Rosacea Treatment

Many people confuse Rosacea with acne because of its red and irritated presentation. Symptoms of Rosacea are:

• Redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead
• Small visible blood vessels on the face
• Bumps or pimples on the face
• Watery or irritated eyes

What causes rosacea? 

Blood vessels on the face dilate very easily and there are many reasons why they might do this. When you're embarrassed the blood rushes to your face and these vessels dilate, causing your cheeks to get red. Drinking alcohol also causes blood vessels to dilate so it's not unusual for someone that's had a lot to drink to have redness around the cheeks and nose. When you're in cold weather, blood rushes to your face to keep it warm, and so you have a red nose and cheeks.

When a person has rosacea this dilating of the blood vessels too often and too much. It may also be caused by skin bacteria, skin mites, irritation of the hair follicles, sun damage of the connective tissue under the skin, an abnormal immune or inflammatory response, or other factors that doctors have not yet determined.

There is much study and research yet to be done about rosacea but many doctors have found that it appears more often in those with very fair skin and very sensitive skin. This might be a clue as to why it occurs at all - sensitive skin overreacting to cold or other factors that cause those blood vessels to dilate and become red.

When discussing acne and other conditions such as rosacea it's important to really understand the differences between the conditions. If rosacea happens because the skin is too sensitive then products that treat acne are just going to irritate it even further. While rosacea may look like acne it is actually a very different condition and so needs to be treated differently so that there is no further damage to the skin and so that you don't cause it to break out even further.