Rosacea

Rosacea – Acne like Benign Skin Condition 

Rosacea is considered to be common red, acne like benign skin condition which could affect several people. The main symptoms of Rosacea comprises of red or pink facial skin, small dilated blood vessels, like small red bumps and at times may contain pus, cysts and pink or irritated eyes. Many people are not aware that they may be having rosacea and that it is diagnosable and can be treated.

They may have the notion that they blush or that their skin may be sensitive to the sun. Rosacea mainly involves the central area of the face especially the forehead, the cheeks, lower area of the nose, chin, neck, chest and scalp and is often seen in people with light skin namely English, Irish and Scottish.

It is not contagious or infectious and there is no evidence that it can spread by contact with skin, or sharing towels or through inhalation. Rosacea can affect people of any age group and has four subtypes, where three affect the skin while the fourth affect the eye which is an ocular type. It could tend to get worse over a period of time if not treated though treatment like topical steroid could aggravate this condition.

Symptoms can be Controlled with Treatment

Rosacea can affect both men as well as women though it is three times more common in women and has its peak age of onset between the age of 30 and 60.

This is a relapsing condition wherein there are times when the symptoms are bad followed by instances when the condition is less severe. Most of the symptoms can be controlled with treatment and the physical changes in appearance may take place as a result of the condition which may have a psychological as well as social impact that may affect the overall personality of the person.

The cause of this condition is not known though a number of possible factors have been considered including abnormalities in the blood vessels of the face together with reaction to microscopic mites which are most often found on the face. Though all these causes may not be the direct result of this ailment, several causes have been identified which may worsen rosacea.

Laser and Intense Pulsed Light- IPL

Exposure to sunlight, stress, hot or cold weather, hot drinks, alcohol and caffeine, certain spicy food and strenuous exercise may cause rosacea. Though there is no cure for rosacea, treatment could contribute in controlling the symptoms. Long term treatment would be essential and there could be instances when the symptoms may tend to improve and treatment could be stalled temporarily.

Treatment for most of the people could be a combination of self-help measure and medication like avoiding drinks which may contain alcohol or caffeine, medication in the form of creams and gels, applied directly to the skin to reduce spots and redness, oral medication like tablets or capsules which may help to clear up some of the severe spots, like oral antibiotics.

In other cases, certain procedures like laser and intense pulsed light –IPL could be a helpful treatment which involves beams of light that are focused on the visible blood vessels in the skin in order to shrink them and are made less visible on the skin.