Common Rosacea Symptoms
Rosacea is a harmless but chronic skin condition affecting millions of people worldwide.
The majority of people affected by rosacea are fair skinned Caucasians and often of English, Irish and Scottish descent and it tends to be more specific to middle aged and older people between 30 and 60.
Often people with this condition are not even aware they have it or are not familiar with the condition and that it is treatable. It is often mistaken for acne, sensitivity to the sun or blushing as it typically affects the face but may also affect the neck, upper chest, scalp, and ears and often involves the eye area as well. But generally it affects the central area of the face where normal blushing occurs along the cheeks, nose, and chin.
Rosacea symptoms may include some or all of these features permanently or intermittently.
- The entire face may have a rosy flushed hue
- An enlarged bulbous nose
- Inflamed red bumps along with pus filled bumps
- Few or no blackheads or whiteheads
- Small blood vessels visible under the skin
- Burning or stinging sensation occurs with flushing
- Swollen eyelids and a feeling of burning and tearing
- Skin may be rough giving it the appearance of dryness
Doctors classify rosacea into 4 categories relating to the symptoms and severity.
The initial stage of rosacea with intermittent facial flushing and redness called flare-ups is one category.
Another category more often affects women where flare-ups and swelling gradually become more and more frequent until it is a permanent condition.
Inflammatory rosacea, another classification, appears as pimples and pink coloured bumps with small blood vessels showing under the surface of the skin.
The last category affects mostly men. A condition called rhinophyma is marked by an enlarged red bulbous nose covered with large bumps.
It is possible for one person to be affected by more than one type of rosacea.
There is no conclusive single factor to explain this condition although there are many different theories including genetics and environmental factors.
Certain activities and events can trigger or exacerbate the condition but are not actual causes such as alcohol consumption, heat and sunlight, cold weather, hot drinks, coughing fits and eating spicy foods.
It is treatable with proper rosacea skin care, however it is considered a chronic condition that there is no cure for and cannot be outgrown as with acne. Treating the symptoms and keeping the condition under control by keeping records of what triggers flare-ups and avoiding them is the main goal, ultimately improving the physical appearance. Keeping this in mind, their are many rosacea treatment solutions you can try such as cosmetics for rosacea in the short term to hide the redness quickly. Another low cost solution could be adopting a rosacea diet which depending on what you currently eat might result in a reduction in symptoms. On the higher cost end if you wanta somewhat more permanent solution, compared to daily cosmetics, you might want to look into ipl treatment or photofacial treatment which can be quite expensive (It might reach $1000s over time) but usually gives very good results.