What is rosacea?
Rosacea is a skin condition that involves redness and visible blood vessels on your face. It might also cause small, pus-filled red bumps.
Rosacea symptoms usually come and go. It is often mistaken for an allergic reaction or other skin problems like acne.
You can develop rosacea symptoms at any age, although the condition is more common in women and those between the ages of 30 and 50.
What are the symptoms of rosacea?
Common symptoms of rosacea include:
- Facial redness
- Swollen or visible small blood vessels on the cheeks or nose
- Swollen red and pus-filled bumps
- Tender and hot skin
- Eye problems like irritation and dryness and swollen, reddened eyelids
In rare cases, rosacea can cause an enlarged nose and thickened skin on the nose that can make it look bulbous (rhinophyma).
What causes rosacea?
The root cause of rosacea isn’t well understood, but there are certain factors that might trigger your rosacea flare-ups. Certain things that increase blood flow to the surface of your skin can trigger or worsen rosacea, like:
- Hot drinks
- Spicy food
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Temperature extremes
- Sunlight or wind
- Strong emotions
- Exercise
- Cosmetics
- Medications that dilate blood vessels
- Chemical peels
Some of the rosacea risk factors include being female, smoking, aging, having a family history of rosacea, and having fair skin. Stress and anxiety can also contribute to rosacea flare-ups.
How is rosacea treated?
After evaluating your skin, your symptoms, and your family and medical history, your specialist at Integrated Dermatology of Newton-Brighton creates a personalized treatment plan for your rosacea. Rosacea treatments focus on controlling and preventing symptoms and improving skin health.
Integrated Dermatology of Newton-Brighton offers topical and oral antibiotics to treat mild cases of rosacea.
If you have moderate to severe symptoms of rosacea, your provider might recommend laser therapy to reduce the visible redness of your skin.
They also help you strategize ways to prevent rosacea by avoiding common triggers like sun exposure, spicy foods, and caffeine.
Call Integrated Dermatology of Newton-Brighton, or schedule online today to even out your skin tone and achieve the beautiful, comfortable, and healthy skin you deserve.
