Just like the name would suggest, rosacea is a common skin condition characterized by a “rosy” face. About five percent of Americans are living with some form of rosacea. It is most common in women, although it can occur in men as well. Menopausal women are even more susceptible. Light skinned people are more likely to have rosacea but people with darker complexion people are not immune.

Treatments such as antibiotics or anti-acne medications can control and reduce symptoms. Left untreated, it tends to worsen over time.

Rosacea is categorized into four different categories. The first type is the least troublesome and causes redness and flushing in the face. The next subtype is characterized by spots that look like acne and redness on the face. The third is referred to as Phymatous Rosacea. This causes a thickening of the tissue on the nose and is sometimes referred to as “Brandy Nose.” This is a misnomer, as people who have this type of rosacea are not necessarily drinkers, let alone alcoholics. Lastly, the fourth type of rosacea has symptoms such as red and itchy eyes. This last category’s symptoms affect fifty percent of all rosacea sufferers. Although someone may have a mild case of symptoms from all four types, someone else may have a very bad case of only one type.

The cause at this time is unknown. Doctors are beginning to think that proteins such as cytokines cause inflammation in response to the immune system overreacting. The cause at this time is unknown, but there is ongoing research about what happens in the skin during a rosacea episode. This could lead to future treatments that can stop the inflammation by helping to manage cytokines.

Some people are more likely to become affected with rosacea than others. Environment and lifestyle may be one thing to blame. Spicy and hot foods, changes in temperature, saunas, exercise, alcohol, sunlight, stress, and the use of corticosteroids are all potential triggers. Also blood pressure medications or any other pharmaceutical that opens up blood vessels could cause a flare-up.

The easiest way to manage your rosacea is to use a sunscreen, not just in the summer but all year long. Doctors use antibiotics to help with inflammation to control rosacea symptoms. Medications such as tetracycline, metronidazole and doxycycline, are the most prescribed medical treatments. If your rosacea is really bad, a dermatologist may have you take one of the above oral medications and also prescribe you a topical medication as well. The anti-inflammatory will help get the rosacea managed and the topical treatment will help keep it under control. The topical medication Isotretinoin, which has potentially significant side effects, is prescribed in cases of very severe rosacea.

One of the most popular treatments for rosacea is called chemical peels. With this therapy, Dr. Rapaport exposes your skin with rosacea spots to specialized acidic peels. These chemical peels will remove the old damaged layers of skin and allow new healthy skin to reveal itself. These peels also smooths out the color of your skin and reduces wrinkles and sun damage.

Of course, one of the significant benefits to treating your rosacea with chemical peels is that it is non-surgical, and there is 2 to 3 weeks recovery time which will not affect your ability to work or exercise.

Another very powerful and popular form of rosacea treatment is with Radio Frequency. Dr. Rapaport specializes in RF, which is a non-surgical treatments used to improve your appearance. RF is safe and affordable for rosacea and provides satisfactory results with few treatments.

Some patients report being rosacea-free for up to 8 years. Most patients get 4 treatments every 3 weeks and get fantastic life-changing results. With the RF, you’ll typically start to see amazing results within a week.

Patients have several options to treat their rosacea. Because rosacea is caused by extra blood vessels in the face that quickly fill up with blood, most of these treatments try to reduce them.

During your visit Dr. Rapaport will learn more about your condition. From there, our job will be to develop a treatment plan that is unique to you. We’ll take into consideration every single one of your concerns, as well as your goals for rosacea treatment. Patients will be able to review every detail of their treatment plan before the actual procedure. Dr. Rapaport will use this treatment plan to make sure you get the best results possible.