Rosacea psychological triggers

[Steven Zeigler]

Hi All,

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this community. I have a story I want to share about my journey towards a Rosacea diagnosis and learning about and dealing with the disorder.

In my late twenties I began to have symptoms beyond what I thought was just a little localized acne and redness. I had a nurse friend that suggested hydrocortisone cream for the redness and it actually worked for me. Around the same time I developed a temporary skin condition that was diagnosed as eczema. It was on my hands and the doctor said it was stress induced eczema and gave me a cream that cleared it up, never to return.

Twenty five years later (6 months ago) my face...caught fire. I had what I would call sudden onset rosacea. It was bad. The red butterfly came on strong. I went to the doctor and she diagnosed it as rosacea and put me on that standard old school anti-microbial cream (now she wants me on oral antibiotics) and I am now looking for a regimen (and products) that work for me and....to understand the condition better and manage it somehow.

A few thoughts and insights I have gained in my research and in understanding my body and it’s reactions that I would love input on.

1. It is complicated and there is no one cause or cure but a large complicated web of interconnected factors.

2. Stress and mental health plays a HUGE role. I still have hopes that when my life situational stress and depression settles down, I may find more relief.

3. Over all health plays a huge role. Diet. Exercise. My diet has been horrible as I have been eating out a lot and drinking more and exercising less since it “came on strong”.

4. Environment (for example it is winter and I have been using a space heater to heat my room but the house is freezing) could play a role. 

5. Every individual is different.

 

Does my thinking seem correct or on the right tract to those that have more experience?
 

Is sunscreen important? I am very fair skinned but not outside a lot but I have not been using sunscreen.

Beyond affirmation and question answering. My hope is that insights I have and my sharing will help others in some small way.

 

 

 

 

 

[Apurva Tathe]

4 hours ago, Steven Zeigler said:

Hi All,

Thanks to everyone that has contributed to this community. I have a story I want to share about my journey towards a Rosacea diagnosis and learning about and dealing with the disorder.

In my late twenties I began to have symptoms beyond what I thought was just a little localized acne and redness. I had a nurse friend that suggested hydrocortisone cream for the redness and it actually worked for me. Around the same time I developed a temporary skin condition that was diagnosed as eczema. It was on my hands and the doctor said it was stress induced eczema and gave me a cream that cleared it up, never to return.

Twenty five years later (6 months ago) my face...caught fire. I had what I would call sudden onset rosacea. It was bad. The red butterfly came on strong. I went to the doctor and she diagnosed it as rosacea and put me on that standard old school anti-microbial cream (now she wants me on oral antibiotics) and I am now looking for a regimen (and products) that work for me and....to understand the condition better and manage it somehow.

A few thoughts and insights I have gained in my research and in understanding my body and it’s reactions that I would love input on.

1. It is complicated and there is no one cause or cure but a large complicated web of interconnected factors.

2. Stress and mental health plays a HUGE role. I still have hopes that when my life situational stress and depression settles down, I may find more relief.

3. Over all health plays a huge role. Diet. Exercise. My diet has been horrible as I have been eating out a lot and drinking more and exercising less since it “came on strong”.

4. Environment (for example it is winter and I have been using a space heater to heat my room but the house is freezing) could play a role. 

5. Every individual is different.

 

Does my thinking seem correct or on the right tract to those that have more experience?
 

Is sunscreen important? I am very fair skinned but not outside a lot but I have not been using sunscreen.

Beyond affirmation and question answering. My hope is that insights I have and my sharing will help others in some small way.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes what you have pointed out above is correct. There are more interconnected and internal factors or subordinate factors though which enhance the condition but you sometimes never know what activated this condition and have to go through all the loops.

Yes sunscreen is important if you are a very fair skinned person but it all depends on skin makeup (from makeup I am saying composition) because skin of color people like me have more melanin production that kind of gives protection from sun rays and that also depends on how your skin reacts to sunscreen if you have dry or oily skin . I use my homemade zinc sunblock on top of lathered moisturizer since I have a dry skin but you just give it a try buying something. There are recommendations of sunscreens in our rosacea topics. you can read what suits you best.

[Guide]

Welcome Steven Zeigler to the RRDi. 

As Apurva points out you are correct in your research. You can take time in this forum category you posted in, PSYCHOLOGY AND ROSACEA, to continue your research by reading all the posts. One of the many theories on rosacea is the Nervous System Theory which is worth some of your time to investigate since it is related somewhat. 

However, your doctor isn't acquainted with the Gold Standard of treatment for rosacea and is old school prescribing [probably] topical metronidazole and doxycycline. What exactly did your doctor prescribe? 

There are a number of rosacea theories on the cause of rosacea, but this post is worth considering. 

If you want a free copy of Rosacea 101 which includes the Rosacea Diet, just use the contact form [request a copy]. Avoiding sugar and carbohydrate may improve your skin. You may want to read this post about alcohol and rosacea. The RRDi official trigger factor list has a number of environmental triggers. 

As for everyone being different with regard to rosacea, we have dubbed this the X-Factor in Rosacea. 

[RedVelvet]

Hi Steven,

I read your post, and I sympathize. We are all part of this community trying to help each other with trial and error solutions. After 20 years of rosacea, I decided to research everything I could about the disease. Most of what I learned came from the rosaceagroup.org website and this one. Together they are a fantastic resource and you can read about things you never would have thought of. I am one of the lucky ones who had great success with finding a "cure" which involved multiple components: gut health, (I did a cleanse, a fast and a heavy metal detox), adding specific supplements, changing/reducing the products I used on my face, and treating my skin for demodex mites. I never took oral antibiotics and since November I have not used any medications on my face. Your answers will likely be different than mine, but reading and researching are key. I'm always interested when people say their rosacea came on suddenly. What changed? Environment? Job? Housing? Diet? Lifestyle? Chemical exposure? Relationship? There was probably something; you just have to put the pieces together. That will help you to address the cause, not just treat the symptoms. 

Keep us posted!