I see red!… Is it Rosacea?
Rosacea is on the rise. It effects an estimated 415 million people around the world and that figure is on the rise. It is associated with frustration and confusion, and that dreaded redness is one of the most distressing skin conditions that someone can have.
Often beginning in mid 30’s, it can appear as small red pustules. It often appears like acne, with lesions resembling acne breakouts, and is often mistreated as such. Red blotchy inflamed skin, easily blushing, pustules and pimples, enlarged pores, hot irritated skin with periodic flared ups. These signs have a negative impact on your self-esteem and often leads to depression and anxiety. It is more frequent among women yet more severe amongst men. It can worsen over time and sometimes result in rhinophyma where sebaceous glands in the nose and cheeks become enlarged and the tissue thickens. Flare-ups often occur in cycles so you may experience symptoms for weeks or months then it will go away and then return. There is no real cure for rosacea, however there are treatments that effectively control the symptoms of rosacea.
There are four types of rosacea:
- Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea (ETR) – facial redness particularly in the centre, flushing, visible vessels, sensitive tingling and burning skin sensations, skin can be dry rough and scaly.
- Papulopustular rosacea (acne) – acne like breakouts often affecting middle aged women, very red and oily skin, can have raised patches of skin.
- Rhinophyma – this is rare and often effects men with thickening of the skin on the nose, chin and ears, large pores, broken blood vessels.
- Ocular rosacea – symptoms effect the eye area, blood shot and watery eyes feeling gritty, irritated eyes with cysts, diminished vision, broken vessels on eyelids.
We explain the why, how, do’s and don’ts
So what exactly is Rosacea?
To be completely honest, the causes are not fully understood; however there seems to be a large percentage of rosacea suffers who also suffer with imbalances in the gut like bloating and breakouts when they eat wheat or dairy. Although research has not proven an exact science with Rosacea, theories range from autoimmune responses to bacteria, to a mite that lives in the skin of a high number of rosacea suffers, to a protein that usually protects the skin. It is also contributed from hereditary and environmental influences.
What foods should you avoid?
- Dairy, especially yoghurt, sour cream and cheese except cottage cheese
- Hot drinks, including hot chocolate, tea and coffee
- Hot and spicy foods like chili
- Alcohol, especially red wine, beer, bourbon, gin, vodka and champagne
- Soya sauce and yeast extract
- Acidic foods such as citrus fruits, tomatoes, figs, bananas and red plums
- Vinegar
- Chocolate and vanilla
- Eggplant, avocado, spinach, broad leaf beans
- Histamine producing foods
How can I control my flare-ups?
We suggest avoiding the foods above, in particular alcohol & spicy foods.
- Try to avoid skincare products containing fragrances, strong AHA ingredients, alcohol and abrasive ingredients.
- We also suggest you wash your face with tepid water temperature. Try stepping out of the main stream of the shower and turning to cooler to wash your face.
- Stress is not your friend. Obviously if you were to avoid all stress you would need to quit work, hire a full time nanny, and move to sip Pinna Coladas on cool island somewhere but that’s not realistic so just do the best you can do with lifestyle choices.
- Extreme changes in temperature will give you a flare up. Be mindful that going from extreme cold and wind outdoors in winter to snuggling by the open fire or dry air conditioner inside will stress your skin out. Wind is especially not nice for rosacea.
Learn more about 4 Tips to support your topical Rosacea skincare here.
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What else can I do to treat my rosacea?
As I mentioned before, there is no cure for rosacea however there are many options available these days to control the severity of symptoms.
Here are some:
- Increase the skin barrier function by mimicking its repair function with homecare ingredients such as anti-inflammatories, ceramides and EFA.
- LED multiple light wavelengths will strengthen the skin, kill bacteria and increase the healing rate.
- Microdermabrasion will help normalise a thickened skin.
- Various IPL and NdYag lasers will dramatically reduce the redness and visible red vessels.
- Detoxify and strengthen the immune system through manual lymphatic drainage (MLD)
- Reduce inflammation through homecare of ingredients.
- If all else fails and your immune system is not coping, you may need oral and topical antibiotic creams prescribed by your doctor.
Come see one of the Dermal Aesthetician’s at The Temple Skincare for a thorough consultation to get you on your way to your best skin yet. Click here to book your Virtual Consultation appointment.
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