Rosacea commonly develops after the age of 30, which can certainly make it a difficult adjustment. It is important to understand what causes rosacea and how it can be handled in order to improve your quality of life and help you to control the symptoms of rosacea. At Allen-Taintor Dermatology, we offer an array of services to protect the health of your skin. Here are a few of the best tips for dealing with rosacea.
What is Rosacea?
Understanding what rosacea is will allow you to identify it when you are experiencing it. It is a relatively common skin condition. Rosacea is a chronic skin disorder that generally results in inflammation. A rosacea outbreak tends to result in inflammation to the cheeks, nose, eyelids, chin, and forehead. There isn’t a particularly clear cause of rosacea, which can make it difficult to effectively treat. It can potentially be caused by genetics or by various environmental triggers. It is important to keep in mind that rosacea is often a lifelong condition that has no specific cure.
Common Symptoms of Rosacea
Learning to recognize the various symptoms of rosacea can substantially help to ensure that you obtain the appropriate treatment when you experience rosacea. Inflammation is generally consistent with rosacea. This means that redness, flushing, and visible blood vessels are an incredibly common symptom of rosacea. Rosacea often leaves bumps or lesions on the surface of the skin. It may also cause the skin to thicken. It sometimes impacts the eyes, which can be incredibly uncomfortable. Rosacea causes the eyes to become itchy, dry, watery, irritated, or even bloodshot. It may also result in eyelids that are scaly or swollen.
Common Triggers of Rosacea
Identifying your triggers will allow you to avoid them. This can go a long way toward preventing rosacea from substantially impacting your life. Some common triggers of rosacea include the foods or beverages that you consume. Particularly spicy foods, hot beverages, or alcohol consumption can trigger a rosacea outbreak. Extreme temperatures, such as very hot water, can impact the skin and cause rosacea to surface. Other common triggers include skin that is allowed to dry out, certain medications, strenuous exercise, an excess of sunlight, and experiencing substantial amounts of anger or stress.
Tips for Dealing with Rosacea
Dealing with rosacea is generally a matter of controlling various symptoms and signs. It is a chronic skin condition, so there isn’t a specific cure involved with dealing with rosacea. Here are a few of the best tips for dealing with rosacea.
Various Medications
Your dermatologist may prescribe some specific medications in order to control your rosacea symptoms. Many of these medications come in the form of topical drugs, such as creams or gels. These medications help to reduce redness by constricting the blood vessels and minimizing the appearance of rosacea. However, this result is temporary, so the topical drugs will need to be applied on a regular basis to maximize results. Other common options for rosacea medications include oral antibiotics and oral acne drugs. Ensure that you only use what is prescribed by your dermatologist to prevent exacerbating the condition.
Certain therapies can also help to reduce the appearance and symptoms of rosacea. These therapies tend to be laser light or other light-based therapies. These therapies are generally used to reduce the overall redness of your skin.
Identify and Avoid your Triggers
It is crucial to understand what tends to trigger your rosacea outbreaks. When you avoid these triggers, you can prevent the outbreaks from becoming an issue in the first place. Pay attention to your surroundings when you experience a rosacea outbreak to see if you can identify the triggers and avoid them.
Protect your Skin
When your skin sustains damage, it can lead to a rosacea outbreak. This often occurs as a result of sun exposure. It is important to use sunscreen on a regular basis in order to prevent damage to your skin. Sunscreen is an incredibly important component of protecting the health of your skin.
Avoid Certain Products
Using severe or harsh products can trigger a rosacea outbreak. It is important to ensure that you only use mild or simple products on your skin. Avoid any products that may cause the skin to dry out, because dry skin is an incredibly common cause of rosacea outbreaks.
Be Gentle
It is important to always be gentle with your skin, especially if you suffer from rosacea. Take care not to rub your skin too hard when you wash your face in order to prevent irritation and minimize the likelihood of rosacea outbreaks.
Moisturize Regularly
As was previously mentioned, it is important to prevent the skin from drying out in order to prevent rosacea outbreaks. This often requires moisturizing on a regular basis in order to protect the skin after it has been washed. This goes a long way toward keeping the moisture in and preventing damage to your skin. However, ensure that your moisturizer contains rather simple, gentle ingredients to prevent any possible irritation to the health of the skin. Moisturizing should certainly be a regular addition to your skincare routine.
Use Warm Water
If you experience rosacea, it is important to refrain from taking hot showers. Incredibly hot water on your skin can result in an outbreak. However, if you use more mild temperatures with warm water, you can prevent damage to your skin. Hot water tends to cause the skin to dry out, which is a common trigger of rosacea.
Rosacea can have a substantial impact on your comfort and the health of your skin. This can cause people to feel self-conscious, as well as uncomfortable. Dealing with rosacea can go a long way toward improving your comfort, rather than simply living with the symptoms. Our experts at Allen-Taintor Dermatology are dedicated to providing you with the services that you need to implement healthy skin. To learn more about dealing with rosacea and protecting the health of your skin, contact our experienced team at Allen-Taintor Dermatology today!