Rosacea Newbies

[Guide]

We now allow guests to post here without registering. Guests and Inactive Members are privileged to visit some of our website which had a vast amount of information about rosacea. You must be an active member to have full access to all our information on rosacea. For more information. 

FAQs
If you are newly diagnosed, post your question in this thread or in the FAQs that are already posted. Ask about anything.

However, if you browse the FAQs, usually your question has already been asked so you might want to browse through the FAQs for a while and see if your question is posted already. Here are a couple to get you started:

Simple Regimen Controlling Rosacea 

Will I Develop Rhinophyma?

Does Rosacea Progress In Stages?

Repetition
Please understand and indulge us when we REPEAT over and over the same point, since when we do, we are emphasizing something we know is important and you should consider carefully, since this post is for rosacea newbies.  To repeat, we repeat important points over and over again. Please indulge us. 

Diagnosis
It would be good to get a diagnosis of what skin condition you are suffering from since you may NOT have rosacea but something else. Read this post about self diagnosis or this one on internet diagnosis.  If you haven't gone to a doctor to get a diagnosis and really feel like asking 'is this rosacea?' please read this post. 

As for treating rosacea from the inside (oral treatment), you may want to read this post on nutritional deficiencies or this post on the gut. As for what topicals, there is not one treatment, whether oral or topical that works for every rosacean, which is what we have dubbed the rosacea x-factor.

Prescription Treatments 
Usually, with a well informed dermatologist, the current state of the art treatment for rosacea is Oracea and Soolantra, the gold standard currently. This treatment is a combination using oral, timed release, low dose doxycycline and a topical ivermectin. A well informed dermatologist prescribes this now as a first line of treatment and asks you to return in 30 days to see the results. Old school dermatologists may prescribe a higher dose doxycycline along with topical metronidazole. In each case you need to come back to the dermatologist for an assessment if the treatment is working, usually in thirty days. 

If after a month or more with this treatment the skin isn't improved, there are a number of other treatments used when rosacea isn't responding to the standard treatments.  Since some old school dermatologists who are not keeping up with the gold standard are prescribing topical metronidazole and an oral antibiotic, which could be a tetracycline (usually doxycycline) or minocycline. Again, the physician will ask you to try this treatment and come back in a month to review the results. Sometime this old school treatment with metronidazole and antibiotic works. However, if it works for everyone we wouldn't have this post since not everyone responds to this old school treatment approach. 

Data has suggested that Topical Calcineurin Inhibitors (TCIs) are more commonly prescribed for rosacea according to one paper from Korea. 

If your results are unsatisfactory, your dermatologist might try another treatment. You may want to review When Rosacea Resists Standard Therapies.  More information on prescription treatments for rosacea. 

Over the Counter Treatments or Non Prescription
The RRDi recommends the Cosmetic ZZ cream, one of our sponsors, Demodex Solutions, which is an over the counter topical treatment.

There are a number of other demodectic treatments for rosacea, including a popular treatment using horse paste.

There are others as well as Diaper Treatment and the list keeps growing. When we hear any anecdotal report on what rosaceans say improves their rosacea we try to list the treatment in our store if it is over the counter and available on Amazon. 

As for alternative treatments, i.e. natural,  or over the counter treatments, the number has grown to such a huge array in the armamentarium treatment for rosacea which is a multi-million dollar industry for both prescription and non prescription treatments, that sorting through these can be bewildering. Our affiliate store is a huge database of over the counter, non prescription treatments, not only for rosacea treatment, but for other skin conditions and the some odds and ends.  Our non profit gets a small fee if you purchase an item in our store which helps us keep our web site going. 

Rosaceans 
So, that is why the RRDi exists, since the common bond of members is we are all searching for a better way to control rosacea.  You may post in our member forum by registering with an email address. You may post in our private forum by registering with an email address. Since many rosaceans now prefer private social media rosaceans groups, we have paid for a private Tapatalk forum for those who want total privacy. Our member forum is secure and has all the rosacea data so we hope you join. What is the difference between a public and a private forum? Answer. You may want to understand our policy on Anonymity, Transparency and Posting.

Searching
First, you need to be sure what skin condition you are suffering from, since you need to rule out a number of rosacea mimics or other skin conditions. The RRDi recognizes thirteen rosacea variants, so it would be important to get a proper diagnosis. We can't over emphasize this, and we are redundant in recommending this. Differentiating Rosacea from Other Skin Conditions. 

So the question is whether you have been properly diagnosed with rosacea and what phenotype? Can you get a diagnosis on the internet?

It has been stated in some papers on rosacea when treatment for acne exacerbates the condition that a diagnosis of rosacea may be a consideration (more info on diagnosing rosacea). Rosacea skin is usually described as sensitive so sometimes it is best to be careful not to use too many treatments at the same time since you may be making it worse. Sometimes you may need to let your skin heal on its own for a few days to allow your skin some time to recover from the treatments which may have done more harm than good.

There isn't one treatment for rosacea since what condition you may have could result in a different diagnosis later, such as a rosacea mimic or a rosacea variant.  The RRDi recognizes thirteen variants of rosacea. Yes, we repeat information to emphasize points. 

Since there isn't one treatment that works for every rosacean we have dubbed this the Rosacea X-Factor. Rosacea has been described by one doctor as "probably a collection of many different diseases that are lumped together inappropriately." There has been a controversy on the subtype classification of rosacea since it was announced in 2002. The RRDi has endorsed the Phenotype Classification of rosacea which is a superior classification than subtypes. So if your physician says you have a subtype, your physician isn't keeping up with the latest state of the art diagnosis of rosacea. 

Most rosacea sufferers follow the advice of a physician. You should at the very least be sure to get a proper diagnosis of what your skin condition is. Some who have followed the advice of their physician are successfully treated and remain happy campers. Usually these patients never post in forums like this one, since they have moved on in life and follow the advice of their physician and have their rosacea controlled with prescription treatment. If you have never been diagnosed and decide to see a dermatologist you may want to know what to ask your physician. 

Others, who join this forum, usually are frustrated with the treatment offered and find rosacea confusing and a bewilderment. Some others claim that this isn't the case at all and have rosacea all under control. There are a significant number of rosaceans who have been misdiagnosed and you should be aware, this may happen to you. 

There are a significant number of rosaceans who use the various light therapy devices, whether offered by a physician or simply purchase their own light devices.  However, even these, after some time find these light devices wanting. There are a significant number of rosaceans in this forum who have tried all the various treatments offered by dermatologists and the pharmaceutical prescription treatments and found them wanting and use various over the counter or non prescription or natural treatments to control their rosacea. The number of treatments stagger the imagination and the list keeps growing. Our store offers a mere fraction of these treatments (our non profit organization receives a small fee if you purchase an item through our affiliate store). 

One recommendation is to just take a few days to let your skin heal on its own and only apply cool water to your skin. You may find that you have simply used too many treatments on your rosacea sensitive skin and you just need your skin to heal on its own. Then, apply one rosacea treatment at a time to see what happens rather than multiple treatments since you have no idea what may be exacerbating your skin if you are using multiple treatments. 

Browse and read the posts in this forum to educate yourself on what others are doing to control their rosacea. You will quickly discover that what works for one rosacea sufferer does not necessarily work for another. There are a number of alternative and non prescription (over the counter) treatments for rosacea that some report work for them.

Try using one (or two) treatments at a time since it is difficult to know what is working and not working for your skin if you are using three or more treatments on your skin. Using more than one treatment, especially three or more will be extremely difficult to decide what treatment is actually working. If you decide to take oral treatments (prescription or non prescription) for rosacea, you may want to try them one at a time, slowly increasing another oral treatment to see what is working or what is not working. 

Others have tried trigger avoidance, which is an accepted medical treatment for rosacea, and is usually always mentioned by physicians. Probiotic treatment for rosacea is now an acceptable medical treatment for rosacea. The gold standard state of the art treatment is usually what a well informed dermatologist will prescribe to rule out demodectic rosacea. If your rosacea isn't responding to standard treatments, you may want to consider When Rosacea Resists Standard Therapies. 

Finally, post questions in the different threads and also post what results you are experiencing. Others with similar experiences may help you. Be positive and try to remain calm, you will get your rosacea under control, as many in this forum have reported. If you are concerned about joining the RRDi all you need to join and post is an email address and you can hide behind a cryptic display name of your choosing so no one knows who you are. Read this post if you still have concerns about your privacy. Or join our private Tapatalk forum. 

Newbies Should Post
We encourage you to post and become actively involved with the RRDi forum. We really need rosaceans who want to volunteer. Of course, you don't have to volunteer, which is what the word means, "a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task." You should volunteer because you want to volunteer. The RRDi can improve if you simply post your concerns and questions or what you have found to improve your rosacea. 

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Reply to this Topic

There is a reply to this topic button somewhere on the device you are reading this post. If you never heard about this topic and you learned about it here first, wouldn't it be a gracious act on your part to show your appreciation for this topic by registering with just your email address and show your appreciation with a post?  And if registering is too much to ask, could you post your appreciation for this topic by finding the START NEW TOPIC button in our guest forum where you don't have to register?  We know how many have viewed this topic because our forum software shows the number of views. However, most rosaceans don't engage or show their appreciation for our website and the RRDi would simply ask that you show your appreciation, please, simply by a post.  

[Flash]

No smilie with a red face to choose from! 

firstly, thank you to RRDi for having the vision to make available this wonderful resource for those of us with rosacea. We are a shy lot aren't we? have to say, I'm disappointed to arrive here and find that there are no conversation threads.

Iam only very recently diagnosed, though have been struggling with an increasing facial rash with skin changes for the past 10 years and had been reading adn self assessing myself as having rosacea for the last 4 years. I also have other symptoms looking very auto immunish and so my GP had thought the rash to be more likely lupus. a swag of blood tests have returned clear on this and the dermatologist's diagnosis is definately rosacea with seborrheic dermatitis -so that is something of a relief.

Iam using 'Finacea' (azaelic acid) to treat demodex mite and 'Head and Shoulders' dandruff shampoo on my face for the dermatitis i guess. i have chosen at this stage not to take 6 weeks antibiotics.

i would really like to hear about others experiences on this type of program. How long did yiou need to use the azaelic acid? Stings my face like crazy but I am seeing the improvement already after only 3 days. has anyone succesfully taken the antibiotics? what happened after the 6 weeks? Have you needed to repeat the program?

What kinds of alternative, holistic treatments are out there?

Thanks and best wishes

Flash

[Guest]

Welcome Flash,

For some reason the 300 plus members of the forum just don't post here even though I have set up some detailed categories for them to post. I am hoping that some day this particular area of the forum:

RRDI > Forums > Public Forum > Rosacea Topics

will become popular and members will find this an incredible resource repository of rosacea data.

As to any of the treatments you list below I have never tried them.

Flash said:

No smilie with a red face to choose from!

firstly, thank you to RRDi for having the vision to make available this wonderful resource for those of us with rosacea. We are a shy lot aren't we? have to say, I'm disappointed to arrive here and find that there are no conversation threads.

Iam only very recently diagnosed, though have been struggling with an increasing facial rash with skin changes for the past 10 years and had been reading adn self assessing myself as having rosacea for the last 4 years. I also have other symptoms looking very auto immunish and so my GP had thought the rash to be more likely lupus. a swag of blood tests have returned clear on this and the dermatologist's diagnosis is definately rosacea with seborrheic dermatitis -so that is something of a relief.

Iam using 'Finacea' (azaelic acid) to treat demodex mite and 'Head and Shoulders' dandruff shampoo on my face for the dermatitis i guess. i have chosen at this stage not to take 6 weeks antibiotics.

i would really like to hear about others experiences on this type of program. How long did yiou need to use the azaelic acid? Stings my face like crazy but I am seeing the improvement already after only 3 days. has anyone succesfully taken the antibiotics? what happened after the 6 weeks? Have you needed to repeat the program?

What kinds of alternative, holistic treatments are out there?

Thanks and best wishes

Flash

[tcape]

No smilie with a red face to choose from!

firstly, thank you to RRDi for having the vision to make available this wonderful resource for those of us with rosacea. We are a shy lot aren't we? have to say, I'm disappointed to arrive here and find that there are no conversation threads.

Iam only very recently diagnosed, though have been struggling with an increasing facial rash with skin changes for the past 10 years and had been reading adn self assessing myself as having rosacea for the last 4 years. I also have other symptoms looking very auto immunish and so my GP had thought the rash to be more likely lupus. a swag of blood tests have returned clear on this and the dermatologist's diagnosis is definately rosacea with seborrheic dermatitis -so that is something of a relief.

Iam using 'Finacea' (azaelic acid) to treat demodex mite and 'Head and Shoulders' dandruff shampoo on my face for the dermatitis i guess. i have chosen at this stage not to take 6 weeks antibiotics.

i would really like to hear about others experiences on this type of program. How long did yiou need to use the azaelic acid? Stings my face like crazy but I am seeing the improvement already after only 3 days. has anyone succesfully taken the antibiotics? what happened after the 6 weeks? Have you needed to repeat the program?

What kinds of alternative, holistic treatments are out there?

Thanks and best wishes

Flash

Flash, I have used Finacea before, and didn't feel like it did any better than any of the other topical creams I've tried. Which is to say they didn't fix the problem. The only success I've had in keeping Rosacea at bay is antibiotics. I'm currently taking Doxycycline, and it has worked really well. I'm taking 50mgs once a day. I still have occasional outbreaks of bumps on my nose (awful), but they're few and far between. When that happens, I take an extra 50mg tablet per day for 3 or 4 days, and it clears right up. All according to Dr's recommendations.

Doxycycline....according to my Dr..... is much better to take than Tetracycline, because it doesn't interfere with the antibiotics you might need to take to cure an infection. Perhaps the kind folks Drs. on this forum can comment on this.

If the Finacea is working for you, by all means you should keep using it. Maybe you won't need any antibiotics. Do what works for YOU.

Best wishes,

Tom

[happycinders]

I was diagnosed with Rosacea about 3 years ago (having had symptons for probably 3 years prior to this)by a Dermatologist and was prescribed Doxycycline, which I tried for a couple of months and stopped when I experienced an irritated oesophagus and no real relief from the red burning face and stinging eyes.

It has been an interesting and frustrating journey

To date I have made lots of lifestyle changes ....

Stopping smoking

Starting yoga and meditation classes

Dietary changes include restricting dairy, wheat and egg foods that I have been advised that I have intolerances to

Adding supplements of Omega 3, Linseed (Flaxseed), Barley Grass, Lecithin, Quercitin / Vitamin C

My symptons do seem to have reduced slightly, although the facial redness seems to be getting more noticeable. Other than the above lifestyle changes I haven't tried any products or any medications.

I recently came across a website www.rosadyn.com, has anyone used their product called Rosadyn?

Looking forward to hearing your comments .... many thanks

[sab]

Hi Flash, I have been on antiobiotics for 6/8 weeks and have not seen any results. The only minor result I have seen is perhaps the postules are a little less red. Otherwise, I have postules with whiteheads in the middle on my upper lip, on the chin area and eyebrows. They are also spreading under the eyes and on my nose as well as along the nasal label folds. It is very disheartening to take the antiobiotics, plus faithfully apply the elidel and 2% metronida and clinderm cream daily. I had a bioposy done and that's how it was determined that I had Rosacea, mine must be acne rosacea. I have heard that antiobiotics take a long time to work, but I'm beginning to have my doubts. I certainly do not want to be on antiobiotics for any long periods as I am sure that will affect the immune system even more. I am trying to eat yogurt on a daily basis to counter attack any adverse affects of the antiobiotics.

Once, I am finished with the course of the antiobiotics, I would like to source natural methods that work. I'm wondering if any other members can share their experiences of what works and what doesn't.

Sab