Rosacea

[Dr Anjali Mahto]

Dear Lindsay,

I'm very sorry to hear about the trouble your rosacea is giving you. Firstly, I would like to suggest these links as reading material for you - http://www.bad.org.uk/shared/get-file.a ... e=document and rosacea.org

There are many treatments available for rosacea and it is important to find something that suits you. Our treatments are generally guided after examining you - it depends on whether your biggest problem is papules (small red bumps), erythema (redness), flushing or a combination of all three.

It is important to look for things that trigger your rosacea - common triggers include alcohol, stress, UV radiation, changes in temperature. Try and limit your known triggers (if you have any). Secondly, and I cannot stress this enough, it is important that you wear sunprotection throughout the year (broad spectrum with UVA and UVB cover, ideally SPF 50).

Tetracycline antibiotics are used for their anti-inflammatory effect to reduce the number of red bumps on the skin. If you are still getting these despite 3-6 months of treatment with oxytetracycline then it is time to find a new oral medication. There are also a large number of cream treatments that can help (metronidazole gel, elidel cream). Dermatologists sometimes use low dose oral isotretinoin if other agents fail to work. Flushing can be treated with oral medications e.g. clonidine. Redness tends to respond best to laser treatments.

Your dermatologist will be able to advise you on skincare products suitable for sensitive skin and also cosmetic products that can be used to camouflage the areas causing you distress whilst your treatments start to work. If your skin worries are starting to interfere with your daily life then you may benefit from seeing a skin specialist.

I hope all this helps and good luck getting your treatments optimised.

Best wishes,

Dr Anjali Mahto

[Wendy Green]

Hi Lindsay,

Just to add to Dr. Mahto's excellent response - other rosacea triggers include:

Hot drinks
Drinks containing caffeine such as coffee and tea
Spices/spicy dishes such as chilli pepper, white or black pepper, paprika, chilli con carne and curry.
Intense exercise

It might help to keep a diary and note down aspects of your daily life such as your diet, your emotions, exercise levels etc. to see if you can identify your particular triggers and then try to avoid/ minimise them.

You could also try applying cold (preferably chilled in the fridge) chamomile or green tea to your skin (with cotton wool pads), as these are both anti-inflammatory and may help to ease the redness.

I hope these tips help.

Wendy

[zeep2k34]

Thank you both so much for your advise, I never thought to use sun screen at all but will now as I sit right next to a window in a call centre during the day when my symptoms are the worst. No wonder! I think I will cut out an item of hot or spicy food week to see what my triggers are. I've had more information here in your posts than my five minutes with my gp, thank you again for your help which I much appreciated!

[Dr Anjali Mahto]

I'm so pleased to hear you found the information provided helpful. Good luck managing your rosacea and if it ever becomes too much, then ask to see a skin specialist for more advice.

Best wishes,

Dr Anjali Mahto

[Dr Anton Alexandroff]

Dear Lindsay,

Thank you for your question. I agree with my colleagues. Just to say that generally one would expect to see whether a treatment is working within 3-4 months. A combination treatments (oral and creams) tend to be more effective, but it is also crucially important to minimize rosacea triggers.

There are a few new treatments which became available recently:
*efracea oral antibiotic (for bumps and pustules of inflammatory rosacea)- tends to be as effective as old fashioned antibiotics but is less likely to cause stomach upset, thrush, sun sensitivity and does not make bugs resistant to antibiotics;
*mirvaso gel - a new and effective treatment for flushing and redness of face;
*soolantra cream- a new non-antibiotic cream for inflammatory rosacea - faster acting nad less iiritant than old fashioned metronidazole ( rozex) cream.

I hope this is helpful. If you would like to read more about rosacea see: www.alexandroff.org.uk

With best wishes,

Dr Anton Alexandroff MCP(UK) CCT(Dermatology) FAAD FRSM
Consultant Dermatologist in Leicester Spire and Nuffield Health Hospitals and University Hospitals of Leicester
Member of the British Association of Dermatologists
www.alexandroff.org.uk

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