Misdiagnosed Rosacea?

[Guide]

While most report that they received a correct diagnosis of rosacea, there are reports of misdiagnosed rosacea and a collection of over 100 anecdotal reports of misdiagnosed rosacea (or vice versa) are available by clicking here. While misdiagnosed rosacea is not a massive issue, it nevertheless is an issue and you should be aware of this. 

Adding your Anecdotal Report to the List

Please add to this thread by clicking on the REPLY TO THIS TOPIC [button] in this thread (you will need to register an account to post a reply this thread) to post your experience of being misdiagnosed for rosacea or other skin condition to be added to the list. Why not share your experience with other rosacea sufferers? That is what volunteering is all about. Rosaceans helping other Rosaceans. Ask not what rosaceans can do for you, ask what can you do for rosaceans! Join the RRDi. 

[Guide]

She had seen various doctors over the past two years. Most of them had told her she had eczema and prescribed steroid-based creams that did help, but not for long. When she stopped applying them, the flushing returned with a vengeance. There was nothing wrong with the creams - it was the diagnosis that was incorrect. Once, a doctor told her she had acne. The topical medication that was given to her made her redness and sensitivity worse. This is the classic history of a person who is suffering from rosacea, which is often mistaken for other skin diseases. A rosacea patient may be misdiagnosed and wrongly treated for years.
Don't be red-faced over rosacea, Lynn Teo, The Strait Times, Singapore

So I went to a new dermatologist here, who actually listens to my ideas, and she interestingly enough said that I have seborrheic dermatitis (as well as the obvious rosacea and acne). Seb Derm was never brought up by my previous dermatologist and I was with him for 3.5 years! For the record: I think she's probably right. BraceYourself

In one year two dermatologists failed to diagnose me with rosacea until I persuaded the third that it is rosacea. I basically had to diagnose myself and then prove it in front of audience. buratino29 Post #130 3rd April 2013 06:28 PM

One of my daughters came across your post and brought it to my attention. Her sister, my youngest daughter, suffered rosacea fulminans several years ago and I thought I would share some of her experience with you. She was incorrectly diagnosed with acne initially and the condition had time to get far worse than it might have with a proper diagnosis from the beginning. We switched doctors because we knew it was not simple acne. Both of her sisters had suffered acne and she never had, so we knew what acne was and what she had was certainly not. We were lucky to see the new doctor's physician's assistant who listened patiently to her story (how her face had been clear and then suddenly she was getting multiple cysts and green puss was coming out of some of them). He said he did not know what the condition was but would find out. He called the next day and we went back to the office to hear that she had this very rare condition: rosacea fulminans. padie Post #6 July 18, 2012 at 05:18 AM

P.s. My doctor who I had seen at the beginning of all of this is the one who misdiagnosed me, this was before I even knew what SD was, however I did know what perioral dermatitis was because my niece has it. When he diagnosed me with PD i questioned him about it but he assured me it can affect any area on the face. I did research and I did see strains of it affecting people in other areas of the face. Rainykite post no 117

I was told I had Perioral dermatitis because there was an outbreak near my nose....Began to notice a swelling under my right eye and a red path beneath extending up the temple. It became hot and sensitive and flares when I workout with weights. Told "hmm don't know what that is, it's not rosacea (my fear was that it was) but try rozex cream to see if it goes." It didn't. Didn't change. Had a second opinion. Same as the first. "Don't know, looks like it might be fungul. Leave it until you see a dermatologist." Began to a sore eye, a few pains and watering. Went back to the second opinion to ge this checked was given a scrip for kenocomb ointment for fungus....out of desparation I went to another gp explained the whole story again. He checked the skin, told me it wasn't rosacea that it looked like a fungus infection try Nizoral 2%. Hmmm. Later that day I had an appointment with a new dermatologist who told me that I actually had seborrhec dermatitis...this sounded right as all the systems relate, rash on chest, dry skin in eyebrows, dandruff...funny I'd never connected these things and either had anyone else. He then checked the rash thing on the right side of my face and temple and told me it was rosacea. I asked about the pain in the eye, watery, and he said not connected. Gave me a print of what to expect with rosacea and out the door I went...  GNR post no 1

Sam-C reports, "My dermatologist told me it’s likely that I had Erythromelalgia all along but was misdiagnosed as Erythematotelangiectatic Rosacea."

Sally [post no 6 on 15 August 2019] posts, "I was diagnosed with rosacea and seb derm. My eyebrows fell out and I had a constant itchy rash on my forehead. Turns out the dermatologists were wrong on both counts. I have contact dermatitis from various ingredients in my toiletries...."

Please add your experience by clicking on the reply button [near the top or] below....

[Guide]

A paper on demodectic rosacea typifies an example of a delayed diagnosis with the following: 

"Colonization of skin by Demodex mites developing as a single facial lesion with a limited range is diagnosed relatively rarely. The presence of this type of skin lesions may hinder and thus delay the diagnostic process and application of appropriate treatment. The persistent cosmetic defect on the face is extremely onerous/embarrassing to the patient and impedes normal functioning. Describe a case of atypical presentation of primary facial demodicosis and its successful treatment. We present a case of a 38‐year‐old patient who consulted an aesthetic medicine doctor about a skin lesion, that is, erythematous‐papular lesion with single pustules persisting for more than half a year around the right eye corner and below the lower eyelid. Previous topical antibiotic treatment has proved ineffective. Diagnosis was targeted at detection of Demodex spp. invasion, which yielded a positive result. Targeted therapy with 1% topical ivermectin was implemented. Complete resolution of the skin lesions was observed after 8.5 weeks of the treatment with no further recurrence. In the case of limited scaly erythematous‐papular skin lesions with single pustules, Demodex mites should be considered as an etiological factor or one of the factors in the case of a mixed‐etiology lesion. A delayed diagnosis of visible lesions on facial skin has a negative impact on patient's well‐being and normal functioning. As diagnosis of primary demodicosis is underestimated, knowledge about this dermatosis and its clinical manifestations should be disseminated among cosmetologists and doctors of various specialties."

J Cosmet Dermatol. 2021 Feb; 20(2): 420–424.
Primary facial demodicosis as a health problem and aesthetic challenge: A case report
Renata Przydatek‐Tyrajska, PhD Student, Aleksandra Sędzikowska, PhD, Katarzyna Bartosik, PhD