If you have flare-ups of redness and pimples on the forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin, you are likely suffering the symptoms of the skin disease known as rosacea. Another name this condition is commonly referred to as is adult acne. This is because the outbreaks that often occur resemble the outbreaks that happen with acne. People with rosacea generally also experience soreness on their eyelids and in their eyes, and it can also cause a sensation of burning. The redness caused by this skin disease usually also comes and goes.
The cause of this skin disease is not clear. However, it is thought to mainly affect individuals that have family members with the problem. It also occurs more frequently on those that blush very easily and people with fair skin. Although drinking alcohol can cause a flare-up or it may worsen the symptoms a person experiences, it does not cause rosacea.
Redness and flare-ups of rosacea will often occur when facial blood vessels expand. There are also several other triggers that can cause this to happen. Some of the most common triggers for rosacea include the following:
- Stress
- Exercise
- Weather that is hot
- Taking hot baths
- Eating foods that are spicy
- Going from hot temperatures to cold, or from cold temperatures to hot
- Exposure to the wind
- Drinking alcohol
- Exposure to the sun
There are also some distinctive symptoms that people will experience when they have rosacea. Those that will likely appear during a flare-up of rosacea include the following:
- The eyes will feel irritated, red, and dry.
- Small red veins that appear on the face and resemble the look of spider webs.
- The redness of a flushed face that sometimes last for several days. This is also accompanied with bumps or pimples that appear on or near the mouth, cheeks, forehead, and nose.
- The person’s vision can become blurry and swelling and redness may occur to the eyelids. Eye problems that are serious can occur if this skin disease is not properly treated.
- Facial skin may feel extremely sensitive, dry, or even sunburnt. The use of certain medications or lotions can also cause the skin on the face to sting or burn.
Although rare, severe cases of rosacea that are not adequately treated can result in several knobby bumps forming on the person’s cheeks and nose. This is an advanced stage of the skin disease that is known as rhinophyma.
Common Methods of Treatment for Rosacea
It is true that rosacea cannot be cured; however there are several treatment options that work very well at being able to minimize the symptoms experienced during a flare-up. Seeking treatment also helps to ensure that serious eye problems and rhinophyma does not occur. Below are some common options that are available for the treatment of rosacea:
- Pimples, redness, and eye problems are often treated with antibiotic pills and creams.
- When antibiotics are not effective, other prescription such as tretinoin (Retin-A) cream or isotretinoin like Sotret may be used.
- Surgery options like cryosurgery, dermabrasion, and laser are available for people with advanced levels of rosacea.
