Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with rosacea

I don't want to look like W.C. Fields...

miss lynnster — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:10:42 -0800

Living with rosacea... tips please. I've been to the dermatologist. I've tried Metrogel and Doxycycline. They work ok but are expensive with my insurance so I am not on either right now. About once a month or so my right cheek and chin explode with outbreaks and I HATE it. Facials really do help, but I don't want to have to spend hundreds of dollars on facials every time I feel an outbreak coming on. I know that food intake is supposed to matter, but I haven't found that so much. I eat healthy and my alcohol intake isn't crazy.

Any tips on living with this and what to do when I feel an outbreak on the horizon? Is there anything that will help other than having an expensive facial or filling myself with expensive chemicals from the dermatologist? Right now my right cheek is almost purple with a volcano of healing-but-angry skin. I'm not a fan of looking like WC Fields on a bad day.

Oh, and no... I'm not more stressed than usual... actually I'm less so.

P.S. - Yes, I've read the other rosacea threads. Since a lot of them seemed to be answered by people who weren't going through rosacea themselves I figured it might not hurt to ask again and see if anyone had new comments.

Thanks in advance for the help folks!

Vitamin A cream a decent stand in for Accutane?

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:29:14 -0800

Acne and/or Rosacea problem. Vitamin A as a cure? I have an acne and/or rosacea issue. Background: I am late 20s and fair skinned and have ruddiness on my cheeks and redness in the crease where my nose meets my face. I also have a few blackheads and whiteheads on my nose and under my eyes respectively. And my facial skin has an overall dullness about it. But, the main concern for me is the redness.... because even when I'm having a great skin week and everything is clear and blemish-free, there's still a noticable uneveness.

Two things have fixed this in the past: 1) Accutane- I could only afford 2 months worth, but it worked like a charm and 2) pregnancy hormones (not at the same time as Accutane, of course). Those things are not repeatable right now, and nothing else has helped. I don't have health insurance or the discretionary funds to go to a dr. unless absolutely necessary, but I would like to know what I can do for this.... Food/ drink doesn't seem to be a factor for me. Although weather does (always worse in Summer).

What I'm wondering is, since Accutane worked, and it is concentrated Vitamin A, would a Vitamin A cream help? I'm using Neutrogena retional cream, but it's only helping a tiny bit... Has anyone had a good experience with a stronger OTC Vitamin A cream? If so, what's the brand?

Thanks in advance for your help.

ouchless exfoliant?

happy scrappy — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 11:53:15 -0800

I need suggestions for gentle exfoliants. I have pretty good skin (small pores, even complexion), but my face gets dry and flaky in the wintertime. I've been using St. Ives apricot scrub for sensitive skin, but I need something gentler. Lately when I use it, it stings my cheeks, and I'm already seeing early signs of rosacea so I'd prefer not to irritate it too much. But I do want to get the dead skin off.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

rosacea + swimming

needled — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:38:15 -0800

I have rosacea which is kept in check with daily applications of MetroGel (metronidazole). I also like swimming as exercise. The problem is that swimming in a chlorinated pool leaves my nose area bright red, almost like a chemical burn. It takes at least 2 weeks of extra care on my part to reduce this redness. What are some things I can do to protect my face when swimming? Or will I have to give up swimming altogether? (Note that other types of exertion, such as jogging or cycling, do not result in this type of redness)

My love for you is like a red, red nose...

Phalene — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:41:40 -0800

Rosacea management: care and hiding of a sometimes red face? Several questions all on one topic inside. I have moderate rosacea that afflicts only my nose. The antibiotics removed the surface damage, curing the bumps so I'm merely pink instead of red, inflamed and spotty, but discovering that I have an incurable tendency to flush in a disfiguring fashion means that I want to know the best ways to manage my condition on the other hand I don't want to live my life trying to avoid everything that could cause a rush of blood to prevent a flare up. So:

1) My dermatologist gave me a huge long list of things to avoid based on 'typical' rosacea suffers. Most of these (hot baths/showers/exertion/sun) certainly turn my feet red, but seem to improve my facial redness by fading it. Cold, allergens and surface bacteria seem to be my triggers. How to cope? I’m Canadian, so avoiding the whole winter thing is a non-option.

2) As a contact lense wearer, I find that eye irritation causes me to flush a little bit. How can I minimize this until I can get laser eye surgery (in another 2 or 3 years)? I would swap back to glasses, but the difference in vision between contacts and glasses is for me, considerable. How can I keep my eyes less inflamed, and thus my nose healthy?

3) As a female I want to wear makeup. What lines and brands of foundation/concealer/powder/etc should I look for, that I can use to cover the pink, when I don’t want to look cute and windblown, which have a good track record for sensitive skin? It’s no use hiding the pink only to turn it red with a flare up.

4) The ‘if left untreated’ pictures are ghastly and some things I’ve read say that getting worse is normal. Do I have a future of looking like boil covered raw meat, or do people generally do okay and this is those extreme pictures you typically find in medical texts? Similarly some sources say going into remission is possible (ie Wikipedia). How complete is that remission?

5) On the internet, rosacea seems to be a topic prone to voodoo cures and conflicting information. While interesting reading, what are the best rosacea resources? Non-flakey (ie actually has studies for their ‘emu-oil’ cure ideas) are best.

6) Socially speaking, how do I deal with nice people asking about my skin affliction (ie ‘You have a cold?’) or idiots humming ‘Rudolph’ in what they think is taking the mickey out of me, but is making my self esteem wither? I mean asides from screeching ‘Christ, what an asshole?’

7) I'm 22, and it seems to have started at 20. What gives? I thought this was a middle aged lady disease? Is this something to follow up on? Or is is just genetic luck of the draw, given that my mother has a pink nose too?

8) Anything else I should know about rosacea?

Looking for a female dermatologist who works with rosacea and IPL.

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 10:10:24 -0800

Does anyone here have positive experiences with a female dermatologist (or other specialist) in St. Louis who is good with most likely erythematotelangiectatic rosacea and care to name names? I'm red. Really red. Occasionally baboon-ass red. The Curse of the Celts was pretty light on my mom, but it seems to have hit me hard. Sunscreen hasn't helped, neither have various gentle cleaning regimens I'm looking for someone who works with Intense Pulsed Light or similar therapies. Thanks in advance. Please email flushedwithshame@yahoo.com with questions, if you have them.

Suggestions on how to psychologically cope with a skin condition?

Anonymous — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:01:47 -0800

Need suggestions on how to psychologically cope with a skin condition. I am a 32-year-old single male, and I was recently diagnosed with Rosacea. I am still in the mild stage of it, and I am working with doctors to do everything I possibly can to keep it under control. I understand there are many treatment options, and I am willing to spend the time and money exhausting any and all of those if necessary.

However, I am finding that as it gradually gets a bit worse week by week, I am getting very anxious about how it will effect the way I look. It’s also compounding my fears of ending up alone. I feel like the women that I now share a mutual attraction with won’t be attracted to me any more if this continues.

So my question is, if this does continue to get worse, what are some suggestions of how to cope with it, both with how I see myself and how the opposite sex sees me.

Thank you.

Severe rosacea flare-up: what to do?

rosemere — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 21:44:46 -0800

My rosacea has flared up really badly since December. I've gone from a rosy glow to angry red blotches and honest-to-God pustules for the first time. Yes, I'm going back to my dermatologist, but I need some hope that there is some damn thing out there that will help me. [more inside] I'm 46 and have had mild to moderate rosacea for over 10 years. Topical Metrocreme and Rosacure have helped keep it in check, and I got laser therapy three years ago with good results for some stubborn broken capillaries. (I'm the before and after at the bottom of this page.)

I'm trying to avoid the Toronto cold as much as possible, I'm keeping my showers as tepid as possible, and I'm watching out for food triggers. The antibiotic I got from my dermatologist when this flare-up first started is doing NOTHING. I'm applying my topical medications daily.

I don't know if the extra dry air is aggravating it (I have a bedside humidifier set up until we get the real one installed on the furnace), or if I'm getting close enough to menopause that this could be an issue.

I was planning another round of laser with my doctor this spring, but it's the flare-up and pustules right now that have me worried. Have you or anyone else you've known improved after a bad spell like this one? What kind of treatments have made a real difference?