Rosacea - A Skin Condition To Worry About?

Both a skin disease and eye disorder, rosacea is a type of disorder characterized by the appearance of pustules and vascular manifestations on the affected tissues.  The medical term "rosacea" is frequently misspelled and is often written as rosacia, rosecea or roscea.  No matter how the skin disorder is spelled, the symptoms and mystery surrounding this socially disruptive disorder remains the same.

So far, the cause that triggers rosacea is not fully explained although it is generally admitted that the disease is favored by sun exposure. The face and the chest are the most affected body locations both by the flushing and the pustules outbreak, and the disease tends to get worse after spicy food, hot drinks and alcohol. To get a better feel for the symptoms of this skin condition, Google "pictures of rosacea" on the Internet to get a visual representation of the flushing, pustules and excess tissue growth symptoms. 

Who Gets Rosacea?

It appears that rosacea affects more women than men, with a higher occurrence of the disease in the middle-aged group. Thus, most of the cases have been reported on men and women between the ages of 30 and 60, but here we ought to add that black skin is more difficult to diagnose. Although numerous assumptions have been made on the preponderance of rosacea with fairer-skinned people, the theory isn't supported by clinical studies.

The rosacea blemishes characteristic to the condition usually appear on the chin and cheeks, or in the nose area, but the central part of the forehead is also commonly affected. Although the oily appearance of the skin makes  rosacea resemble acne vulgaris, differences do exist. In traditional acne forms, comedones have no limitation of extent, whereas with rosacea they don't even appear in the flush areas. Moreover, rosacea has a hypertrophy dimension that is not found with Acne vulgaris.

Rosacea Treatment Options

Since rosacea is a chronic disease, its evolution usually expands over a number of years marked by critical episodes characterized by inflammation. Corticosteroids are generally prescribed for the reduction of the symptoms, but they cannot be prescribed for long-term therapy due to the tissue atrophy risk or the danger to cause permanent vaso-dilation. Most medical professionals will therefore choose to recommend the systemic treatment instead of the topical treatment.  However, many OTC rosacea treatments, especially the all-natural ones, are available and seem to provide relief to many rosacea sufferers.  One should seek out rosacea product reviews at reputable websites before buying any of these products.

Depending on the skin changes caused by rosacea, surgical intervention might be necessary but only after running medical tests and at the special recommendation of a doctor. Electrocautery and the tunable dye laser procedure represent the two main options under the circumstances, but one could also choose excision, skin grafting, dermabrasion ands so on. The treatment of rosacea should not be ignored or postponed even if the condition looks like an improvement over time.