What Is Acne Rosacea

Rosacea, or acne rosacea, is a skin trouble leading to redness and pimples on the nose, forehead, cheekbones, and chin. The reddened pimples and redness of rosacea can look a great deal like acne, but blackheads are almost never present. It is a very widespread skin disorder. Rosacea is most common in white women between the age group of 30 and 60. When it occurs in men, it tends to be more severe and may ultimately cause the nose to become red and enlarged. Fair-skinned individuals and people who go red easily seem to be more vulnerable to this condition.

Rosacea becomes increasingly worse in many of those affected. The real cause of rosacea is thought to be a tendency to blush in a person with sun damage. Sun damages the supporting fibers of the small blood vessels present below the surface of the skin, letting the vessels to stretch out. The damaged blood vessels pour out fluid when flushing occurs, resulting in blotchy red areas. Swelling takes place, but is not generally so prominent to be very visible. The first sign most people notice are tiny red pimples and pustules. The redness could be temporary and can be tender, swollen and sensitive to the touch. Eventually the redness can become permanent.

Flushing triggers include a steady diet of hot beverages, spicy food, alcohol, too much of prescription steroids, physical and mental stress, extremes of weather, harsh soaps, exfoliating creams, and hot baths.

Rosacea can have an effect on the eyes as well. How badly the rosacea affects the eye is not related to how severe the facial rosacea is. Symptoms that suggest ocular (eye) rosacea include a feeling of dryness and grittiness in the eyes and inflamed bumps on the lids. A constant burning feeling, red eyes and light sensitivity indicate that the problem is of rosacea keratitis.

Treatment includes evasion of anything that makes a person flush and known precipitants of flare-ups. Overheating due to direct sun, excess clothing, hot foods are also a cause for the problem. We should avoid hot showers, saunas, excessively warm surroundings, and extremes of weather.

Foods that activate such problem includes fermented products high in histamine such as vinegar, yogurt, sour cream, dry cheese, soy sauce, yeast extract, certain vegetables and fruits like eggplant, avocados, spinach, broad-leaf beans and pods, including lima, navy or pea, citrus fruits, tomatoes, bananas, red plums, raisins or figs, spicy hot food, chocolate, vanilla, and liver. Other factors include prescription medications vasodilators, menopausal flushing, chronic coughing, and emotional stress and anxiety.

Treatment does control rosacea in most cases. It is possible to control symptoms and keep rosacea from getting worse. Rosacea comes back in most of the patients in weeks to months of stopping treatment unless all causes have been stopped or avoided.

The most effective treatments are oral tetracycline and antibiotics and low-dose oral Accutane. Mild cases can be controlled by gels or creams such as Metro gel, Cleocin-T, Azelex. For some women, hormone replacement pills may be given to reduce menopausal hot flushes. Much progress has been made in coming years. Regular visits are recommended for most rosacea patients.

• Felicia Byrnes
• 10/05/2009, 9:59 PM
• 0 Comments