What is Rosacea?

What are the different types of Rosacea

Clair and Jayne discussed Rosacea on the radio recently, if you missed the chat Jayne gives us an overview below.

Rosacea can affect between 14% to 20% of different populations. It generally occurs in those with fair skin or of Celtic descent and tends to affect women more than men, however symptoms seem to be more severe in men. But what is it and how do we manage it?

Rosacea is an inflammatory condition of the skin, the general symptoms would be:

• Redness

• Inflammation

• Acne

• Dryness

However there are actually 4 different subtypes of Rosacea:

• Erythematotelangiectatic (ETR)

• Papulpustular (PP)

• Phymatous

• Ocular

Although each of these are still redness and inflammation of the skin they all have their own individual symtpoms:

ERYTHEMATOTELANGIECTATIC (ETR)

• Redness in the centre of the face,

• Sometimes blood vessels are visible as they become dilated or broken.

• Flushing occurs often and can effect ears neck and chest also.

• Most common in women.

PAPULPUSTULAR

• Resembles acne vulgaris

• redness in centre of face

• Papules and pustules are present,

• Edema can be present (swelling of the affected areas)

• flushing is less common but can occur,

• Burning and stinging after topical products,

PHYMATOUS

• Thickened skin and irregular surface

• Redness, papule and pustules, visible veins.

• Most common symptom is rhinopehyma which is a swelling of the nose, this can be related to alcohol consumption.

OCULAR

• Effects the eyes, soreness, dryness, itching, foreign body sensation, light sensitivity and blurred vision.

What causes Rosacea

There are a lot of studies out there on the cause and triggers of rosacea however none of them have been conclusive of one general cause, it seems to come down to the individual.

Research has shown these to be the most common causes:

• Solar exposure which causes deterioration of collagen and elastic fibre in the blood vessels.

• Decrease in anti oxidants

• Solar radiation

• Mites and bacteria that live on our skin

However most more recent studies link internal conditions with prevalence of rosacea:

• Immune system issues

• Imbalance in gut bacteria

• Autoimmune conditions

• Chronic GI conditions - SIBO, IBS, IBD, celiac disease, leaky gut, ulcerative colitis.

• Low stomach acid

• Dysbiosis of the bacteria on the skin itself

The protocol for Rosacea

To manage your rosacea would be to tackle it not only externally but also internally.

Externally:

Use a cream with SPF daily to protect the skin

Natural creams are best as generic creams can have alcohol and other ingredients which can cause further irritation

Hands should be freshly washed before touching face to avoid creating a further imbalance in skin bacteria

Wear hats to keep sun off face

Product: Rosalique:

A perfect example of a good cream would be Rosaliqie, this is something we’ve gratefully added to our stock in store. This wonderful cream contains factor 50 SPF, an anti redness formula to reduce the redness of Rosacea, and helps in even out our skin tone.

It is suitable for both men and women, and we’ve been getting great feedback from customers with rosacea who have used it.

Internally:

Take care of your gut by eating vegetables, these have fibres which help feed the good bacteria

Include colourful foods high in anti oxidants to help maintain the integrity of the blood vessel walls

Eat foods high in collagen like bone broth to help provide those blood vessels with collagen.

Avoid: inflammatory foods such as sugar, wheat, processed foods, dairy etc

Take supplements:

• Probiotics - for a good gut

• Omega 3’s - anti inflammatory

• Zinc - Skin health

• Vitamin A - Skin health

• Collagen - Strengthening of the blood vessels