Rosacea Treatments
What is Rosacea?
Rosacea is a skin condition mainly affecting the middle of the face and most often starts between the age of 30–60 years.
Rosacea is common and is considered when there is persistent facial redness present.
It typically comes and goes, with symptoms controlled by lifestyle changes, general skin care, medications, and procedures when needed. Like most skin disorders, it is a chronic condition that can be managed, rarely cured.
Depending on the appearance, it may be confused for acne, especially in adults so correct diagnosis may take a while, but it is also important to allow for some trial and error with medications to find the right regimen for you. Skin takes time.
What is Rosacea?
Rosacea is estimated to affect around 5% of adults worldwide.
Although rosacea is often thought to affect women more than men, studies show it is about 50:50 in reality.
Rosacea usually presents after the age of 30 and becomes more common with age. However, it can occur at any age and occasionally may present in children.
Although rosacea can affect anyone, it is more common in those with fair skin, blue eyes, and those of Celtic or North European descent.
It may be more difficult and under-recognised in patients with skin of colour.
Like many skin disorders, rosacea may be associated with many underlying medical disorders so it is important to seek help if this impacts you.
What is Rosacea?
Rosacea is estimated to affect around 5% of adults worldwide.
Although rosacea is often thought to affect women more than men, studies show it is about 50:50 in reality.
Rosacea usually presents after the age of 30 and becomes more common with age. However, it can occur at any age and occasionally may present in children.
Although rosacea can affect anyone, it is more common in those with fair skin, blue eyes, and those of Celtic or North European descent.
It may be more difficult and under-recognised in patients with skin of colour.
Like many skin disorders, rosacea may be associated with many underlying medical disorders so it is important to seek help if this impacts you.
What causes Rosacea?
We don’t yet know, but it is thought to be caused by many potential issues such as:
- Genetic susceptibility
- Changed microbiome of the skin and gut
- Auto immune changes
- Lifestyle factors : heat, UV, temperature, smoking,exercise, spicy food, alcohol are common trigger.
- Impaired skin barrier & skin senstivity
How do you diagnose rosacea?
Not all redness of the face is rosacea so it begins with a comprehensive consultation with a qualified doctor or dermatologist and a trial of medications to see what effect it has.
Remember, rosacea cannot usually be cured, only managed so long term habits that help you maintain your skin is important as is patience.
What is the Treatment for Rosacea
Although there is no cure for rosacea, symptoms can be managed with the lifestyle measures, medical, and procedural interventions.
General Advice:
Lifestyle Advice
- Record a symptom diary to identify triggers:
- Common triggers include spicy food, hot/cold temperatures (hot baths), exercise, sun exposure, cosmetic products, medications, alcohol, fruits and vegetables, dairy, marinated meat products
- Avoid the triggers identified.
General Skincare Advice
- Moisturise frequently
- Use gentle over-the-counter cleansers
- Mild, synthetic detergent-based cleansers rather than traditional soaps due to risk of irritation
- Use physical sunscreens (ie, zinc oxide/titanium oxide) with SPF ≥ 30
- Provides broad-spectrum UV radiation and visible light protection
- May be better tolerated than chemical sunscreens
- Avoid exfoliants
- Avoid alcohol-based topical products
- Avoid use of topical steroids as they may worsen the condition
- Cosmetics with a green tint are useful to minimise the appearance of redness.
Psychosocial Considerations
- Consider psychological help if the rosacea is impacting your mental health significantly
Specific Advice
Existing treatments for rosacea can be very effective — however, they often target only one feature.
This means that a combination of therapies are required where patients present with multiple symptoms and in severe rosacea.
These will be discussed with you if appropriate over the course of your treatments with us, but the main take home message is: rosacea is a lifelong condition that can be managed not cured, and managing symptoms will still take time and often, treatment with several options most of which are not Medicare rebateable.
Images to be interspersed throughout the page, credit to dermnet.nz.
