What is rosacea?
Rosacea is a standard, chronic skin condition that causes facial inflammation and redness. It often starts with redness on the cheeks and nose, and also can affect the brow and chin. The late comedian WC Fields, known for his wicked wit and red, bulbous nose, had a complicated case of rosacea.
Rosacea affects white adults between the ages of 30 and 50 who’ve a “peaches and cream” complexion and a history of blushing easily. Women develop rosacea more often than men, but men are more apt to develop a lumpy, enlarged nose, a condition called rhinophyma. Rosacea is commonly mistaken for sunburn and infrequently goes undiagnosed. This is a highly treatable condition.
Symptoms of Rosacea
There are 4 progressive stages of rosacea:
- Stage 1 – Flushing and intermittent redness of the face
- Stage 2 – Persistent redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or brow
- Stage 3 – Small, pus-colored or red bumps together with small blood vessels that appear as red, thin lines called telangiectasias.
- Stage 4 – Nasal wrinkles and thickening of the skin.
Here is an in depth have a look at probably the most common symptoms of rosacea.
- Headline – Redness of the facial skin that appears like a sunburn or blush. This is brought on by flushing, which occurs when more blood flows quickly through the skin's blood vessels and the arteries dilate to handle the flow. Gradually this redness becomes more outstanding and doesn’t go away. Facial skin also can turn out to be very dry.
- Pimples and papules – Small, red and firm “papules” or pus-filled “pimples” may appear on the face, much like juvenile pimples. In fact, rosacea is commonly nicknamed adult pimples or pimples rosacea. Rosacea has different causes than pimples, nevertheless, and adults with rosacea would not have the whiteheads or blackheads (called comedones) commonly seen in pimples.
- Red lines (telangiectasias) – Facial blushing or flushing causes small blood vessels to dilate and show through the skin. These enlarged blood vessels appear as thin red lines (telangiectasias) on the face, especially on the cheeks. At first, telangiectasias could also be hidden by redness or blushing, but they sometimes reappear after the redness wears off.
- Nasal spots – Left untreated, rosacea can eventually cause small, bumpy bumps on the nose, making the nose appear swollen. This condition is more common in men and known as rhinophyma.
- Eye irritation – About half of individuals with rosacea develop red, dry eyes. Eye involvement is generally relatively mild. Rarely, severe eye involvement develops. If left untreated, it may possibly affect vision.
Diagnosing Rosacea
A health care provider can often diagnose rosacea based on the history of flushing and the looks of your skin. In the early stages of rosacea, the rash can sometimes be mistaken for sunburn, pimples, menopausal hot flashes or allergies to cosmetics.
Expected duration of rosacea
Symptoms of rosacea often come and go in cycles, often triggered by substances and situations that cause a rash on the face. By getting early medical help and following medical treatment, you possibly can improve your skin condition and maybe even stop, or reverse, the progression of the condition.
Prevention of rosacea
Although a recent study found fewer cases of rosacea in individuals who drank caffeinated coffee, there is no such thing as a proven solution to prevent rosacea. Symptoms will be reduced by recognizing these common triggers: hot drinks, alcohol, spicy foods, stress, sunlight, extreme heat or cold. These conditions increase blood flow and cause the small blood vessels within the face to dilate. If you’ve gotten rosacea, attempt to discover your specific triggers and either modify them or avoid them altogether.
To clean and moisturize your face, you need to select facial products that don't irritate, sting, irritate, or cause redness when applied. You should wash your face with lukewarm water and a gentle soap, using your fingers to softly apply the soap. You should avoid toners, astringents, scrubs, exfoliating agents and products that contain alcohol or acetone. Hydroxy acids and tretinoin (eg, retin A) could make the skin more sensitive to the sun and worsen rosacea.
Sunscreen and sunblocks ought to be used repeatedly and liberally to guard the face. Use a sunscreen with an SPF factor of 30 or higher. If chemical sunscreens cause stinging, switch to physical sunblocks, which contain titanium or zinc oxide.
Treatment of rosacea
Depending in your symptoms, your doctor may recommend the next:
- Brimonidine (Mrvasu) Or oxymetazoline (Rhofade) – These topical medications constrict the blood vessels and may work best for the facial redness of rosacea.
- Topical antimicrobials – Topical metronidazole cream or gel (MetroCream, MetroGel) is probably the most beneficial first-line therapy. Other options include topical ivermectin (Scalise or Solantra) or sodium sulfacetamide (Claron and others), especially for rosacea characterised by pimples and papules.
- Azelaic acid It is a topical gel that comprises dicarboxylic acid and is used for the inflammatory pimples of mild to moderate rosacea.
- Oral antibiotics — Tetracycline and tetracycline derivatives, akin to doxycycline, are prescription medications taken by mouth a couple of times a day. They are sold under several brand names. Improvement is generally noticeable inside the first two months after starting treatment.
- Beta blockers and alpha antagonists – These drugs can reduce flushing through their effect on the blood vessels. Propranolol (Inderal) and nadolol (Corgard) are beta-blockers, and clonidine (Catapres) is an alpha antagonist. The use of those medications for rosacea is off-label, meaning the FDA has not approved their use for rosacea. Beta blockers are commonly used to treat hypertension and heart disease. Clonidine was developed to treat hypertension, but it is usually used to scale back hot flashes in menopause.
- Estrogen – When prescribed for other menopausal symptoms, this feminine hormone will help when menopausal hot flashes aggravate rosacea. The lowest dose of estrogen that controls menopausal symptoms ought to be used, then the hormone stopped when hot flashes don’t occur.
- Laser treatment – It is used to eliminate dilated blood vessels or remove excess nasal tissue.
- Surgical procedures Surgical shave techniques or dermabrasion may be helpful in removing excess nasal tissue in rhinophyma.
When to Call a Professional
Contact your doctor if you’ve gotten persistent facial redness, or in case your complexion has persistent rashes and red, dry, itchy patches. Also call your doctor in the event you suspect that persistent redness in your cheeks just isn’t resulting from the sun or your tendency to blush easily. Remember, it's easy to misdiagnose rosacea as pimples, and using over-the-counter pimples medications could make your rosacea itchy skin that's already dry and sensitive worse.
Assessment
The development of rosacea varies from individual to individual, depending on aspects akin to genetics, skin sensitivity, skin tone, time spent within the sun without sunscreen, consumption of alcohol and spicy foods, and extreme heat and cold. Exposure to temperature occurs. With proper treatment and avoidance of triggers, rosacea can often be well controlled.
Additional information
National Rosacea Society
https://www.rosacea.org/
American Academy of Dermatology
https://www.aad.org/