ROSACEA

[Prana]

Anyone else suffer from this? I'm newly diagnosed as of last year, and it pretty much sucks. What are your tips for dealing with it?

 

[missy]

Hey girlface,
I have rosacea and I am sorry about your diagnosis. It does suck but there are ways to manage it and not let it affect your quality of life.
When I was first diagnosed in 2006 it was pretty awful. My face was flushed and burning for 4 days straight when we were on vacation hiking in Maine. I didn't know what the heck was going on. Fast forward 4 years later and things are much better. There is no cure but through trial and error and perseverance you can control your symptoms. I promise you. I am not sure if I am allowed to mention a forum that is very helpful regarding rosacea so I apologise if I am breaking any rules but it is called the Rosacea Forum. Here is the link:
http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_Forum/index.php

Mods please remove if this breaks any rules.

Girlface, what are your symptoms and what have you tried so far? Also, have you seen a dermatologist yet?
Again, there is much you can do so please do not despair.

All the best,
Melissa

 

[Prana]

Missy-thanks for responding, and for the link. I will definitely check it out!

As far as my own symptoms...now that I have a diagnosis, I think that I've had signs of it for practically all my teenage years and young 20's, but since having my first actual flare up last year, realize that it wasn't acne. I've always been red around my nose chin and cheeks, and in the past few years have started to blush and get red in the face very easily. Last year, around the beginning of October, I had a small dry, red, bumpy patch form on my lower right chin. I ignored it for a while, and it slowly spread to the other side and both sides of my nose. I tried self treating it, thinking it was acne or dry skin. It was very red and bumpy, and without proper treatment got very very very red, I looked like I had a burn or something. I tried self treating for several months, and finally went to the dermatologist. She told me it was Rosacea, and gave me a topical which worked pretty quickly at clearing it up. At the end of this past October, it began to happen again, and so far I only had a small dry area, but the topical that I have doesn't seem to be doing anything, and it seems to be spreading across my chin again and it is painful and dry and uncomfortable. I have an appointment with my derm, but she couldn't take me until December 8th! So I'm hoping to be able to control it until then.

It's just so ugly and embarrassing! I think I'm the only one who really notices it though...and unfortunately makeup just makes it look worse, and I hate wearing makeup anyways.

Thank you for sharing with me!

ETA: the topical my dermatologist put me on is called Finacea

 

[Prana]

Sorry for the back to back, but I was reading that it could be triggered by diet as well? And unfortunately, the main components of my diet are big time no-no's if you have rosacea, mainly chocolate, avocados, vanilla, vinegar, yogurt, spinach, raisins, tomatoes, certain beans, citrus fruits, pasta, cheese, spicy food- what the heck am I supposed to eat??? These are all foods that I eat and love on a daily basis! And strenuous exercise is bad too.

I'm screwed and I can't eat chocolate or guacamole to make me feel better!!!!!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Hey girlface,

I was diagnosed with Rosacea over two years ago. It's not something that will ever go away, unfortunately. You just have to keep using those topical medications (I use Finacea in the morning and Metrogel at night) and manage your external triggers.

Diet, weather, and exercise can definitely cause flare-ups.

For diet, I was given a list of 'trigger' foods exactly like the list you provided above plus more (red wine, vodka, coffee, tea, vinegar, soy sauce, etc.... The list was endless!). I avoided them for 2 weeks and then slowly introduced them back into my diet to see which ones caused a reaction. For me it was tomatoes and oranges that were particularly noticeable so I try to limit how much I eat of those.

I also had reactions to facial products and shampoos with mint or citrus as an ingredient. I remember trying out a new shampoo that was recommended for my hair-type and while it was great for the hair, I ended up with these crazy rash-like bumps along my hairline. Turns out there was citrus in it. I read the ingredients for all products now.

For weather, I always make sure I have sunscreen on. (The one I use is in the winter is a moisturizer with sunscreen built in.) I 'try' to wear a hat in the sun (usually only when I'm at the beach). In the winter, I don't live in an area that is too affected by wind and I'm not much of a skier.

I've learned to simplify my face washing routine. Too many products irritate the skin. I use Purpose Face Wash, then Finacea/Metrogel, ending with Purpose Moisturizer. I also use Bare Escentials make-up when a flare-up is particularly bad as it helps minimize the redness without irritating it more.

I hope it gets better for you soon! I remember how bad I felt before I was diagnosed. It was a horrible feeling.

 

[missy]

Sorry for the back to back, but I was reading that it could be triggered by diet as well? And unfortunately, the main components of my diet are big time no-no's if you have rosacea, mainly chocolate, avocados, vanilla, vinegar, yogurt, spinach, raisins, tomatoes, certain beans, citrus fruits, pasta, cheese, spicy food- what the heck am I supposed to eat??? These are all foods that I eat and love on a daily basis! And strenuous exercise is bad too.

I'm screwed and I can't eat chocolate or guacamole to make me feel better!!!!!

Your rosacea triggers are going to be very specific to you so don't despair as all of those foods may or may not be a trigger for you.
There is no universal trigger for everyone. My food/drink triggers are anything that is spicy or hot in temperature and alcohol. Unfortunately chocolate does cause me to break out in a few papules but that is it for my food triggers. I can eat spinach, vanilla, raisins, beans etc without any issues.

I also work out every day without any exacerbation. My face gets pink but the key is to keep the temperature cool while I am working out and in fact, I feel that exercise actually helps my rosacea.

I have been taking Oracea for about 4 years now which is low dose submicrobial (submicrobial means that there is no antibiotic activity so does not cause those issues with resistance and digestive issues) doxycycline. It helps keep my face clear but does not help with the flushing and burning I experience when I get stressed or warm. For me my biggest trigger is going from a cooler environment to a warmer one as that temp change causes my face to burn and flush. I do what I can to keep my environmental temp constant and wearing a face mask outside in the winter is a huge help to this end. Biggest issue now is all that darn indoor heating. Huge trigger. People love heat inside as soon as the temperature outside drops and that is the toughest one to deal with. I keep a fan on my desk at work and that helps as well.

CD is absolutely correct when she wrote about using as few products as possible and keeping it simple. Our sensitive skin hates anything harsh and the less the better. And sunblock is a must all year round. I find that the physical sunblocks work best (ie without any chemicals just physical ingredients- zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide). I use Eucerin redness cleansing gel to wash my face and vanicream sensitive sunblock spf 60. I moisturize with Eucerin cream (in the tub) or CeraVe cream depending on the level of dryness. Winter causes my skin to get very dry so Eucerin is the only moisturizer that works during this time of year. For makeup I keep it simple and use Dermablend in ivory to cover any blemishes. You will have to experiment with products (one at a time) to see what will work best for you as I wrote before we all have different sensitivities and that is one of the most frustrating aspects of having rosacea. There is no universal treatment/product/trigger for any of us.

This link discusses possible dietary triggers but as I wrote it is so individual that I wouldn't cross anything off the list until I knew for sure that it is a trigger.
http://rosacea-research.org/wiki/index.php?title=Dietary_Influence

and this link gives a helpful general overview of rosacea and its treatments:
http://rosacea-research.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

And please don't despair. You will find treatments that work for you!!

Best,
Melissa

 

[Prana]

Thank you both for your replies. I plan to continue to use the finacea, and cut out all those possible triggers for a couple of weeks and then slowly reintroduce them back into my diet. I have a feeling my trigger might be chocolate and possibly citrus-I think I might actually be using a shampoo right now that has citrus in it, and I just finished up a bottle that had mint in it, so maybe that was part of the problem this time as well. My skin care regimen is pretty good, I don't use anything harsh on my face, I find that dove soap for washing has been the best for me so far because it is mild, and I use the cetaphil cream in the tub for moisturizing. I have to look into a face moisturizer with sunscreen, and will definitely try out what you both have recommended. Thanks again!

 

[geckodani]

My sister has rosacea, and has had really good luck with the Clinique line of redness reducing products.

http://sephora.com/search/search_re...solutions&_DARGS=/includes/searchFinder.jhtml

 

[Prana]

Thanks Gecko! I've heard good things about that clinique line as well. Looks like I've got a lot of trials to do! (and a lot of money to spend )

 

[geckodani]

If you get the Clinique stuff at a department store or Sephora, you can always take it back if it doesn't work out for you! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Mara]

I have yet to get to a dermo, but I think that I am starting to get rosacea. My skin has changed since pregnancy and baby, and I notice on the apples of my cheeks is tending to red with smallish bumps and if I wear lotions or makeup on that area it gets worse. I have always had reddish apples but it's definitely much more noticeable now. Doesn't seem to matter what types of lotions--but all the old ones I used to use are a no no now.

A friend sells the Rodane and Fields line and they have something called Soothe which I was tempted to try, it has photos showing 2 week results of less redness, and is supposedly good for light rosacea. I am torn between trying this to see, OR going into a dermo, getting diagnosed and finding out what they recommend.

Does it always get worse over time or is it possible for it to stay more mild as it is now for me? I have only been thinking about this in passing, so really know nothing about it. Timely thread.

I did have a friend who had rosacea and I remember her complaining about it but it was really not even noticeable to me. I think we tend to be harder on ourselves than people who see us.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My friend had some similar problem that went away after she eliminated all products containing Sodium Laurel Sulfate. Both face and hair products. I'm not sure what she uses now, but she gets most of her stuff from health foods stores/natural food section of grocery store.

 

[missy]

I have yet to get to a dermo, but I think that I am starting to get rosacea. My skin has changed since pregnancy and baby, and I notice on the apples of my cheeks is tending to red with smallish bumps and if I wear lotions or makeup on that area it gets worse. I have always had reddish apples but it's definitely much more noticeable now. Doesn't seem to matter what types of lotions--but all the old ones I used to use are a no no now.

A friend sells the Rodane and Fields line and they have something called Soothe which I was tempted to try, it has photos showing 2 week results of less redness, and is supposedly good for light rosacea. I am torn between trying this to see, OR going into a dermo, getting diagnosed and finding out what they recommend.

Does it always get worse over time or is it possible for it to stay more mild as it is now for me? I have only been thinking about this in passing, so really know nothing about it. Timely thread.

I did have a friend who had rosacea and I remember her complaining about it but it was really not even noticeable to me. I think we tend to be harder on ourselves than people who see us.

Hi Mara,
You're right. We do tend to be our own worst critics.

There are different severities of rosacea. Your friend sounds like hers is mild. Some people don't progress but for the most part you are better off going to a good derm to see what treatments might help keep things calm.

There is a lot of helpful info contained in the links in my previous posts.
Feel free to ask any questions that come up. Unfortunately I am an expert re rosacea

 

[missy]

ok can I just say how hard it is reading and responding on these darn smartphones!
Everything is so tiny and the littlest wrong move and it all gets messed up!

 

[Prana]

again, I really appreciate evreyone's replies. Thank you! And I'm sorry to the others who are going through this as well...it's very embarrassing and annoying and just.....blech!

 

[movie zombie]

catching up on e-mail and remembered i saw a thread here re rosacea. hope this helps:

http://www.naturalnews.com/030424_rosacea_essential_oils.html

MoZo

 

[Prana]

catching up on e-mail and remembered i saw a thread here re rosacea. hope this helps:

http://www.naturalnews.com/030424_rosacea_essential_oils.html

MoZo

Thank you MZ!!

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

Hey, thanks for posting this topic. I have these weird scaly dry spots around my nose on both sides (like after you have a cold for a week and blow your nose too much) and have been wondering lately if i have some sort of skin infection since they just don't go away. I scrub the dry skin peelies off and cover the red with makeup when I need to look good, but it has not gone away for months and I've had random spots like this before, usually when I change climates. Anyways, I always thought rosacea was when people have red ruddy cheeks and didn't know that it could present on other parts of the face. maybe I have it, and I can do something to get rid of these annoying spots! Thanks!

 

[Prana]

Guilty Pleasure, it sound like you might have rosacea! I've always had rendess on the sides of my nose, to the point where people would always be asking me if I had been in cold weather because I'd always be red. Then last year I got those little bumps that you have, except on my chin! I hope that you can get it under control!

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

The skin around my nose has blood vessels showing too, so I bet that is what it is. It's not super serious, but as I look back at pictures, I realize that I've had the redness around my nose for years. I'm going to try the Clinique regime for redness and see what happens. Thanks!