One of the most difficult things to treat is a disease with an unknown cause. Not knowing where the problem comes from makes giving medications dangerous. Rosacea is such a disease. Even with tens of millions of people affected by the skin problem, scientists still do not know what exactly causes it. They only know that there is rosacea when the symptoms appear. Among these symptoms are redness on the skin, particularly in the forehead, the cheeks, the nose and the chin; blood vessels that are visible on the skin; bumps or pimples on the skin and eyes that are watery. Rosacea is different from acne because its pimples do not whitehead or blackheads. Inside you will find clear liquid.
For mild cases, what is considered a treatment is avoiding the triggers, which can be really confusing. Not all people have the same triggers. Some rosacea patients have break outs when they are exposed to the sun, when the temperature is really high and when the weather is humid. Some get their pimples from eating spicy foods or dishes that trigger their condition: some kinds of veggies and dairy products. Stress can also be a trigger and so using cosmetics and other skin products. In fact, in some cases, people get rosacea breakouts when they put benzoyl peroxide which is a known medication for acne and isolated cases of pimples.
Despite this, having rosacea is not a hopeless case. Rosacea can be treated by a host of medical treatments. The only trick is to find the treatment that suits you. Among the treatments available are using products like antibacterial washes, topical creams and antibiotic pills. Some patients also undergo laser therapies, pulse-light procedures and photodynamic therapy. Others, especially those with extreme cases of rosacea, undergo a combination of treatments: both the medications and the therapies. These all depends on the evaluation of the dermatologist.
Topical creams, for instance, are very effective in controlling the symptoms of rosacea for some patients. Usually, this is the first drug that doctors will prescribe to see just how the patient will react to medications. They are antibiotic that help fight off bacteria. Examples of medications that have proved to be effective are metronidazole and Azelaic acid, which both controls the redness and lessens the bumps in rosacea cases. Another is sodium sulfacetamide which is used for inflammation. Other common skin medications like erythromycin and clindamycin are sometimes prescribed.
Some patients are also given oral antibiotics like tetracycline, minocycline, amoxicillin and doxycycline. Doctors, however, try to avoid giving these right away because of the potential side effects that oral medications can bring.
In some cases, doctors also prescribe taking steroids for a short period of time. There are also steroid lotions that may be used once or twice a day to the areas with the breakout.
There is however that risk of exacerbating the condition with topical steroids so prolonged use is not recommended. Some patients also suffer from perioral dermatitis, which happens when the skin around the mouth is irritated.
