Rosacea treatments page
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Diagnosis
Remember you must have a diagnosis from your
Doctor.
Other skin disorders and illnesses may appear like Rosacea and some
serious illnesses may produce Rosacea type symptoms. Treatment
Usually the first treatment for Rosacea prescribed by
Doctors is antibiotic tablets (such as tetracycline). Topical gels
containing the antibiotic Metronidazole are now available. These have the
advantage because they are applied directly to the affected skin, do not
cause stomach upsets and thrush. Be aware that some gels have alcohol
bases.
Water based ones are now on the market and are kinder on the skin,
they are usually known as creams. Please remember your Doctor may tell you
to continue taking treatment even after the symptoms have gone. This is
because many people find their symptoms return if they stop treatment. There are also various light and laser treatments now
available of which I've had postive and negative reports.
Trigger factors
Flushing may be triggered by certain foods, stress,
exercise, the wind, rain, sunshine, too moist an atmosphere, too dry an
atmosphere, steam from washing the dishes, (cooking, bath or shower),
Talking to people, the thought that you might be flushed or nothing you
can identify.
In other words it’s a right pain in the nether regions! Trigger foods
Trigger foods (of which no-one has a definitive list),
that might cause flushing and therefore flare ups (a general worsening of
symptoms) may include, spicy foods, smoked and pickled items, foods with
added niacin, (niacinamide may be preferable), alcohol. Caffeine and hot
drinks.
Always consult your Doctor before embarking on a program of food
avoidance or diet. Thread veins (telangiectasia)
These can be treated using surgical lasers (argon and
pulsed dye lasers). The laser works by matching the
wavelength of the laser light to the colour of the broken veins so that
only the broken veins take up the heat of the laser light and are
destroyed in a millionth of a second with no damage to surrounding
tissue.
This ensures no scarring. However treatment may need to be
repeated if the thread veins return. Electrodessication
Electrodessication uses an electric current to destroy
and remove the veins. A very fine needle or electrode is
inserted into the blood vessel and an electric current is passed through
it. Enlargement of the nose (rhinophyma)
And which bloody comedian thought of that name. The drug
isotretinoin used to treat acne, is now used to reduce nose enlargement
caused by Rosacea. However, if this is not effective
surgical treatment may be necessary. The Eyes
About half of Rosacea patients will have Ocular
Rosacea.
To what degree the eyes are affected appears to bare little
relation to the severity of inflammation of the face. For instance
you may have severe Rosacea on the face and little or no problems with the
eyes.
Similarly mild Rosacea may be accompanied by severe Ocular Rosacea.
Common complaints are a dry and gritty feeling in the
eyes, these symptoms may be alleviated by over the counter eye drops but
this is not treating the condition you must see your Doctor and perhaps
take some literature with you that shows the connection between facial
Rosacea and Ocular Rosacea as the condition remains underdiagnosed. Symptoms of Ocular Rosacea may be: Blepharitis, inflamed, dry and crusty eyelids probably
at it’s worse in the morning. Conjunctivitis, feels like grit in the eyes, caused by
inflammation of the white part (conjunctiva) of the eye. More serious problems arise in about 5% of those with
Ocular Rosacea: Iritis, inflammation of the iris causing pain. Keratitis, ulceration of the cornea. This may lead
to visual dysfunction, rarely blindness. Treatment will be to reduce the inflammation of the
affected part of the eye. Steroid eye drops may be
prescribed.
Tetracycline antibiotics also used to treat facial Rosacea has been
shown to reduce inflammation and with early intervention can prevent
blindness.
Your Doctor may refer you to an Opthalmic specialist at a hospital,
essential with the more severe forms of Ocular Rosacea. Check to see
if there is an eye casualty department at your hospital that you could
visit if your eyes are causing you problems. Skin Care
Always use mild products usually described as
non-comedogenic and hypoallergenic. Use water based products and avoid those
that contain; denatured alcohol, witch hazel, tea tree oil, acetone,
eucalyptus oil, clove oil, peppermint oil, menthol, lanolin or mineral
oil. You
may want to avoid anything on your skin that you aren’t sure of and then
gradually reintroduce products once your symptoms have eased. Men should use
an electric shaver. Include a product containing a UV filter when
out in the sun.
Controlling the flushing
One of the most distressing aspects of Rosacea is that
people with it tend to Blush/flush easily. This is not to do with embarrassment,
but can be to do with nervousness (no matter how slight), anxiety (again
it could be miniscule), general stress (which is an all encompassing
term!) or nothing that can be identified.
If you are flushed knowing that your flushing may make
your Rosacea worse is stressful. Stress leads to further flushing now you
have a really flushed face which is embarrassing which makes you anxious,
being anxious causes you to flush more and on and on. Rosacea is
nothing if not a very vicious circle. This kind of vicious circle can lead to
panic attacks and avoidance of social activities. Do not be
afraid to tell your Doctor how Rosacea is affecting you. It is a good
idea to put your thoughts down on paper and give that to your Doctor at
the consultation.
The menopause can cause flushing in some women which
may aggravate Rosacea.
The flu or any illness accompanied by a high
temperature can aggravate Rosacea (as if you didn’t feel bad enough). High blood pressure may aggravate Rosacea. When flushing is attended by itching, diarrhoea,
headaches or difficulty breathing please consult your Doctor. Vasodilator drugs used in the treatment of
cardiovascular disease may aggravate Rosacea. Drugs & Surgery to treat flushing
There are drugs available from your Doctor that can
help blushing/flushing and therefore lead to an improvement of Rosacea
symptoms.
They are; Dixarit (i.e. Clonidine). Propanolol beta-blockers. A
correspondent wrote to us: “Clonidine is far more effective for FB/FF
than Propranolol Thanks to
Peter. http://dreamwater.org/health/sadhelp/ A surgical
procedure is available to treat facial blushing and facial sweating, it is
called an Endoscopic Thorasic Sympathectomy (ETS). It involves
keyhole surgery using an endoscope, with incisions being made under the
armpit and a skilled surgeon then cutting or preferable clamping (this
gives some hope of reversal if side effects are noted in the fortnight
after surgery) sympathetic and kuntz nerves in the chest cavity (hence
thorasic).
The autonomic nervous system controls many of the body’s
unconscious functions heart beat, blood vessel constriction/dilation,
saliva in the mouth, blushing. The autonomic nervous system is divided
into two parts the sympathetic nervous system and working in opposition to
it the parasympathetic nervous system. The nerves cut during the surgery are
those that transmit signals to tell the face to blush and sweat and
coincidentally the hands to sweat. My thanks
to Paul for writing in regarding the potential devastating side effects of
ETC anyone considering ETS must visit the links on
our links page and must research the procedure and surgeon
thouroughly. Contact me at Advertising requests to the same please. Please remember this site is run by fellow sufferers
and not by medical professionals. The site is
intended for information purposes only to enable you to make informed
decisions when you see your Doctor for diagnosis and treatment. Please read our terms&conditions
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