Rosacea

Rosacea Treatments

Rosacea is a common skin condition that affects the face. Rosacea makes your skin appear red and can cause pus-filled bumps on the affected skin areas. You will commonly find rosacea on your nose, cheeks, and forehead. 

Anyone can get rosacea but It is more prevalent in women and individuals aged 30 years and above, but rare in children. The condition can fluctuate in severity over time.

Though there is no cure for rosacea, thankfully, there are some dependable and proven rosacea treatment options in the UK, ensuring effective relief from symptoms and smooth management of the condition. 

Looking for the right Rosacea medication? Ashcroft Pharmacy, a licensed online pharmacy in the UK, for a convenient and reliable option.

Types of Rosacea.

There are different types of rosacea. Each type of rosacea has specific symptoms. You can be diagnosed with more than one type of rosacea. Below are some of the sub-types of rosacea.

• Ocular rosacea: It's a type of rosacea that affects your eyes. You may experience symptoms such as pain, dry eyes, bloodshot eyes, swollen eyelids, blurred vision, and the formation of cysts on your eyelids.
• Papulopustular rosacea: This type of rosacea appears like pus-filled whiteheads on your face. You may experience symptoms such as swollen bumps on your forehead, cheeks, and chain, as well as redness on your face.
• Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea: This type of rosacea appears like a permanent redness on your face. The blood vessels on your skin swell and get more visible.
• Phymatous rosacea: This is a rare type of rosacea that mostly occurs in men. It makes your skin thick and scary. You may experience symptoms such as a swollen, bumpy, and discolored nose.

Common rosacea triggers.

Rosacea triggers are things that cause rosacea to flare up. They include:

• Stress 
• Alcohol 
• Excess workouts
• Skincare products 
• Hair products 
• Extremely cold weather
• Extremely hot weather 
• Direct sunlight 
• Spicy meals 
• Hot drinks 
• Menopause 
• Strong winds
•  Medications. Examples are blood pressure medications

Examples of the Rosacea category based on the facial areas:

Are there any ways to prevent rosacea?

Ways to prevent rosacea

There are lifestyle habits that you can use to prevent rosacea. They include:

-Use of sunscreen
Always wear your sunscreen to prevent direct exposure to sunlight.

-Use gentle skin care products
Avoid cleansers, toners, creams, and moisturizers that contain irritating ingredients such as alcohol, perfumes, witch hazel, camphor, and menthol.

-Use soft towels on your face
After cleaning your face wipe it dry with a soft towel to avoid skin irritation.

-Use electric razors to shave their facial hair. Electric razors reduce skin irritation.

-Use moisturisers, avoiding perfumed and fragranced ingredients-Use moisturizers.

Use oil-free moisturizers during windy and low temperatures to soften your skin.

-Take care of your eyes by daily care routines. Rosacea causes redness and irritation in your eyes. Always use an eyelid cleaner to clean your eyelids. Cleaning your eyelids gently every day reduces irritation and inflammation of the eyes as well as the use of warm compresses.

-Prioritise anti-inflammatory diets. To prevent chronic conditions such as rosacea, include plant-based foods and healthy fats in your diet.

-Practice face massage
Face massage rejuvenates your skin, allowing a smooth flow of blood in your skin.

-Keep track of rosacea triggers
Every time you notice a rosacea trigger, journal it and implement preventive measures to cope. For example, if hot water baths trigger your rosacea, frequently use cold or warm baths to prevent rosacea.

Causes of rosacea

The exact cause of rosacea is not known, however, changes in blood vessels, microbes, and skin peptides are believed to play a factor. According to research, there is no specific cause of rosacea. A few things can cause rosacea. They include:

High levels of peptides: High levels of peptides causes blood vessels to enlarge. This leads to redness and inflammation of the skin.

Microscopic Skin Mites: Skin mites are common on human skin. Every human being has skin mites, however, rosacea patients have a higher number of skin mites. The bacteria found in the mites' faeces cause skin irritation.

Helicobacter pylori bacteria: Helicobacter pylori is a bacteria found in the gut system. This bacteria stimulates the production of a protein that causes blood vessels to enlarge causing the effects of rosacea.

Genetic causes: Rosacea can be inherited from family members.

Skin pigmentation: Rosacea commonly develops in light-skinned people.

Treatment of rosacea 

There is no permanent cure for rosacea but there are different medical treatments used to treat various rosacea treatments.

There are 2 types of rosacea treatments. Anti-inflammatory treatments that reduce redness and antibacterial treatments that fight rosacea infections. 

Seek medical advice from your pharmacist to get the right rosacea treatment for your symptoms.

Oral antibiotics

They have anti-inflammatory effects and work better than topical creams. For better improvement, your pharmacist may recommend you take the antibiotics for a few months. Examples of oral antibiotics include:

• Doxycycline (treats pimples on the face that don’t respond to creams and gels)
• Minocycline (reduces inflammation and redness symptoms)
• Clindamycin (stops the growth of bacteria that causes inflammation)
• Erythromycin (treats severe pustules and papules) 

Topical creams for Rosasea:

Topical creams are applied twice or once per day and they help in reducing inflammation and skin discoloration.

• Mirvaso (reduces blood flow that causes skin redness)
• Soolantra (has an anti-inflammatory and anti-parasitic active ingredient known as ivermectin)
• Oxymetazoline 
• Benzoyl peroxide 
• Tretinoins 
• Rozex gel (reduces rosacea rash by attacking bacteria causing inflammation)
• Finacea gel (has an antibacterial properties, hence fights inflammatory bacteria on the skin)
• Metronidazole 

Rosacea laser treatment.

Rosacea laser treatment is a type of treatment that uses high light to remove large blood vessels on your skin.

Symptoms of rosacea 

Like any other skin condition, rosacea patients experience different types of symptoms.

Symptoms common to light-skinned patients 

Facial redness that appears on the chin, nose cheeks, and forehead. The persistent redness can sometimes spread to your chest, neck, head, and ears.

Common rosacea symptoms in all skin colors

• Facial flushing: Your skin turns red briefly and may be accompanied by burning sensations.
  Thick, swollen, visible blood vessels
• Sensitive skin: The affected skin becomes tender and sensitive when touched
• Eye problems: Red, swollen, and itchy eyes and eyelids 
• Pus-filled bumps 
• Dry skin patches 
• Burning sensation on your skin
• Bulb-shaped, swollen nose. The skin around the nose thickens due to the formation of excess tissues