Anybody got it? I've got it. Started treatment in Dec (Antibiotic once daily, plus antibiotic cream). Problem is, it doesn't seem to be working, and if anything, is making my face look worse. The doc told me that it would take a while to work, but it's been a month and nothing. I've heard that some people don't tolerate the antibiotic cream too well, and am considering dropping that and just taking the oral antibiotics. Any one else have it and have any tips? Dom
Thanks brother Bruce. Yep, tetracycline is an oral antibiotic. I do drink lots of water (I've had kidney stones in the past, so now I drink like a fish), and have even cut down on my caffeine intake (which was low to begin with). Spices are tough to cut out, since I like spicy food. So far, not going well. Skin has been pretty bad these last couple of weeks. I've also tried putting topical steroids on my skin, which does seem to help, but the doc says is a no-no. Dom
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Bruce, Get off the Sauce!!! Any other advice? I am already on the oral and topical antibiotics. So far no good. But, perhaps may be related to the topicals? I've got another appt for the doc, but not for 2 months... Dom
Do you know what is causing it for yourself? My father found that once he cut caffine his rosacea flare ups were few and far between. A lot of things can cause it, alcohol, sun, hot showers, cold wind etc etc etc. If you can find what causes a break out, and cut that from your diet/routine etc, it may help. My father kept a log of his flare ups and the events surrounding them. After a few months, it became clear caffine was a major cause. A log might be a good idea.
I took Tetrocycline drugs for my acne, but they even made it worse. Luckily I've found some other treatments for me and I'm cleared up. As for Rosacea, if the doctor cant fix it, try googling it. There's alot of treatments on there. The herbal stuff works well(at least it did for me), it just takes a while to go into effect.
Tetracycline is used to treat both acne and rosacea. Though, its use as an acne treatment is far more common.
Dom, have you tried cortisone cream? My mom used to use a prescription strength, but OTC seemed to help as well.
Wow. I get a red face under all of the listed circumstances. Actually, just cheeks, ears, nose, and neck. People ask me if I've been skiing because it looks like I have a sunburn, but the areas around my eyes are unaffected, so it looks like I got a sunburn while wearing ski goggles. The worst is if I'm outside in the wind and it's cold and dry. My face burns for hours after I go inside. I never made the connection.
FarmerDave: Sounds like what I have. Maybe time to check out the dematologist? Bruce and Shiggins: I am working on the diet thing, but like I said, I've already cut caffeine, drink lots of water. I don't think either is a trigger in my case, but something else, that I still haven't determined. Gilles27: Yes, I've used the steroid creams, and in fact, that seems to help. But, as I said above, the doc feels that that is a no-no for me. My current regiment is oral antibiotic (minocycline, similar to tetracycline), and a topical gel (metrogel), which is basically a topical antibiotic. I suspect, that the topical gel may be causing my current irritation, based on some research that I'm doing. For tonight, I skipped the topical gel application, and am just using some moisturizer on my face. Well see if that improves things. Always open to more suggestions. Dom
Sorry, as the resident board dermatologist, I'm late to this thread. Rosacea is in the same disease class as acne, but a distinct entity. It is diagnosed by seeing redness (usually in response to certain triggers, some of which have been mentioned above), small dilated blood vessles, acne like lesions (red bumps, pus bumps), and an enlarged nose (the classic WC Fields nose was likely rosacea). Males and females often have different symptom complexes. Usually, most folks can't avoid all the triggers, but reducing exposure to those things that set you off (esp. in the beginning) is sound advice. Standard treatment is an oral antibiotic (tetracycline or one of its variants) + one of several classes of topical medicines. I could go on for paragraphs, but some basic thoughts. The medicine in Metrogel is also available in a lotion and a cream, which are both intrinsically less irritating than the gel. Seeing good results usually takes about 4-6 weeks. Other therapies include using sulfur based topicals and/or topical immunomodulators. Steroids are mostly a no-no. Laser and intense pulsed light therapy are sometimes used to decrease the symptoms. PM me if you have more questions (or ask them here). Dom--I'm thinking you may need to try a different topical (or Metrocream or Metrolotion).
My dad has very mild rosacea on his nose. I think the doctor said it was caused by sun exposure. He had laser treatment to remove some of the veins (and redness), but I donn't think that was terribly successful. Now he just puts zinc cream on his nose whenever he goes out into the sun, and the condition remains quite stable.
Yes I also have it, but I still have not been able to figure what makes it worse. Right now I'm all cleared up with no drugs or creams or anything, then all of a sudden i will get hit with a bad breakout. Mostly on my nose but sometimes on the skin right next to my nose. Yes, I'm bad like most people. I know you should not break the pimples but who wants to go out in public with these things on your face. Never had it until I was about 44-45 YO.
Thanks Scotty. I am going to give my doc a call this morning and see if I can switch to a different topical cream. I went without application of the topical last night. This morning, doesn't look any worse, but not really much better either. We'll see what the doc says. Dom
Yes I know, but rosacea has acne-like symptons, as I just read up on it. And the same people who made the herbal acne treatment also make some for Rosacea, so I was suggesting as I have seen their acne drug work, then maybe their Rosacea drug will work.
