rosacea

Just what is rosacea ?

Rosacea (said rose-ay-shah) is a potentially progressive neurovascular disorder that generally affects the facial skin and eyes. The most common symptoms include facial redness and inflammation across the flushing zone - usually the nose, cheeks, chin and forehead ; visibly dilated blood vessels, facial swelling and burning sensations, and inflammatory papules and pustules.

Rosacea can develop gradually as mild episodes of facial blushing or flushing which, over time, may lead to a permanently red face.

Ocular rosacea can affect both the eye surface and eyelid. Symptoms can include redness, dry eyes, foreign body sensations, sensitivity of the eye surface, burning sensations and eyelid symptoms such as chalazia, styes, redness, crusting and loss of eyelashes.

source: rosacea frequently asked questions

What is officially called rosacea ?

A panel of experts have agreed on a standard classification system for Rosacea. This is the best place to start to read what symptoms are broadly considered to be rosacea. There are other symptoms also, but this is the official list of symptoms.

Rosacea has varying levels of severity. In an attempt to have patients and doctors talk in the same language there is also an official standard grading system for rosacea.

How can Rosacea be treated ?

The best answer is “working with the support of your registered health professional”. There are medications available that control the redness and reduce the number of papules and pustules associated with rosacea.

Current run-of-the-mill treatment might include oral antibiotics and topical metronidazole. One study showed that the use of topical metronidazole alone can help some sufferers to reduce rosacea flare-ups once the rosacea is brought under control.

For those sufferers that do not benefit from the metronidazole based treatments, there are many other options. Quite a few treatments options are often discussed on the rosacea support email group.

Experts agree that a gentle cleansing regime is very important. Avoiding chemicals that aggravate the rosacea, but will clean and moisturise the skin is a step in the right direction. See also: mild cleanser is important.

As the sun is a strong trigger for many rosacea sufferers, a good non-irritating sunscreen used daily is very important. For those who react badly to chemical sunscreens, a physical sunscreen may be more suitable. Physical sunscreens rely on the reflective properties of the main ingredients (rather than the ability of some chemicals to absorb the sun’s energy). The most common physical sunscreens are based on zinc oxide or titatinium dioxide.

The vitamin A derivative isotretinoin (known as Accutane or Roaccutane), has been shown to be effective against severe papopustular rosacea. It works by inhibiting sebaceous gland function and physically shrinking the glands. It also has potent anti-inflammatory properties, making it ideal to treat resistant rosacea. At low doses, accutane has also been shown to reduce other symptoms such as facial burning and redness. Accutane is a strong drug, and even at the low doses found beneficial to rosacea, should be used under strict supervision of your doctor.

Low does accutane may be more suitable than the regular dose, as there are less side effects and lesser chance of aggravating redness. See also dramatic results with low dose accutane and focus on low-dose accutane.

The mixed light pulse laser - Photoderm is showing promise as a treatment for the vascular component of rosacea. It works by targeting facial microvessels that are damaged.

What does rosacea look like ?

Here are some examples of what rosacea symptoms look like.


There are several excellent sites on the internet that contain information about rosacea

• National Rosacea Society
  
• Rosacea Support Group
• Rosacea Support Resource Pages