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?

hellymelly - that gritty feeling in the eyes, is that def caused by rosacea then?

Nigella- not sure tbh, but have assumed so as with me it started at the same time as the redness and blotchyness. My skin isn't too bad, but I do hate it looking red when I've had really nice skin my whole life (am 48, redness came on suddenly after a reaction to a chemical sunscreen about 3 years ago).

I've had this since I was about 20, I'm 38 now. It has definately got better as I have got older and since I had my children, though it was awful when I was pregnant. I use metrogel before bed if I feel it flaring up and if its really bad I take oxytetracycline for a few days which seems to calm it down.

I have found that diet really affects it and if I eat certain foods its more likely to flare up. mostly mustard or anything with mustard powder in and prawns. It might be worth keeping a food diary for abit to see if anything triggers it that you can cut out.

I use la Roch Posey products sometimes, the cleansers/ eye make removers mainly, but although they are good at not making my skin more unhappy, they don't transform it in the way a few weeks of Dr Hauschka does.

I have found that keeping on top of my acid reflux with omeprazole helps massively. I also use as few products on my skin as possible and only have one unit of alcohol when I drink it, which is rare, any more and I'm uncomfortable. I can't drink too much coffee either, although I can have some now my acid is under control. I also use actimist eye spray which really helps with the ocular rosacea too and is so easy to use wherever you are.

Hi OP, glad you are feeling better! I've had rosacea for ten years now. The first few years it was pretty annoying but for the last maybe six years I haven't had to deal with it very much at all (apparently it never completely goes away but it can go into remission for very long spells). So definitely don't despair!

The only way it impacts my life now is that I am very careful what I put on my face. I don't adjust my diet at all, it honestly doesn't seem to make much difference for me as long as I'm not having a flare-up.

If you can get a referral to a dermatologist I would strongly recommend it. There are other skin conditions that are very similar to rosacea and GPs are not always well trained in this kind of diagnosis. Also there are new products coming out all the time that a dermatologist is more likely to be aware of.

I would strongly recommend using a soap-free cleanser like Cetaphil or Avene Extremely Gentle Cleanser. (They are non-rinse but it's no problem to rinse them off with water too.) Cetaphil is very widely recommended by dermatologists in the states. It's not stocked everywhere but your Boots chemist can order it for you, it's about £7 for a good-sized bottle (make sure they order the liquid cleanser, not the bar soap or the lotion).

The blue corrective face primers do work pretty well (I used a good one from Number 7) but they can also irritate your skin.

In general, try to resist the urge to slap lots of coverup on, because it's likely to just make things worse. Your skin will look much worse to you than to anyone else. I found that my skin got a lot better when I stopped doing all kinds of things to it, although that may be a coincidence.

Finally: drink lots of water; get enough sleep; try to reduce any stress you have; and stay out of the sun! It really will get better.

nigella - I saw the gp because I thought I had blepharitis, aand was reallly upset when he agreed. Since then, the optician has said my eyelids are fine inside, and I have read that gritty sore eyes can be one of the first parts of roseacea. I am convinced that this is it - I tried anti hisstamine eyedrops but they were sore, so am now using intensive dry eye drops and they are great. Also using lid wipes (tea tree and almond oil) just in case, and trying once a day today not twice.
Can't tell you how brillaint this thread has been for my morale.

re. the gritty/dry/whatever eyes, I had a google and came up with this site (below) - the symptoms page mentions eyes. I think this site is non-sensational /not too scary IYSWIM although I haven't looked at it allover! I feel like printing this off and taking it into the salon manager who scoffed at me when I asked if I could have rosacea. As far as she was concerned, I don't have a large red nose yet so I don't have rosacea. I'm going to stick to that place for leg waxing now and have my skin dealt with by the place with the qualified nurses.
www.about-rosacea.com/symptoms

I had had it for years and thought it was an allergy until I read an article in a magazine. I also developed hayfever. I was prescribed Rosex cream and that cleared it in a few weeks.

Another vote here for La Roche-Posay products. Their website is an interesting read and they sell a really good sun screen and nice foundation that helps tone down the florid colour.

It's important to visit an optician if your eyes are affected.

and Notactually - thank you for posting about lid wipes - where do you get them from? I think perhaps I might try them, to stop the eye thing getting worse. As it is, I already wear sunglasses quite often in what looks like inappropriate places due to glare (e.g. on the tube - I look a right idiot)!
which intensive dry eye drops are you using? I have an optrex spray, and some murine drops. can't say either are helping much.

I've always had rosacea - mild on the whole but it does flare up, especially on the upper lip and around the nose, and I get the pimples, the itchy eyes and flaky skin on the ears too. Mmm, nice. On a bad day I walk around with flakes falling out of my ears looking like I've just waxed off a moustache, babe that I am If there is a consistent trigger for it I've not worked out what it is yet, but I do think low-carbing helps my skin generally look better.

The one thing I'd highly recommend trying is Clinique's Anti-redness cleanser, morning and night with a muslin cloth. I was used to scrubs (totally the wrong thing really!) and didn't think this creamy green stuff could possibly keep my oily skin in shape, but it's really excellent. I found it by going through the reviews on Beautypedia with their guidelines on rosacea in mind. Slightly fiddly site, especially as all the product names are American and need "translating", but I think the guidelines are excellent and really worked for me - I'd been buying stuff for "sensitive skin" for years and wondering why it made me all red. Turns out a lot of sensitive skin products and even dedicated rosacea products have ingredients that can aggravate rosacea

One other thing - BB cream is a lifesaver makeup-wise if you can find one that doesn't make you flare up (I've got the Garnier one). It's basically extra strong tinted moisturiser for people with crap skin.

Oh yes, don't go anywhere near exfoliating anything, no facials, nothing harsh or rubbing on your skin.

Sorry, one more thing don't steam your face and try to take cooler showers/baths

Ooh, there was one Dr Hausckha product that made my skin go mental. Think it might have been the Quince moisturiser? Just to underline the point that everybody seems to have slightly different rosacea, so don't get disheartened if you have to kiss a lot of frogs, OP, you'll get there!

I do find pretty much all magazine-type advice on beauty and make-up has to be ignored though, even if it seems to be talking in terms of "sensitive red skin" etc because nobody who's got normal skin really understands what it's like not to have.

Very interesting - never thought my itchy eyes might be related to the rosacea flares I get on my cheeks! Mum had rosacea, started when she was around 40; think mine started about the same time.

I found that alcohol and sugar intake made the biggest difference to my flare-ups - I don't have it very badly, never needed antibiotics for it so far - but when the pustules get going on my cheeks it's fairly unpleasant. :( Stress and dehydration don't help either. I'm currently pregnant and it seems to have all but disappeared for now (thank goodness!) but that might be because I'm taking my daily multivitamin and fish oil far more regularly than normal.

Mum used to use a green face make-up to take the redness out - that worked well (I barely ever use make-up so I've never bothered trying).

the quince cream is for oily skin, didn't really suit my skin either, but I have typical celtic pale skin and use the Rose (regular not the light) day cream, and the ampoules for sensitivity when my skin is flaring up.

I have pale dead sluglike Celtic too hellymelly so might give the rose another go actually - used to use it years ago but I was oilier then and it was a bit heavy for me, though otherwise lovely. I am a right moisturiser tart at the moment.

*skin

Madbuslady-I like to think I'm more 1930's starlet, but dead slug is probably closer to the truth sob.

I'm sure Lana Turner was having to pull off loose bits of ear all the time

Hello. Another ex-sufferer here. It's horrible and like people have said you have to have it to understand.

I pretended it wasn't there for a bit (hilarious), then applied lots of gels prescribed by the GP to no avail. In the end I had Oxytetracycline tablets for two weeks. The Rosacea disappeared on day 13, and has never returned for any length of time.

If I drink I get beacon face almost immediately, and this hot weather doesn't help.

Hello there I have one horrid spot with teeny little veins in it that won't go on my nose. It came after eating barbecued courgettes (i follow a meticulously healthy diet) so i know exactly what caused it; deffo the barbecuing, there is no way i touch anything burnt now including crusts!!

The ONLY thing that has improved it so much it has nearly disappeared is ARGAN OIL (iam not selling it or anything) (smile] it's brilliant. Expensive but worth it. Pure almost 100% aloe vera gel is also v good. Also the colloidal silver\MSM moisturiser is good if you can afford it. I LOVE Hauschka as well. I use their cover stick and it DOES cover it!!

Also it's good to look at yr. acid forming food intake e.g. tomatoes, orange juice, spirits, vinegar etc.

has anyone tried photodynamic therapy? they use it for skin cancer and AK's but i wonder if it is also used for rosacia?

I use prescribed Metronoidazole 0.75% when I am having a flare up (definately exacerbated by stress, IMO) and have tried various dietary changes which I haven't really seen any results from. The one product I have found which really, really helps my redness/dryness and itching is E45 Itch Relief cream. It has made a real difference to how my skin looks and feels - I use it in place of a moisturiser night and day, and am hooked! It's clear though, that it is a question of trial and error, and finding what works for you (For what it's worth, when I first got it (five years ago) I was really upset and like you, freaked myself out with the websites - it is actually really manageable, and no longer bothers me.)
Oh - and Esther Lauder 'camoflage' range of foundation is an absolute godsend for bad days!!

Hi, I had pretty bad rosacea a few years back. Got worse after I started having children and reached a peak when I was in my early 30s. My face was really red, hot feeling and itchy, I had some pustules and my nose was the worst and it was starting to move down to my neck.

I also couldn't use any moisturisers, face wash even anti-allergenic and my skin flared up even in contact with water. I constantly got asked if I was hot, cold, drunk, ill etc and it was quite embarrassing. Hot weather was a nightmare, so was cold weather. I tried giving up coffee, alcohol etc and tried topical creams and lotions none of which had any effect.

I was wrongly diagnosed initially but once properly diagnosed, I took some pretty strong antibiotics (I can't remember the name but doctor advised me on no account to get pregnant while taking them, so assume they were pretty heavy duty). He warned that it would take a couple of months to see any results. Well, I noticed a difference in days and very good results in weeks.

I can't remember exactly but I probably took the medication for about 12 months in total. I tried coming off it but symptoms returned initially. Then at some point I must have stopped taking them. I've got a 'rosy' complexion now and sometimes slightly hot/reddish esp when pre-menstral, drunk or ill. But I don't even regard myself as having rosacea now and it's years since I took tablets for it. I use Clinique moisturiser now and No 7 foundation but I don't even have to be particularly careful with what products to use now.

I have been clear of any significant symptoms for about 6 or 7 years at least now. So, a success story to the extent where I hadn't even thought about it for years until I was reminded by seeing this post. This contrasts with being extremely self-conscious about it every day at one point. Good luck, hope you get successful treatment.