About Rosacea

“Suddenly at 40 I'm seeing small red bumps on my face and I've been told it's Rosacea. What can I do?”

Actually, you're a little bit lucky. Rosacea has a genetic component to it and in your case it just held off from making its appearance sooner. The skin condition certainly varies from person to person, but it typically appears as patchy redness and inflammation, (erythema), on the nose, cheeks, forehead, chin, and around the mouth. It can present with the raised papules you describe and also with pustules (acne pimples).

For some people it worsens over time without treatment, and for some it comes and goes. So why you? Women are three times more likely to suffer from Rosacea, and it typically debuts in our 30's and 40's. Also, some people simply have a greater number of blood vessels and oil glands.

In the case of rosacea the oil acts as an inflammatory agent to the blood vessels. After repeatedly being dilated, the blood vessels can no longer shrink back to their original size, and you end up with that unwanted redness.

By now you likely know your trigger foods and to keep sun exposure and your alcohol and caffeine consumption to a minimum. But here's what WE can do: first we'll reduce the size of the inflamed blood vessels with a Vbeam laser treatment or an IPL Photofacial.

Now we're ready to shrink those oil glands with Retin-A or eMatrix skin resurfacing or a combination of the two. (I also love the Clarisonic Brush for cleansing at home to keep oil under control.) In the case of Rosacea with acne breakouts, I'll prescribe antibiotics. While I'm not pleased to report that it's a chronic condition, the good news is that if we address the underlying causes of Rosacea, we can keep it in check. And fortunately there's a lot that we can do together.

  Larchmont Chronicle September 2011