The skin care routine you use can also negatively affect rosacea. If any of the products you use cause redness or stinging (products containing alcohol, witch hazel or fragrance can often cause these issues) you should cut them out of your routine. In addition, Waldorf recommends "avoiding toners, astringents, scrubs, retinoids, alpha hydroxy acids and anything else potentially irritating if not under the supervision of a dermatologist." She also adds that people with rosacea have "'reactive' skin that is particularly sensitive to irritants," and that using products designed for sensitive skin can be helpful.
Next: Treatments for mild rosacea
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Treatments for Mild Rosacea
If you have only a few pimples around the center of your face, light dilated blood vessels and redness, you likely have a mild case of rosacea, Waldorf says. If you have adjusted your lifestyle to avoid common triggers and you still have obvious signs of rosacea, the next step is to treat it with topical products. Over-the-counter acne medications that contain sulfur (avoid benzoyl peroxide though) may help get rid of the rosacea pimples, but Waldorf highly recommends getting a prescription for a topical antibiotic metronidazole, like Noritate Cream or Metrogel or azaleic acid cream like Finacea. The regular use of topical antibiotics can help clear up rosacea in about eight to 10 weeks. Your derm may have you continue topical products for a year after your rosacea clears. Because for some people rosacea is "a life-long problem," Waldorf says, but for others "once it's under control with treatment, it peters out with only occasional flares," she says.
Next: Treatments for severe rosacea
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Treatments for Severe Rosacea
If your rosacea is more severe, you likely have a good amount of acne and a significant amount of red and even purple blood vessels. You may even have painful cysts and swollen cheeks. In addition to getting a prescription topical antibiotic like Metrogel or Finacea, you will likely need an oral antibiotic (like Doxycycline, Minocycline or Tetracycline) as well. They will help minimize the inflammation and pimples. "Once the pimple part of the rosacea has diminished, we gradually taper off the oral antibiotic while leaving the patient on the topical program," Waldorf says.
And as stated on the previous page: Your derm may have you continue the topical products for a year after your rosacea clears. Because for some people rosacea is "a life-long problem," says Waldorf, but for others, "once it's under control with treatment, it peters out with only occasional flares," she says.
Next: What to do after your flare-ups discontinue
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What to do After Your Current Rosacea Flare-up Clears
Even after rosacea pimples clear you may be left with redness and obvious blood vessels. If those continue to bother you, you have options to help clear them up, but they are more costly. Pulsed Dye Lasers and Intense Pulsed Light Lasers (IPL) can help improve the appearance of the redness and vessels, Waldorf says. A treatment like IPL can cost $350 to $500 per treatment though and you may require three to six treatments. In the meantime, many rosacea sufferers use mineral makeup to cover redness because it's less irritating to the skin, provides good coverage and is applied with a brush, which doesn't require rubbing that may cause skin to flush. Check out the mineral makeup products TotalBeauty.com readers love here.
If you have skin that flushes easily (especially when touched), has obvious red blood vessels and has a smattering of black and whitehead-free pimples around your nose and cheek area, you may have rosacea. And figuring out how to get rid of rosacea isn't easy.
This skin problem isn't uncommon (about 14 million Americans suffer from rosacea according to the National Rosacea Society), but it does often require professional help and antibiotics. If you think you may have rosacea, it might be time to make an appointment with a dermatologist. They will be able to guide you to the best course of treatment for your skin.
That said, there are a few things you can do before seeing a dermatologist, in order to determine if your rosacea is severe enough to warrant a trip to the doctor's office. Though rosacea is likely an inherited skin problem (exact root causes are still unknown), there are many lifestyle triggers that cause rosacea to flare. Things like extreme temperature changes, stress and even some of the foods you eat and beverages you drink can be responsible for making your rosacea more of a problem.
Follow this guide we put together, with help from Dr. Heidi Waldorf, director of Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, to help diagnose your rosacea and solve this skin problem once and for all.
