What is Rosacea?
Rosacea is a long term disease that effects the skin and sometimes the eyes. Yes, one of its characteristics is redness. But you can also have pimples and in its advance stages the skin thickens. Usually, this disease only affects the skin of the face.
But did you know that 14 million people in the United Sates is suffering from this disease. Mainly it strikes women ages thirty to sixty. It particularly strikes women who are also suffering from menopause. Men don’t usually suffer from this disease. t also can develop in people of any skin color. Yet, mostly really fair skinned women suffers from it.
Rosacea has a few stages. In the beginning stages, one who suffers from it usually has flushing in the center of their face, which could include the nose, forehead, cheeks and chin area. This can also be accompanied with a burning sensation particularly when creams or lotions is applied. One fact that isn’t as often known is sometimes ones face can swell slightly, too.
A condition called vascular rosacea is the next stage. When this occurs the flushing is more persistent and the redness is more noticeable. What happens is this stage is that the blood vessels under the skin of the face may dilate (enlarge) and can sometimes be seen through the skin as small red lines. The affected area may swell slightly and feel warm, too.
Inflammatory rosacea causes persistent redness, pink bumps and bumps containing pus to form on the skin. Ones eyes could become inflame and become more sensitive to light.
In the advance stages of rosacea the skin becomes a deeper shade of red and inflammation of the eyes are more frequent.
Besides the skin problems, fifty percent of the people who has rosacea have eye problems. Typical symptoms are: redness, dryness, itching, burning, tearing and the feeling like their is sand in their eyes. The eyelids can also become inflamed and swollen. Sensitivity toward light and blurred vision may also become much worse.
Researchers aren’t sure of all the causes of rosace. But they believe that inheredity plays a significant part. Also it is well known that people who blush frequently are very likely to develop rosacea over time.
People who have rosacea has reported that some outside factors does aggravate it. These factors could be any of the following or a mixture of the following: sunlight, stress, strenuous exercise, wind, very cold temperatures, hot and spicy foods and even menopause.
The sad part is that rosacea can not be cured. It can be treated, usually by dermatologists. Their goal is to improve one’s appearance. It can take several weeks to months for improvement to be seen.
Usually, the dermatologist will start a patient with rosacea on topical antibiotics such as metronidazole which is applied directly onto the problem area. If the rosacea is severe enough the dermatologist may also prescribe oral antibiotics such as tetracycline or doxycycline.
Some people who have rosacea has also reported that zinc seems to help them. Usually, zinc is bought in a cream formula and applied to the affected area. But some people also buy zinc tablets and take them orally. But be warned zinc is not supposed to be ingested orally for a long period of time or it could cause you physical damage.
Other things you can do if you are suffering from rosace is to keep a written record of all your flare-ups and anything that you think might have caused your skin to become irritated, example could be if you were under more stress or if the temperatures had dropped considerably. Another important thing you should do, especially if you are fair skinned, is to use sunscreen everyday. This sunscreen should be 15 SPF or higher. You can even buy sunscreen now with zinc as an additive.
Some people has found that using a mild moisturizer may help. But be careful and pay close attention that the moisturizer doesn’t start irritating your skin.
You can also try to buy make-ups that are green tinted. Green tints can help cover-up the signs of redness.
And if you have rosacea, remember there is steps you can take to help. Don’t get totally discouraged.
If you know someone with rosacea, remember to let them know that beauty is more than our skin tones. People with rosacea needs our support because sometimes their appearance can cause them to have low self esteem and cause them to suffer from depression.
There are also support groups out there to help those wanting to know more about rosacea and those who are suffering from it.
