Treatments are prescribed for those with skin condition
Learn what things trigger the redness and blushing, and then avoid them.
Scripps Howard
Rosacea affects about 14 million Americans between the ages of 25 and 55, and most are women. Genetics can play a role; fair-skinned people of northern European descent are most likely to get rosacea, but anybody can develop it. Rosacea has many symptoms and patients usually have more than one. They include:
URedness or flushing of the face.
USkin sensitivity and dryness.
UOiliness.
UThe presence of small, broken blood vessels.
UAcne in all its forms -- blackheads, whiteheads and cysts.
UOccasional surface irregularities of the nose (seen more often in men).
Dermatologists agree: the first step in dealing with rosacea is knowing the factors that tend to trigger your redness and blushing and then avoiding them. A survey of more than 1,000 rosacea patients conducted by the National Rosacea Society found the most common triggers to be emotional stress, hot weather, hot baths, indoor heat, wind, humidity, cold weather, heavy exercise, spicy foods, alcohol consumption and sensitivity to certain skin care products and cosmetics.
The solutions
Prescription topicals from your dermatologist are the most common treatment for rosacea. They include topical antibiotics like MetroLotion, MetroCream, MetroGel, Finacea, and topical sulfur and sodium sulfacetamide, found in Plexion. These products help treat the acne-like pimples of rosacea, which are caused by inflammation, but they are not very effective for the redness. If these medications fail, your dermatologist may prescribe oral antibiotics, perhaps tetracycline or its derivatives minocycline and doxcycline.
Two other rosacea treatments are quickly gaining popularity among dermatologists. First, Periostat, an antibiotic originally developed to treat gum disease, is doxycycline taken twice daily for rosacea. Dermatologists have found Periostat works extremely well for the inflammation associated with rosacea. And the low dose doesn't cause antibiotic resistance, which is when bacteria are no longer responsive to the antibiotic.
Not insured
The second newly popular treatment uses a pulsed dye laser or Intense Pulsed Light (IPL), which can permanently eradicate the blood vessels that lead to the redness of rosacea. The treatments are not covered by insurance, like antibiotics to treat rosacea would be. Treatment starts at about $500 for IPL and about $3,000 for full-face pulsed dye laser.