Rosacea RX

[Mom-ninja.]

If you have a rx cream for rosacea, how often do you use it? Every day indefinitely? For 6 weeks at a time? As needed? 

[Farrar]

For several weeks at a time as needed. My doctor told me that it varied for everyone and that it was fine to play around with how long I took it. She said some people use it indefinitely, others when it flares up, others a couple of times a week, and that all of those were fine.

[retiredHSmom]

What is a flare up with rosacea like?  I think that I may have rosacea but I am not sure.  My mother has extremely bad rosacea.  Her nose is actually badly misshapen due to sebaceous gland cysts.  I will be honest that I haven't asked her because if I do have it it is very very mild and it seems disrespectful or maybe cruel to try to compare my meager complaints to her situation where people actually stare at her in public.

 

so my skin is very pink-toned all over my body.  My cheeks are very very pink and I flush easily.  When I am out in cold wind my cheeks edge toward red and my skin feels like it is on fire.  Applying lotion usually stops the burn.  If you look up close I have a lot of little capillaries very close to the surface.  I also very large, visible pores. I think that this is rosacea but I have never had the pimples though or sebaceous gland cysts.  Is the burning skin a flare up or is a flare up when you get the cysts?

 

Will a rx cream fix the redness?

[Mom-ninja.]

What is a flare up with rosacea like?  I think that I may have rosacea but I am not sure.  My mother has extremely bad rosacea.  Her nose is actually badly misshapen due to sebaceous gland cysts.  I will be honest that I haven't asked her because if I do have it it is very very mild and it seems disrespectful or maybe cruel to try to compare my meager complaints to her situation where people actually stare at her in public.

 

so my skin is very pink-toned all over my body.  My cheeks are very very pink and I flush easily.  When I am out in cold wind my cheeks edge toward red and my skin feels like it is on fire.  Applying lotion usually stops the burn.  If you look up close I have a lot of little capillaries very close to the surface.  I also very large, visible pores. I think that this is rosacea but I have never had the pimples though or sebaceous gland cysts.  Is the burning skin a flare up or is a flare up when you get the cysts?

 

Will a rx cream fix the redness?

 

Rosacea progressively gets worse. It starts out as redness/pinkness, flushing, and sensitivity to triggers. That's how I started. Just like I read it would it has gotten worse. I now get the little pimples/pustules. This has developed over the last year. Everything I've read says it keeps getting worse until you get treatment from a doctor.

 

You might want to go to a derm and see if there's something you can do now to try and decrease the risk of your skin worsening.  

[Tasha]

Rosacea progressively gets worse. It starts out as redness/pinkness, flushing, and sensitivity to triggers. That's how I started. Just like I read it would it has gotten worse. I now get the little pimples/pustules. This has developed over the last year. Everything I've read says it keeps getting worse until you get treatment from a doctor.

 

You might want to go to a derm and see if there's something you can do now to try and decrease the risk of your skin worsening.

This happened to me as well. I started out with the redness and flushing, and then progressed to the pustules. I use metrogel nightly, a sulfur face wash in the morning and take Oracea (a low dose of doxycycline) daily. The regimen has really helped the bumpiness and some of the redness, but I am still hoping for more of a reduction in redness.

[Retired]

I started with flushes, then small pumps underskin, then acne like stuff and then painful pustule    I was intially prescribed  Oracia   pills (tetracycline  slow release and finacia cream.  I researched  and found for me its all about  the diet.  I eat an anti-inflammatory  diet and drink plenty of water.  I haven't  had an  red flair/ mulit bumps  up since 2012.  THe last time I had a Oracea prescription.   I know this specifically cause I just cleaned out my medicine cabinet and had a bottle of Oracia half used from that year.  I was diagnosed in 2011 so it took me 18 months to figure out food/diet were my issues.   I will occasionally get a pimple and wil use my fincaia but its more hormone driven pimple always pms time and its only a few times a year.  

 

YOu may want to reserach rosacea and the GI track.  I knows there is a lost in the science community about a cause  and lots of therory but for me its all about the inflammation GI/gut flora

 

also if you already have damaged blood vessel and then get in a remission state like myself.  There is a limelight laser that in my area was 150.00 that got rid of a few broken blood vessel and permanent redness that had already develop before I got a handle on the stuff.  When I first got dx I was scared of the nose scaring and stuff.  I researched like everything.  I didn't' want to be on low dose tetracycline for life and didn't want the scaring disfiguration that can come with unmediated rosacea.  

 

NOw I buy a thing of Finacea foam once a year.  I keep it on hand cause I'm still afraid of going back to where I was in the beginning.  I will be preemptive application if I know I'm gonna eat or drink something acidic like wine.  ;) 

 

Good luck  

[retiredHSmom]

I am sure that this is a rude question too but how old are you?  I am 45 and have had the redness and flushing since I was 20 and it doesn't seem to be getting worse.  From photos of my mom over the years I can see that she was getting pimples/pustules at about 25 (I was 3) and by the time I was 10 or so it was really bad.

[Sukale]

I have used a few Rxs over the years for my rosacea. Some helped, some didn't. I have tried many OTC products too. This is what has worked the best for me.  https://www.clinique.com/redness-solutions-skin-care-clinique

[Amy in NH]

I have had the redness for a long, long time, with intermittent bouts of pustules.

My mom, an RN, said that it was rosacea. I mentioned it to my pcp during a checkup, and she said no. I ignored it for years, and finally got sick of it this winter and did some research online. The Prosacea gel otc at Wal-Mart and sulfur soap from Amazon have completely cleared it up. I think my problem is skin mites (which everyone has).

Edited May 17, 2017 by Amy in NH

[shawthorne44]

Sulfur to treat skin mites?   Interesting.   I'll try that.  My rosacea is based on skin mites too.   The treatment for mites worked on my skin and worked well, hurt a bunch, so I didn't stay with it.   But, with my ocular rosacea a homemade mite treatment works very well.  

[Retired]

I am sure that this is a rude question too but how old are you?  I am 45 and have had the redness and flushing since I was 20 and it doesn't seem to be getting worse.  From photos of my mom over the years I can see that she was getting pimples/pustules at about 25 (I was 3) and by the time I was 10 or so it was really bad.

 

   I'm the only one in my family with it.  I was diagnosed at age 41.  I was one of those that never had acne and stuff so when I started the bumps then flushing I thought it was hormonal changes.  I'm now 47 with clear skin but I have to watch what I eat.

[Mom-ninja.]

I am sure that this is a rude question too but how old are you?  I am 45 and have had the redness and flushing since I was 20 and it doesn't seem to be getting worse.  From photos of my mom over the years I can see that she was getting pimples/pustules at about 25 (I was 3) and by the time I was 10 or so it was really bad.

I started having redness/flushing in my early 20s. I'm now in my 40s. It progressed a lot in my 30s. 

[redsquirrel]

I have rosacea and now, at this point, it's pretty much gone and I treat it with OTC stuff.  I did have prescriptions and they worked just fine.  My doctor once mentioned that the one thing..a topical, was originally used to treat vaginal yeast infections so if I ever ran out of medication I could try treating with an OTC med like monistat and see if it works for me. I did and it does.  Another thing that works for me came from a friend, coal tar shampoo used to wash the face. Now this is harsh on the skin, so it's not something I do regularly.  But, at this point I am 'as needed' with meds anyway. I honestly think it's been a year, could be longer, since I needed to do anything. But if I have a flare up, my skin is getting an angry red across my nose and cheeks, maybe with bumps and some flaking, I just wash once a day with the coal tar shampoo and cool water and use some OTC monistat cream on the area. In about 3 days everything is fine and I forget about it.

 

These days, my biggest problem is that flare ups happen so infrequently I have to get to a store to buy more monistat.

 

[Lakeside]

I started with flushes, then small pumps underskin, then acne like stuff and then painful pustule    I was intially prescribed  Oracia   pills (tetracycline  slow release and finacia cream.  I researched  and found for me its all about  the diet.  I eat an anti-inflammatory  diet and drink plenty of water.  I haven't  had an  red flair/ mulit bumps  up since 2012.  THe last time I had a Oracea prescription.   I know this specifically cause I just cleaned out my medicine cabinet and had a bottle of Oracia half used from that year.  I was diagnosed in 2011 so it took me 18 months to figure out food/diet were my issues.   I will occasionally get a pimple and wil use my fincaia but its more hormone driven pimple always pms time and its only a few times a year.  

 

YOu may want to reserach rosacea and the GI track.  I knows there is a lost in the science community about a cause  and lots of therory but for me its all about the inflammation GI/gut flora

 

also if you already have damaged blood vessel and then get in a remission state like myself.  There is a limelight laser that in my area was 150.00 that got rid of a few broken blood vessel and permanent redness that had already develop before I got a handle on the stuff.  When I first got dx I was scared of the nose scaring and stuff.  I researched like everything.  I didn't' want to be on low dose tetracycline for life and didn't want the scaring disfiguration that can come with unmediated rosacea.  

 

NOw I buy a thing of Finacea foam once a year.  I keep it on hand cause I'm still afraid of going back to where I was in the beginning.  I will be preemptive application if I know I'm gonna eat or drink something acidic like wine.  ;)

 

Good luck  

Is there a specific diet that you follow? Did you do anything else to help with gut health?  

[Lakeside]

Is all rosacea caused by skin mites?  If not, for those of you who know that yours is, how were you diagnosed?

 

[Seasider]

Sulfur to treat skin mites? Interesting. I'll try that. My rosacea is based on skin mites too. The treatment for mites worked on my skin and worked well, hurt a bunch, so I didn't stay with it. But, with my ocular rosacea a homemade mite treatment works very well.

Eurax? That stuff is brutal.

[Seasider]

Is all rosacea caused by skin mites? If not, for those of you who know that yours is, how were you diagnosed?

Dermatologist did a light skin scrape and observed under a microscope.

 

Caffelatte, what were your specific food triggers/problems?

[Jennay]

Prosacea gel, improving my gut health, and watching my Vit D levels have worked wonders for me.

[Lakeside]

Dermatologist did a light skin scrape and observed under a microscope.

 

Caffelatte, what were your specific food triggers/problems?

Thanks.  Was that SOP in order to see if mites were the problem?  

[Laurie4b]

I had it and mine went away. I just stopped using the cream. I think a healthier diet and lots of exercise was key ie IIRC Rosacea is a disease of inflammation and quelling that in my body overall kicked it. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Sulfur to treat skin mites?   Interesting.   I'll try that.  My rosacea is based on skin mites too.   The treatment for mites worked on my skin and worked well, hurt a bunch, so I didn't stay with it.   But, with my ocular rosacea a homemade mite treatment works very well.  

Please tell me about this!

I have ocular rosacea, and it's brutal.

I can't take doxy so I take Zithromycin whenever it gets 'worse'.  But it's always there.

 

What is your homemade mite treatment, and how do you use it?

[Seasider]

Please tell me about this!

I have ocular rosacea, and it's brutal.

I can't take doxy so I take Zithromycin whenever it gets 'worse'. But it's always there.

 

What is your homemade mite treatment, and how do you use it?

When mine flares, my eyes also give me trouble. My old ophthalmologist had me doing hot compresses twice daily. That was soothing. I went a few years until I had a really bad flare last fall. My current eye doc got me started on Avenova, a prescription only (not otc) daily spray lid and lash hygiene product. It's a solution containing a tiny amount of hypochlorous acid (0.01%). It took a few days to become effective, but seems to work well.

 

I absolutely, 100% believe that stress and hormonal fluctuations play a part in my rosacea, as does exposure to high temperatures (not really the sun as much as heat from an oven or working over a hot stove for too long. Once sensitized, using the wrong skin care products increases the irritation. I also believe there is a diet component that I haven't figured out yet.

 

To the other poster that asked, I do not know whether a scraping was SOP. I will say that my dermatologist is a bit on the geek side so iirc, he had recently read some research on the mite connection and was gleeful to investigate the matter. 😄

Edited May 17, 2017 by Seasider

[ThisIsTheDay]

I used Metrogel 1 or 2x a day for 15 years.  My rosecea has never worsened, although it can worsen in dry weather. When the Metrogel price kept going up and up, I switched to OTC Prosacea and used that for about 6 years. I don't know what changed, but for the past two years, I've used nothing on my face. My rosacea has cleared.

 

I'm guessing it was dietary, but I don't know what's changed. There's been one period of time in those two year (dry weather) where my cheeks got dry/red/cracking, but a few days of Prosacea, and I was back to good.

 

My funny Metrogel story: I filled out a questionnaire for a new primary care doc several years ago. She was shocked, SHOCKED, that I'd been on Metrogel for 10 years. I was suprised, "Yes, I'm on it, it's what works!" What I didn't know is that it is also used for vaginal infections. She didn't realize I was using it on my FACE. :lol: :lol:

 

 

[shawthorne44]

Please tell me about this!

I have ocular rosacea, and it's brutal.

I can't take doxy so I take Zithromycin whenever it gets 'worse'.  But it's always there.

 

What is your homemade mite treatment, and how do you use it?

 

 

Just a little bit of Borax mixed in with lots of water.  Note, people often confuse Borax with Boric Acid, it isn't the same thing.  

At night before bed, I put one eyedrop in each eye, the standard re-wetting kind.  Then cotton balls with some of the borax water mixture mostly around the eyelash area, then some around the general eye area and eyebrows.  It is basically a non-sterile eyewash.   I close my eyes and just use it on the skin.  The reason for the eyedrop is that so my eyes aren't like a dry sponge soaking up any liquid.  Mites are supposed to like to hide out in hair follicles, so that is why I also do the eyebrows.  

 

One thing I've never tried, but I've heard might be effective.  I have the shampoo bottle but I haven't used it yet.  Tea Tree Oil shampoo.  My hair gets the curly girl treatment, which is why I'm reluctant.  But the tea tree oil is supposed to good to treat mites

 

Mine started in high school.   Back then it wasn't a problem for me because everyone thought I went skiing all the time.  In Texas, that was a status symbol.  I did ski, but just once a year.  

[Selkie]

I had it and mine went away. I just stopped using the cream. I think a healthier diet and lots of exercise was key ie IIRC Rosacea is a disease of inflammation and quelling that in my body overall kicked it. 

 

:iagree: 

 

This was my experience as well.  

[redsquirrel]

I used Metrogel 1 or 2x a day for 15 years.  My rosecea has never worsened, although it can worsen in dry weather. When the Metrogel price kept going up and up, I switched to OTC Prosacea and used that for about 6 years. I don't know what changed, but for the past two years, I've used nothing on my face. My rosacea has cleared.

 

I'm guessing it was dietary, but I don't know what's changed. There's been one period of time in those two year (dry weather) where my cheeks got dry/red/cracking, but a few days of Prosacea, and I was back to good.

 

My funny Metrogel story: I filled out a questionnaire for a new primary care doc several years ago. She was shocked, SHOCKED, that I'd been on Metrogel for 10 years. I was suprised, "Yes, I'm on it, it's what works!" What I didn't know is that it is also used for vaginal infections. She didn't realize I was using it on my FACE. :lol: :lol:

 

Yes, I used Metrogel. That was what my derm told me could be replaced by Monistat.  It was much cheaper to buy OTC monistat than the script for metrogel.  It worked just as well as the Metrogel,for me.

 

The mite thing, I have read that it isn't that the mites cause the rosacea, but that the temperature of skin inflamed by rosacea is higher temperature and a better environment for the mites.  So the mites aren't a cause but a symptom.  I've never worried much about the mites and just concentrated on removing the inflammation. I figure if I get my skin un-inflammed my skin will be less red and cooler and the mites will take care of themselves.  Now it could be that this information is outdated, but, like I said, rosacea hasn't been a big issue for me for a long time.

 

And big hugs to those with occular rosacea! That is very difficult.

[Seasider]

Yes, I used Metrogel. That was what my derm told me could be replaced by Monistat. It was much cheaper to buy OTC monistat than the script for metrogel. It worked just as well as the Metrogel,for me.

 

The mite thing, I have read that it isn't that the mites cause the rosacea, but that the temperature of skin inflamed by rosacea is higher temperature and a better environment for the mites. So the mites aren't a cause but a symptom. I've never worried much about the mites and just concentrated on removing the inflammation. I figure if I get my skin un-inflammed my skin will be less red and cooler and the mites will take care of themselves. Now it could be that this information is outdated, but, like I said, rosacea hasn't been a big issue for me for a long time.

 

And big hugs to those with occular rosacea! That is very difficult.

I think this is true, based on my own experience and reasoning. overabundance of mites comes with better "habitat," wouldn't you think? And various things can affect the "quality" of that habitat (my face lol!). Over the years I have definitely been able to pinpoint triggers. I think that when I have a flare, I can treat topically with for that will kill the mites, but I always have to add moisturizer to also heal the skin. To break the cycle, there are certain foods and activities that I have to give up (some are hard, like coffee and cooking). Some I have little control over - hormones and stress. It's frustratingly complex. Edited May 23, 2017 by Seasider

[shawthorne44]

This is just my guess.   But, I think that the overabundance of mites causes inflammation, redness, irritation, which make the mites happy, which ....

 

I also know my gut health isn't great.   I'm old enough and me parents were vigilant enough, that I took a lot of antibiotics growing up.  I work at helping my gut, but I think it is missing something important.  

 

[Melissa in New York]

I'm also another one who has used MetroGel/Lotion for a number of years. I finally decided to clean up my diet about 6 years ago (due to digestive issues) and it made a HUGE difference. Over time, I had no more rosacea.

Diet: No gluten, minimal grains and dairy, lots of vegetable, fruits, protein.

 

I did splurge this week on wheat/dairy this week and guess what? Those pesky red painful bumps started showing up. I'm not saying that's what causes your rosacea but diet is significant in what causes mine.

[Sandragood1]

I've got occular problems too. I've been using Dermodex face wash once per day for a year now and I think it helps. I put it on, lather it up especially around the eyes (not in the eyes! It really stings!), then let it sit on for a few minutes.

[Ellie]

If you have a rx cream for rosacea, how often do you use it? Every day indefinitely? For 6 weeks at a time? As needed? 

 

I have been using Finacea daily for about 12 years.

[Mom-ninja.]

 To break the cycle, there are certain foods and activities that I have to give up (some are hard, like coffee and cooking). Some I have little control over - hormones and stress. It's frustratingly complex.

 

I would happily give up cooking. ;) I would also have no problem giving up coffee. Chai tea is delicious. :)

 

I really don't know what my triggers are. I already eat a clean diet (and this for me includes no gluten at all ever, very little, very very little dairy) with lots of fresh produce. As for exercise, I actually had to teach myself to cut back on exercise because I was over training. So diet and exercise has not helped decrease my rosacea symptoms.  

 

I have been using Finacea daily for about 12 years.

I hadn't heard of this. Thanks.