Rosacea - Reduce Your Redness – Your Holistic Treatment Options
Rosacea begins as flushing & redness on the central face & across the cheeks, nose & forehead, but can also, less commonly, affect the neck & chest. As it progresses, other symptoms can develop such as semi-permanent flushing & redness, dilation of superficial blood vessels on the face, red domed papules & pustules, red gritty eyes, burning & stinging sensations, & in some advanced cases, a red bulbous nose. Traditional medical therapies typically consist of topical steroid gels which may initially temporarily decrease some of the redness but unfortunately weakens vessels & surrounding tissues in the long term as well as antibiotics.
Causes
The first signs of rosacea are persisting redness due to exercise, changes in temperature, & cleansing. Triggers that cause flushing & redness play a part in the development of rosacea.
Holistic Treatment Options:
The following factors may all contribute to persistent rosacea:
Exposure to extreme temperatures
Strenuous exercise
Heat from sunlight & severe sunburns
Stress & anxiety
Cold wind
Moving to a warm or hot environment from a cold one such as heated shops & offices during the Winter
There are also some foods & drinks that can trigger flushing, these include:
Alcohol
Caffeine (especially hot tea & coffee)
Foods high in histamines & spicy food
Certain medications & topical irritants (if redness persists after using a specific treatment or product, then it should be stopped immediately)
Steroid induced rosacea is the term given to rosacea caused by the use of topical or nasal steroids. Dosage should be slowly decreased & not immediately stopped to avoid a flare up.
Your Holistic Treatment Options
Avoiding substances that can trigger rosacea will assist to reduce redness, however; specialized skin treatments, nutritionals & some lifestyle adjustments are often necessary to get this frustrating skin condition under control.
It is important to have a gentle, customized skin care regimen utilising non-irritating cleansers.
Protection from the sun is important & daily use of a sunscreen of at least SPF 15, containing titanium dioxide, is advised, although chemical sunscreens, as long as they are non-irritating, are also an option. Custom blended mineral based cosmetics will also minimize redness & should be used to reduce inflammation, offering additional sun protection while allowing the skin to breathe.
IPL - Intense Pulsed Light a laser type technology is successfully used to treat rosacea, in particular, diffused redness of the skin. This broad-spectrum light is able to penetrate the epidermis to target your capillaries at the dermis layer of your skin. The light is absorbed by your oxy-haemoglobin, which causes your capillary walls to reach up to 70ºC, damaging them, so your body absorbs them through its natural defence mechanisms.
Gentle exfoliation, serums & calming masks are all used to further customize your treatment for immediate visible improvements. With the sufficient number of treatments, which varies for each person, especially if there is a genetic component, this method may even eliminate your redness completely.
For lasting results, the treatment of rosacea will require some long-term dedication & follow-up. Those who are predisposed will benefit from a touch up treatment 2 to 4 times per year to ensure that it stays under control.
Rosacea is a common, but widely misunderstood, skin condition, which affects white-skinned people of mostly north-western European descent. Rosacea is often a genetic issue & those that are fair-skinned usually of Celtic background seem to have a higher predisposition to developing it. Women are more commonly affected but when men develop rosacea it tends to be more severe. You can get rosacea at any age; however there seems to be a higher occurrence in those between the ages of 30-60.
With advanced third generation laser & IPL technologies, as well as proper customized skin care & nutrition your rosacea can be beautifully managed.
Call us today at 250-472-SKIN (7456) for your personal consultation.
