If Your Face Flushes, Is That Rosacea?
A lot of people suffer from rosacea. This is a skin condition characterized by persistent redness around the cheeks and nose, often spreading to the chin and forehead.
Sometimes the redness can extend to the ears, back, and chest areas. People with rosacea tend to blush a lot more than others.
Skin specialists have been trying to discover the causes of rosacea and the reasons why some people tend to be more prone to it than others.
From their research, skin scientists discovered a connection between certain conditions and rosacea. For example, there may be a skin mite that is contributing to the condition. People with rosacea are found to have more of this skin mite on their skin than people who do not have rosacea.
There may also be a connection to the person’s immune system. If the immune system is hypersensitive, it can react to a certain type of bacteria and cause the skin to break out. The other connection may be hereditary.
If the family has a member who has rosacea, there is a very good chance that another family member may have it too. These are not proven causes of rosacea but are strong clues that have a connection to this skin condition.
A lot of people wonder if flushing of the skin is a form of rosacea. Flushing is caused by an automatic response of facial skin when the blood vessels beneath the skin dilate.
That causes more blood to flow through, giving the face a red appearance.
Flushing can extend to the neck area as well. This is likely to happen when the body temperature is excessively warm. Normal flushing is usually a temporary condition. When the body cools down, flushing should go away.
Also, flushing can happen when the body is tired or when it is experiencing stress. When a person feels stressed, the nervous system is stimulated. It sends signals to the body to react in a certain way. It can cause blood vessels to dilate, thus resulting in skin flushing. However, if stress was the only trigger, and there are no other underlying causes, the flushing should dissipate when the body relaxes and calms down from the stress.
So, flushing in itself is not rosacea. However, people who already suffer from rosacea tend to flush more. That is why finding a cure for rosacea is so challenging to the medical community. Redness in the skin can be triggered by so many reasons besides rosacea that it is often difficult to isolate the real cause of rosacea.
Only a doctor or a dermatologist can make the definitive diagnosis of whether or not the redness of the skin should be classified as rosacea.
Typical symptoms that the doctor may look for include persistent redness in the skin with blood vessels resembling spider veins that are clearly seen on the skin surface.
The skin may appear swollen, dry or peeling. When the skin is touched, it is sensitive and may even sting. Rosacea can also look like an acne breakout. The skin may feel oily and sensitive. There may be patches of skin that appear raised. Skin can have a burning sensation.
More severe case of rosacea can be accompanied by symptoms including bumps on the skin. The skin around the nose area can feel thickened. The skin on the cheeks, forehead, chin and ears can also feel warm and thickened, sometimes with an oily appearance with pores enlarged.
Sometimes people can experience rosacea around the eye area. This is called ocular rosacea. This gives the person the appearance of bloodshot eyes. The eyes can feel dry, itchy, stinging and burning.
Vision can be blurred and impaired. Broken capillaries may be seen on the eyelids. The eyes become very sensitive to bright lights. People with ocular rosacea often report that their eyes feel scratchy, like there are particles inside the eyelid scratching the eyes.
People with fair skin tend to get rosacea more often than people with darker skin. Rosacea also seems to run in the family. Also, people who are prone to acne breakouts are at higher risk in developing rosacea.
People who suffer from rosacea face daily challenges in leading a normal life with their skin condition.
Flare ups are unpredictable and can be frustrating to control. However, there are some simple things that can be done to reduce their occurrences.
Avoidance of direct sunlight on the skin is important because that can trigger a flare-up. Spicy foods warm up the skin and can cause blood vessels to dilate; therefore, spicy foods should be avoided.
Vigorous exercise can also increase blood circulation and cause blood vessels to dilate too much. Therefore exercises should be moderate. Mindful stress management may help as well in keeping the body calm and cool. There is no cure for rosacea yet, but with effective management, symptoms can be brought under control.
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