Symptoms and Treatment of Acne Rosacea

Both a skin and eye disorder, rosacea acne disease is a type of acne characterized by the appearance of pustules and vascular manifestations on the affected tissues. So far, the nature and exact causes of acne 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 parts both by the flushing and the pustules outbreak, and the disease tends to get worse after spicy food, hot drinks and alcohol.

It appears that acne rosacea affects more women than men, with the preponderance of the condition in the middle-aged group. Thus, the majority of patients are people between 30 and 60, but here we ought to add that black skin is more difficult to diagnose. Although many assumptions have been made on the preponderance of acne rosacea with fair-skinned people, the theory is not supported by clinical evidence.

The acne lesions specific to the disease are most often distributed on the chin and cheeks, or in the nose area, but the central forehead doesn’t get spared either. The skin is usually very oily too, yet there are some major differences between acne rosacea and vulgaris acne. In traditional acne forms, comedones have no limitation of extent, whereas with rosacea they don’t even appear in the flush areas. Moreover, acne rosacea is characterized by hypertrophy which is not found with acne vulgaris.

Unlike regular acne forms, acne rosacea is a chronic disease that evolves in time, sometimes extending over years. Corticosteroids are commonly prescribed for the alleviation of the symptoms, but they are not suitable for long-term therapy because of the risk to cause an atrophy or permanent vaso-dilation of the tissues. Most dermatologists will therefore choose to recommend the systemic treatment instead of the topical one.

Depending on the skin changes caused by acne rosacea, surgical intervention could become necessary but only after running medical tests and at the special recommendation of a dermatologist. The tunable dye laser procedure and electrocautery represent the two main alternatives under the circumstances, but one could also choose excision, skin grafting, dermabrasion ands so on. Do not postpone acne rosacea therapy because the more time passes, the more difficult will be to cure it.

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