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Rosacea

Rosacea is an inflammatory skin disorder that causes redness to the cheeks, nose and chin. It may affect the eyes with dryness, irritation and they may become red. The redness of the skin associated with rosacea is persistent and you may develop spider veins and red swollen bumps that may contain pus. Rosacea may even cause significant thickening of the skin on the nose leading to a bulbous nose. This is called rhinophyma.

The cause is unknown but likely has a genetic component but may have some environmental factors. It tends to affect women more than men between the ages of 30 to 50 years old with fair skin. There are known rosacea triggers that will flare the redness and worsen the skin condition.

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Triggers:

  • Drinking Alcohol
  • Hot Drinks
  • Spicy Foods
  • Sunlight
  • Stress
  • Hot or Cold temperatures
  • Cosmetics

There is no cure for rosacea but there are treatment options available. You will want to start by avoiding triggers that flair your symptoms.

Treatment:

  • Sun Avoidance – wear a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses. Avoid being outside when the sun’s rays are the strongest between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm. If you are outside, hang out in the shade.
  • Sunblocks – it is very important to wear sunblock daily. EltaMD has good quality sunblocks that will not flare your rosacea.
  • Gentle Cleansers – stronger and more drying cleansers can flair your rosacea.
  • Topical Medications – there are many options on the market and just like acne, it is finding the best options for treatment for each individual.
    • Mirvaso – this will help by temporarily decreasing the size of blood vessels and reducing redness.
    • Metronidazole – this will help with some of the redness and also decrease the number of pustules.
    • Azelaic Acid – may help reduce the number of inflammatory lesions and redness.
  • Oral Antibiotics – doxycycline may help reduce the number of pustules in moderate to severe rosacea.
  • BBL (Broadband Light) – the BBL can treat facial redness. You will need multiple treatments and some maintenance. It is recommended to have a series of three treatments followed by treatment every 3 months to maintain the reduction of redness.
  • Radiofrequency – spider veins on the face can be individually treated using the Ellman Surgitron and the new Vivace Microneedling with RF is showing some promise for the treatment of flushing, redness and telangiectasias.
  • Lasers – there are multiple lasers that can treat the facial veins associated with rosacea. We use the Cutera 1064nm laser. It can be used to treat individually visible blood vessels but also flushing by using what is called Laser Genesis.
  • Ablative Lasers – these lasers such as the Sciton Erbium laser can be used to decrease the thickness of the skin associated with rhinophyma.