Dermatologist Q&A: ROSACEA CAUSES, CURES, & SKIN CARE PRODUCTS FOR ROSACEA DERMATOLOGISTS’ recommend:
Hey guys welcome back to the friday q&a with dr. dre as you can probably tell already from the title of this video today i’m going to be addressing the most frequently asked questions here on my channel with regards to what causes rosacea and how to get rid of it if you’re new here hi my name is andrea welcome i’m a dermatologist i post day in the life of the
Dermatologist vlogs as well as skin care related sit-down content so if you like this video i encourage you to give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more content like this alright with that let’s get started so what exactly is rosacea well it’s a chronic inflammatory skin condition with symptoms that can include any of the following flushing persistent redness of
The face bumpiness and uneven texture of the skin and also dilate the blood vessels it predominantly affects facial skin but rarely can affect other sites as well symptoms might also include burning stinging a dull dry appearance to the skin easy facial flushing and sometimes facial swelling importantly it’s a medical condition and as a dermatologist i take it very
Seriously because i know how this medical condition can impact your daily life self-confidence and overall well-being so question number one what causes rosacea now while the exact cause of rosacea has yet to be completely clarified there are several factors that play an important role first of all blood vessels in the skin of people with rosacea are very sensitive
And dilate very easily leading to the symptoms of redness flushing and blushing various lifestyle and environmental factors which otherwise are innocuous can trigger a flare of rosacea other factors include irritation around our pores sun exposure sun damage hyper responsive immune or inflammatory response and psychological factors like being embarrassed being under
A lot of stress or poor sleep what may be triggering my rosacea there are a variety of lifestyle and environmental things that may be triggering your rosacea so the best things that you can do is to keep a diary of your rosacea symptoms in order to potentially identify what could be triggering your symptoms and once and once identified avoidance of the trigger is
A real key component of managing your rosacea some of the most common triggers however includes sun exposure emotional stress changing from a hot or cold environment wind drinking alcoholic beverages applying alcohol to the skin by seafoods heavy exercise taking a hot bath drinking a heated beverage harsh skincare products another question that is often repeated
Here is is my rosacea due to something that i’m allergic to while allergies are unlikely to be at the main causative factor of rosacea it’s important to underscore that if you are sensitized to an allergen and become exposed to it this can trigger a flare of rosacea by virtue of precipitating dilation of the blood vessels in your skin leading to a flush and once
The flush starts a flare of rosacea will be kicked off another question that i get from a lot of viewers is i’m trying to live a healthy lifestyle and be active but every time i work out my face gets red and i’m really worried that it’s going to make my rosacea even worse and even more persistent what should i do so work out early in the morning or late evening
When temperatures are cool and mild and is working out indoors keep a fan going nearby and keep a damn cool cloth around your neck also drinking cold liquids can combat the increased heat rising to your face and help quelch a potential rosacea flare likewise chewing ice chips is another tip that might be helpful so the next set of questions i’m going to address is
Well how do i get rid of my rosacea and is there a cure for rosacea while there is no cure for rosacea there are a variety of medical treatments as well as lifestyle modifications that can help control rosacea and even potentially eliminate the symptoms of your rosacea how is rosacea treated well the signs and symptoms of rosacea vary from individual to individual
Some people have more redness some people have more uneven texture some people have more skin thickening so it’s individualized as always i want to emphasize and urge you to seek evaluation in management either by a dermatologist or your primary health care provider now for the bumpiness and uneven texture and pimple like lesions of rosacea are often treated with
Oral antibiotics alternatively or in addition to antibiotics there are a variety of other treatments that may be helpful such as azelaic acid containing prescription creams apply to the face known as phoenicia which is anti-inflammatory as well as sulfur based washes as far as the persistent redness of rosacea there are two medications that can be prescribed that
Will not cure the redness but will transiently take it away there the brand names in the united states ro fade and myrrh vaso these will take away the redness only transiently and they do have the potential for something called rebound redness and which after you stop using these ingredients the redness becomes more noticeable the next question that i get here a
Fair amount is i’ve started using a cream or a medication for my rosacea and the redness is much better however now i’ve got broken blood vessels all over my face what is that caused by well here’s the deal the broken blood vessels were there from the beginning however as the medications begin to work to improve some of the redness unfortunately they cannot take
Away the dilated blood vessels and those actually can become more noticeable as a background redness starts to fade so what can be done for the dilated blood vessels if a cream or systemic medicine won’t treat them the best and most well-studied treatment for these dilated blood vessels is a laser therapy called a pulsed dye laser that targets these abnormal blood
Vessels and potentially seals them off and eventually they will involute and go away this is a cosmetic procedure and it’s not and it’s best performed by a licensed practicing healthcare professional with experience using a vascular laser and treating the types of lesion and they as they are the most well-versed and experienced in the appropriate and safe settings
For specifically targeting these enlarged blood vessels another question that comes up frequently and i think is inherently confusing is that why are antibiotics prescribed is rosacea due to an infection or it is thought and widely accepted that it’s not the anti microbial or anti bacterial mechanism of these drugs but rather an anti inflammatory component that
Is helping to improve the rosacea initially these antibiotics are used for many many inflammatory skin diseases and dermatology whose cause is not infection so in other words these drugs have widely been observed to have profound anti-inflammatory effects another question that comes up frequently and i’ve addressed it in previous potpourri style q&a is is is
There a risk of bacterial resistance after i’ve been on antibiotics either systemic antibiotics or topical antibiotics for a long time with regards to topical antibiotics antibiotics applied to the skin result in such minimal systemic absorption of the of the drug that that there’s virtually no risk of developing bacterial resistance at sites other than where the
Topical antibiotic was applied however there is concern that being on a systemic antibiotic long term does offer the potential for bacterial resistance and so it is generally the goal of the treating physician to limit the amount of time that an individual is on these medications in addition to concerns of antibacterial resistance there are other potential side
Effects with taking oral antibiotics like upset stomach they can make you even more sensitive to the sun another question that i get is well do to do the creams lose effect over time and the answer is no the most popular set of questions that i get is well what skin care routine and skin care products would you recommend for somebody with rosacea it’s actually
A very very important part of controlling your zatia is taking into account your skincare routine as i said at the beginning of this video probably the one of the most pervasive triggers of a rosacea flare is sun exposure protecting your skin from the sun and wearing a broad-spectrum spf 30 or higher sunscreen is really really an important part of your everyday
Skin care routine i cannot emphasize that enough i strongly caution you against buffing the face exfoliating the face derma rolling the face is all of these things will precipitate a pretty pronounced flare of your rosacea that could potentially be more persistent so rosacea skin care should start with gentle lukewarm water washing the face with a gentle soap i’ll
Give you some recommendations in the description box below of well tolerated soaps use a soft pad a washcloth or ideally your finger pads not a harsh scrubbing brush as this will precipitate a flare try and avoid pulling or tugging at your skin as well apply a gentle non pore clogging moisturizer to the wet face and then allow it to dry then wait then wait a few
Minutes and allow it to dry before applying any prescription medications that your provider may have asked you to put on your face let let any prescription medications sit on the face for about 10 minutes to appropriately soak into the skin and then dawn a broad-spectrum sunscreen people with rosacea however tend to be very sensitive to many sunscreens and they
Can cause stinging burning and sometimes accidentally worsening of the rosacea symptoms i recommend a physical sunscreen containing zinc and/or titanium dioxide exclusively many of which i will link down below so that you have some names another tip is to look for sunscreens marketed for babies as if it’s gentle enough for a baby’s skin it’s probably okay for
Rosacea prone skin chemicals sunscreen ingredients like ava benzene however can be very irritating to rosacea prone individuals so i suggest avoiding those the next and then i also get a lot of questions about what skincare ingredients should i avoid it’s a question that i get over and over again here the skin of people suffering from rosacea is very sensitive
And easily irritated by otherwise innocuous stimuli so there are some ingredients that you should avoid using any skin care product that when applied to the skin burns or stings if you have rosacea and you buy a skincare product make sure you keep your receipt so that you can take it back to the store should you identify it as offensive no need to waste your money
On a useless skincare routine individuals with rosacea commonly report the following ingredients as being irritating and/or offensive to their rosacea alcohol witch hazel fragrance menthol peppermint eucalyptus oil clove oil salicylic acid and anything really marketed as an astringent or a toner or an exfoliant so i will do my best to link down below sunscreens
Washes and moisturizers that are well tolerated in individuals with rosacea special creams for the eyes are not necessary the moisturizers that i recommend are generally well tolerated around the eyes alright guys so i really hope that this video was helpful and addressing your questions about rosacea if you have more questions please ask them down in the comments
Section of this video and i’ll do my very best to respond i encourage you to subscribe for more content like this if you like this video give it a thumbs up share it with your friends and as always don’t forget sunscreen and subscribe i’ll talk to you guys in my next skincare video bye
Transcribed from video
Dermatologist Q&A: ROSACEA CAUSES, CURES, & SKIN CARE 💊 By Dr Dray