Your Acne May Really Be Rosacea

Acne! Just the word probably makes you cringe. It’s every 16-year-old’s nightmare, but more and more adults are still suffering this painful and embarrassing dermatological condition. If you’ve tried countless products and treatments for your acne without success, you could possibly be misinterpreting your problem. Rosacea, another widespread skin problem, is easy to confuse with acne. They share common features but require different treatments, so proper diagnosis is key. Check out these indicators to see if you might be struggling with rosacea instead.

What are the Symptoms of Rosacea?

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin, meaning that your skin is constantly instigated and incited. This causes redness on the cheeks, nose, chin, and/or forehead that comes and goes in frustrating flare-ups. When this redness is ignored it can morph into bumps and pimples. The nose might swell and blood vessels may be visible on the skin. Unexpected eye irritation often comes along with rosacea in the form of watery or bloodshot eyes termed ocular rosacea.

How Does Rosacea Occur?

Rosacea is most common in people above the age of 30. Anyone can get it, but it’s most common in women with fair skin who blush easily. With that said, while more women are diagnosed, the men that do have rosacea tend to have more severe symptoms. Rosacea generally begins because the blood vessels are unstable and more reactive, leading to frequent skin irritation and continued redness that becomes worse with time.

How Can Rosacea Be Successfully Treated?

Rosacea is not something you want to treat on your own. This skin problem contains many categories and treatment must be appropriately tailored by a physician or dermatologist.

Oral and topical medicines are both available to help the rosacea permanently fade. In extreme cases, oral and topical treatments are used simultaneously. Topical products should be used long-term to ensure remission of the issue. There’s also now an oral therapy available with less risk of microbial resistance, and laser treatments can reduce the visibility of blood vessels on the skin.

Of course, you may need to adjust your daily skincare routine to overcome rosacea completely, especially if any of your habits were contributing to your skin irritation.