistake on my part. I never leave the house without sunscreen now, even in the dead of winter.

Callie - I made the same mistake as you - I started wearing sunscreen diligently a few years back but not as diligent at all on my neck and chest...now I am...I put it on diligently on face, neck, chest, arms and hands...(the hands and forearms get hit so hard by UV light) - every day, no matter what.

I just looked up red neck disease and it does look a little bit different than what I have...but what's funny is that I did run into a few sites that say poikiloderma (this is the correct term, not poikiderma like I had written before) is aka red neck disease. And one site says VBeam is one of the lasers that can treat it. So if I were you, I'd go to a second derm to get another opinion.

 

[CJ2008]

Glad it went well and is going well!!!

Please help me: I have facial redness and some super small broken vessels around my nose and on my chin. What kind of laser are you using? IPL? I have always thought I'd easily laser this away but I went on a website and saw pics of laser gone bad and let me tell you, its BURN UNIT TIME if it goes wrong. I live near Scottsdale, which is skin cancer/sun damage/plastic surgery capital so there should be competent medical here for lasers. I could always go back to my former employer for it (Mayo Clinic).

I used to have redness on my chest but thanks to Missy I bought rash guards this year and have worn the religiously and that red-chest thing went away. (The plastic surgeons and dermatologists where I used to work would note in the patient record that red chest effect and there is a medical term/diagnostic word for it, BTW.)

thanks azs (ok that seems wrong so I'll use your full name haha) azstonie!

And of course I'll help you my pleasure.

We use the vBeam laser. And yes - if anything goes wrong, you can get burned, you can get hyperpigmentation, a lot of things can happen.

I can tell you I've had laser for my chest about 4 times now for all over redness - 2 or 3 of those times with purpuric settings - this last time was the most aggressive treatment - I mean I look SCARY afterwards but this time some of the spots were so dark they were like dark gray before they went purple. I was on pins and needles for the first 24 hours or so - but sure enough the skin healed and even though I can still see where the laser hit (especially when I get hot and my skin gets red) I can tell it's going to go away.

I also went purpuric on my face this last time - not as aggressive as on the chest but aggressive enough that I had purpura for about 3-4 days.

HOWEVER - you don't have to go that aggressive at all - you can go less aggressive and just have more treatments. You will greatly minimize the risks that way - it just costs more time, money, etc.

I will tell you though that if you go too low you won't see any results - so at LEAST ask the Dr. if based on your skin, down time willingness, etc., you can go high enough to get erythema (I think that's what they call it) - it's when your skin goes red and puffy...

And yes, it's called poikederma...

I just bought a UPF 50+ scarf and 50+ gloves - don't get in my car without them now.

I'm kind of "done" with the diffused redness treatments so next she'll use the vBeam to hit some specific red veins by my nose and chin, just like you...but she wants me to wait at least another month since we hit the skin pretty hard last time.

Let me know if anything else!

Is your redness gone?

I am so red nowadays that my chest is pretty much looking sunburned all of the time and my face is forever flushed. It gets worse year after year. I don't drink at all... this is a hereditary thing. I would love to be a beautiful shade of pale...le sigh.

House Cat - my redness is GREATLY diminished. Definitely looks a lot better than it did before.

I looked to see if I could find some pictures for you, so you can get an idea.




Definitely not perfect...and I know the lighting is so much different...but it really looks so much better. Also remember my skin is still healing so there is still a lot of brown left over from the aggressive laser...and we have not yet hit the actual brown spots from the sun.

My face doesn't show as much a drastic change because my face was not as red as that - but my face also looks better than it did...and will look even better when I hit the red veins by the underside of my nose and sides by my nasolabial folds.

I used to drink a few glasses of wine every weekend...I don't now...well, maybe a glass of wine here and there but rarely, like every couple of months, if even that...I think that's definitely helping with the redness (I used to FEEL the wine making me flush and I could see the red coming out!)

This is the reason I am so crazy with putting sunscreen on and protecting my skin - even when other people think it's kind of going over the top. DH says I'm 50 shades of white

OH MY GOODNESS!!! You look AMAZING!!!! Wow! You have inspired me! I am just as red as your before photo! I am definitely going to look into this!

Was the laser treatment painful?

Yes, I feel the wine flush too. One of the reasons I rarely drink. I think that if I drank with some regularity, I would be purple.

Thanks, House Cat!

It hurts - yes - especially because remember, I went very aggressive with the settings.

But for me, it was still not unbearable pain - I'd say a level 5, or 6...and your skin gets really hot...downtime when you go aggressive like that is about a week to a week and a half.

Definitely if you decide to do this have your derm/doctor do a couple of test spots so you can see how your skin reacts and also so you can get an idea of what the pain level will be...wait a week and go ahead if you think you can handle it.

Yes, same with spicy foods, they can bring a flush to my face too - but I don't eat spicy that often so that's not a problem. They say to avoid hot liquids too, but no way am I ever avoiding coffee. I LOOK for coffee I do not avoid it haha