roseacea - is it all doom and gloom?

[notactuallyme]

Have suspeected roseacea. Hot flushes over last few months, itchy mildly flaky eyes over last two weeks, and pink sore skin on forehead and nose. Gp given me some gel, using eyedrops and teatree oil on eye margins. But, the internet has terrified me. Images of thickened skin, red faces, huge nosees and talk of depression and disfigurement. Really? Or will it be ok?

gypsy not wanting to go into too much detail, but I have noticed some 'irritation' recently
jazz mine started with flushes, pink patches and then a night of intensely itching eyebrows and eyes. Thought it was blepharitis, but asked gp if could actually be roseacea. I am pretty convinced it all adds up. I've been using dry eye drops, which really help. More so than antti hiistamine drops or antibiotic ones.

muddling the metrogel does form a kind of film. It has sort of calmed it though.

It might be both bleph and roseacea...in which case the baby shampoo should definitely help as will reviewing your face and hair products.

I've been using teatree oil mixed with almond oil as a lid wipe, but tbh I am not sure about the blepharitis. Optician said my eye lids were fine (flipped them - weird!) And I have only had one or two tiny flakes.
Can't tell you all how much better I feel after starting this thread. Every person posting has made me feel better.

Mine started several years ago, with red cheeks, small red spots and flakiness. Eventually went to GP who gave me doxycycline tablets for 2 months which cleared it. I now take 2 a week and that keeps it clear. If I stop the spots come back.

I always wear a sunscreen (Clinique superdefense moisturiser). Always oil-free stuff on skin. La Roche Posay gel cleanser (from Boots). Have been using Estée Lauder Idealist serum which has helped with scarring and uneven skin tone.

Am convinced it is hormone related (am 53). But then I'm convinced everything is at the mo

I'm 38. Really pale skinned, no idea what happened! Although I did notice some tightness when I used some soap and glory stuff. Plus about a month before I changed facial soap.
Who knows?
Could be anything - hope its not early hormones!

Btw interesting noone is using the many many produucts available via google...

Tea tree can be quite strong even when mixed - it might just be a bit too much for your skin ATM.

Mine was diet/booze/stress/products/histamine response ....who knows :) Four years down the line all those things have changed and so has my skin. I didn't think to google treatments - my background is healthcare so I had an idea of what I needed to do.

I've had it on and off for ten years. I guess I'm a typical candidate - pale skinned, burns easily, flushes easily. As a kid I would blush at anything slightly embarrasing and get really flushed during and after exercise. On my mum's side, I have some uncles who have really "ruddy" complexions although I don't think they have it and my mum doesn't either.

In my late twenties I had some spots around my mouth and on my chin that wouldn't go away. They were pustules that would be dry, red and flaky after being popped. I saw a great dermatologist who put me on antibiotics and gave me metrogel. I was warned not to get pregnant during the treatment or for two months aferwards. The anti b's cleared it up, but when I did get pregnant later that year it came back and was awful. It must be hormone related for me, I think.

When I was pregnant I was too embarrased to show my face. I found this product www.rosacea-ltd.com/ and it helped somewhat. After my ds was born it got a lot better. Strangley, during my second pregnancy my skin was fine but it came back straight after dd1 was born the whole time I was breastfeeding, so I had to wait to take anti b's. I was tempted to stop breastfeeding so I could do something about my skin but I managed to wait for 9 months.

For me, the anti b's always clear it up but I know I can't take them constantly. I've used metro gel and rosex to varying degrees of sucess. I wash my face in pure olive oil soap, but I'm not sure what I use on my face or what I eat or don't eat makes any difference. I think its related to hormones. I've just had another huge flare up on my chin around the time of ovulation and it's getting me down. I'm 39 now and I think I'll always have it. Sometimes it'll be better and sometimes worse. I don't think it can be cured.

I've mentioned this on a previous rosacea thread but my mum has rosacea and uses stuff from here. She finds it really helpful in calming her skin and stopping further irritation. It's obviously reasonably pricey so I often stock her up at Christmas/birthdays which is how I know about it.

gypsy - I've only started using the teatree oil twice. A day since my eyes went funny, and nowhere else. I'm off to try the aloe vera stuff later. Think I will see if they do a sunscreen tinted moisturiser type thing too.
may that's really interesting. Didn't notice anything while pg, but definitely since at ovulation time. Was on antibiotics a few months aggo for spots - I see a pattern emerging!
suburb - thank you. If highstreet stuff doesn't work, at least its somewhere to try. I'm ttrying not tto panic, and buy a load of new stuff to throw at my skin.
I am taking flaxseed now every day as I read that fatty acids were good for eyehealth and am veggie.

Hi, I have rosacea too (since giving birth to DS2 three years ago, so think it was hormones that triggered it). I was on lymecycline ABs for six months which helped a lot BUT made my ulcerative colitis flare up so had to stop. Since then I have used Metrogel but not every day as you're not supposed to go out in the sun with it (no idea why!) and I'm always outdoors. I use it when I have a bad flare-up (always around my period). The rest of the time it's liveable-with; I use Avene Cleanance Gel to wash, and find it improves if I have less alcohol and sugary food.

Hi meg - just asked if gp will consider changing to rosex as the metrogel is working but leaving a film on my skin. Also worried about the sun thing. I have made changes to my diet - one bad thing a day only (eg crisps or lolly) and loads of fruit and nuts for snacks. Had one glass of wine in the last fortnight, and one night at a party with some beer - been quite easy to drop alcohol actually. I didn't drink much to start with, chocolate has been harder!

Since there's so much knowledge on this thread (and it may be something the OP would like to know anyway ) could I ask if anyone has recommendations for waterproof sunscreen which doesn't upset their skin? I usually use Clinique city block or just a factor 15 spf foundation when I feel like I want camo, but that's not waterproof so its not great for the hols.

grimma I would love for us to ask and answer questions here! Having been thoroughly depressed by the rosaecea specific sites, I'd rather talk to people who are getting on with it, and are using normal ways of getting by. I'm going to ask in the body shop about sun screeen, will update later. I want to know about layering stuff; gel then sunscreen then green makeup then normal makeup?

I have had a nightmare with sunscreen products.
I seem to be ok with clinique city block, and have some uvistat cream for my chest.
But then I do keep out of the sun now. pale and intersting.

I'm thinking of having a fringe cut! Avoids worrying about my forehead!

I highly recommend Ultrasun - www.ultrasun.co.uk

I use the factor 50, as I was recommended a very high SPF by the clinic that diagnosed my rosacea. (clinic is run by medically qualified beautician-nurse types, in contrast to my local salon which laughed me out of their salon when I asked if I could have rosacea )

However, they do lower spfs if you don't fancy spf50. But I would say that even the spf50 is light enough to wear under makeup without looking greasy, it doesn't leave that white film that you find with other spf50 products, it is waterproof AND paraben-free.

a bit pricy (?£20 ish) but I keep it in my handbag - the DCs are not allowed near it - and it seems to be lasting a while. You don't need to buy from their website - I'm sure there are other sites you can get it from for slightly less ££.

I have also found this blog www.beautymouth.com incredibly helpful about skincare. This lady knows A LOT. Just do a search on there - for "rosacea" [durr emotcion]
A lot of what she recommends is v. pricey but it's a matter of priorities. I have cancelled my regular shoe/clothes purchases and I'm investing in my skin instead. Also, there are things which are NOT pricey but which are good, e.g. a teeny tiny bit of coconut oil. The thing I have learnt, is that OIL per se is not bad for the skin. It is MINERAL OIL specifically which is bad for the skin. (sorry don't mean to shout)! natural oils are good.

Thanks nigella - I am rethinking everything at the moment, so that's really useful.

notactually - the green corrective(clinique)and all the foundations I've got are spf 15 anyway so if I'm using those I don't usually find I need anything else for normal stuff in the UK. Will look at the Ultrasun for my Turkish watersports though - thanks Nigella

Me too - I'm a month or so into a massive rethink myself

Can I ask a question to anyone who might know - I do not have any issues with the skin around my eyes or eyelids. However, I have been finding that my eyes get very tired/dry/watery/prickly. I had my eyes tested and it was not anything to do with actual eyesight. I sort of treat this with drops, which helps a little. This could be just one of those things, but does anyone know if it could be rosacea-related? or are rosacea eye problems always to do with skin around the eyes?

Grimma - I was advised to majorly up my SPF even for this country (I'd thought I'd been doing pretty well with Soltan factor 30 for face but the clinic said factor 50 minimum)! Just what I was advised though - everyone's different etc.

Dr Hauschka, Dr Hauschka, Dr hauschka. Only thing that calms my skin if it is flaring up. I use the night stuff for sensitive skin for a month alongside the other products and it leaves my skin better for months afterwards. My eyes are a bit gritty feeling at times and can feel dry, hoping they won't get worse. Does anyone know what causes rosacea?

La Roche Possay has a range for rosasea, their products are excellent and often recommended by dermatologists. My aunt used them and they made a significant difference.