Acne and Rosacea Getting You Down

Is rosacea a form of acne? The answer is, no. Rosacea is definitely NOT a form of acne. However, acne-like pimples are a common symptom of rosacea. These pimples commonly are mistaken as "acne rosacea" by many sufferers.

Rosacea is a chronic, noncontageous, and potentially life-disruptive skin disorder which is estimated to affect over 16 million Americans and 45 million people all over the world. This skin disease often found to occur in north-western European people who have got white complexion. It is also nicknamed as “curse of Celts” in Ireland. This skin disease often appears as flare-ups on the facial area and often misunderstood as acne breakouts. This is a hereditary and chronic skin disorder which frequently appears any time after the age of 30 on different facial parts including nose, forehead, chin, and cheekbones. In some cases this might also appear at neck, scalp, chest, or ears.

The cause of acne rosacea is unknown, but there are many theories. The majority of people who develop it experience easy flushing and blushing related to emotion, caffeine or alcohol. Some people become worse in the sun.

Although dermatologists often consider medical or topical treatments first to treat the symptoms of rosacea, some patients are becoming increasingly concerned about taking these long-term medications and are turning to laser and light therapies that generally do not cause any systemic side effects.

One type of laser that has been used for many years to treat the redness and visible blood vessels that occur from rosacea is the pulsed dye laser (PDL). This laser's wavelength effectively targets the obvious blood vessels, absorbing them through the light-attracting molecules that work to destroy them. PDL also can reduce the flushing and redness that rosacea patients experience, but Dr. Kim cautioned that this laser can cause some temporary bruising in patients although some of the newer PDLs are eliminating this side effect.

Unfortunately the actual reason behind the formation of this skin disease is still unknown. Although it has been reported that all segments of world’s population might be affected by this disease, nevertheless, people with fair complexion who have a tendency to get flushing or blushing more frequently are always at a greater risk. Many experts believe that rosacea could be somehow related to some mysterious disorder of the blood vessels underneath cutaneous layer. Some doctors also suspect that the Helicobacter pylori infections of the gastric mucosa could be responsible for this disease. This bacterium is a natural inhabitant of our gastrointestinal tract which encourages the skin resulting in this skin disorder. Even though a short-term improvement has been reported after the eradication therapy of H. pylori, any firm evidence for this association could not be obtained so far.

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