Skin conditions are quite common, with ailments that range in complications from mild to very dangerous — including acne, eczema, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, and skin cancer.
Rosacea is a skin illness that affects 16 million Americans of various ages and races, but for unknown reasons is more common in fair-skinned people between 30 and 60 years old and women during menopause.
Rosacea is incurable but quite treatable, and there are ways you can manage the symptoms of this problem at home. Let’s examine what rosacea is, how it is treated, and what you can do to treat the illness in the comfort of your own home.
Residents of the Westlake Village, California area looking for treatment of rosacea outbreaks and other skin problems can find help with Dr. Daphne Panagotacos and her skilled medical team.
What is rosacea?
This chronic skin disease is suspected to be the result of a few causes such as blood vessel disorders, microscopic skin mites, fungus, connective tissue malfunctions, or psychological factors, but its actual cause is still not yet known.
Rosacea often affects the face, causing redness on your cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin. The redness may become more intense during outbreaks, and small blood vessels may become visible. Left untreated, you can experience pimples (sometimes pus filled) and red solid bumps, and may develop rhinophyma, a condition where your nose becomes more bulbous and swollen.
How is it treated?
Typically, rosacea is treated with topical creams (antibiotics, azelaic acid, benzoyl peroxide, tretinoin), oral medications, and laser treatments. Severe cases of this condition can be managed with isotretinoin (also known as Accutane®, a form of vitamin A), which prevents your skin from making oil. It is used only if nothing else works, as the side effects can be severe.
Eye drops are used if you’re dealing with ocular rosacea, a form of this condition that causes redness, burning and itching of the eyes.
How can you treat it at home?
Here are some basic ways to manage this skin disease at home:
1. Trigger avoidance
While the actual cause of rosacea isn’t entirely understood, it does have known environmental triggers and other factors that aggravate it by increasing blood flow under your skin.
Avoiding temperature extremes, humidity, stress, anxiety, vigorous exercise, saunas, hot baths, some medications (corticosteroids and hypertension drugs), chronic conditions like hypertension, and acute medical conditions such as colds and flu can help reduce outbreaks.
2. Topical solutions
In cases of mild rosacea, there are many topical moisturizing options you can buy from the store, like aloe vera, burdock, chamomile, coconut oil, lavender essential oil, tea tree essential oil, and small amounts of raw honey. Oatmeal can be used as well, either in its basic form from the grocery store or in many topical products.
3. Lifestyle changes
In addition to avoiding triggers of the condition, you can also start a food diary to identify foods that may be triggering outbreaks, wear sunscreen whenever you’re outside, and add more anti-inflammatory foods into your diet (kale, ginger, avocados).
A combination of treatments can also be used, with both home remedies and medical treatments depending on your specific needs. But these are some examples of ways to manage your rosacea at home without relying solely on medications and laser treatment.
So, if you’re dealing with rosacea and need to know your options for treatment, make an appointment with Dr. Panagotacos today to start the road to relief.
