Rosacea Stories

I have had rosacea for over 10 years and, because I was diagnosed at 21, I can barely remember what my face looked like before the redness developed. I spent much of my teens ignoring my face completely: I didn’t get spots, I didn’t have oily or dry skin… it was just skin as so I paid it little attention. From the age of 18 my blushing increased in severity and frequency until I had to go to the doctors.

According to the National Rosacea Society, almost half of those diagnosed with rosacea are aged over 30 and I often wonder if I would have coped better with the diagnosis if it happened at my current age. Being told you have a chronic skin condition that will affect your lifestyle and looks for the rest of your life is a terrible thing to have to accept at any age, but at 21 I was completely ill-equipped to deal with it. I was at university, away from home for the first time, meeting new people and desperately trying to impress them. I was still discovering who I was and trying to become independent…with a newly developed skin condition that made me want to hide from the world. Looking back, I made a lot of mistakes with my skincare. My refusal to alter my diet and lifestyle resulted in severe flare ups and destroyed my confidence. I’m still dealing with the fall out of that all these years later and I often think if this would have been different if I had access to more information on the condition.

When I was diagnosed I had never heard of rosacea. Like most people I had heard of acne, eczema, psoriasis, even without having personally experienced them. But rosacea seems to be under-represented, at least in the UK. My GP seemed unsympathetic to the psychological damage that the condition was having on me and was intent on keeping me on medicated creams that aggravated my skin even more. So I turned to the internet. I discovered forums, blogs, and dedicated resources that answered my never-ending questions. It inspired me to start talking about my rosacea on my blog and - even though I was terrified - I realised that by sharing my story and photos of my naked face, I could help others to understand the condition, give them advice on how to deal with it and, in the process, maybe help them learn to accept themselves.

Finding others with rosacea and reading all I could about it made me feel less alone and (for the first time in years) as though I was in control of my face and how it looked. Which is why I was so thrilled when talkhealth got in touch with information about this hub. Having a place where people can find information, news, support and a community that knows exactly what you’re going through is invaluable and I believe it will be life changing for so many people. Here’s to kicking rosacea’s butt!

If you want to read more about me and my rosacea, you can find my blog HERE.