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Rosacea is a very common and chronic skin condition seen in adults. It can be a frustrating condition due to the highly visible redness that usually occurs on the face. Often, the initial sign of rosacea will be an episodic flushing of the face. It can flare simply by walking up a flight of stairs of your house! Over time, the flushing becomes more permanent and persistent redness of the face is seen. Over time, small broken blood vessels (capillaries) may slowly develop on the face. Sometimes pimples will also erupt on the face. Because of the pimples that form, rosacea is sometimes mistaken for adult acne. In more advanced cases, and more typically in men, a lumpy nose (rhinophyma) may occur. The actor W.C. Fields was famous for having this severe form of rosacea. Here are five simple tips to help prevent and improve rosacea:

Avoid triggers! It is well known that sun exposure, wind, hot or spicy foods, strenuous exercise, alcohol (especially red wine) or caffeine, and stress can cause a rosacea flare. Although it is very difficult to avoid these triggers entirely, being aware and avoiding triggers will usually help your rosacea quite a bit.

Wash your face with a gentle cleanser. Avoid irritating cleansers of soaps that strip the moisture out of your face. Abrasive cleansers are a "no-no" as they tend to increase the amount of flushing in rosacea patients.

Wear sunscreen! Sun exposure will cause your face to turn red and flush so using a good sunscreen is very important to lessen rosacea. It is important to get in the habit of applying a sunscreen on a daily basis. There are many gentle moisturizing sunscreens that work well for rosacea patients.

Treat early, not late! See a Charlotte Dermatology as soon as possible if your rosacea is getting worse or flaring. Rosacea tends to slowly progress and if you delay treatment, it may be more difficult to treat. Unfortunately, the symptoms of rosacea are often intermittent and persistent and so lifelong rosacea treatment is usually necessary. Luckily, rosacea can usually be controlled with prescribed topical medications and/or oral antibiotics and avoidance of any triggers.

If you have lots of broken blood vessels, consider laser treatment! For persistent redness or broken blood vessels on the face, treatment with a pulsed dye or intense pulsed light laser by a Dermatology Charlotte is often very effective.

In summary, although rosacea is often a lifelong condition of the skin, careful avoidance of triggers combined with early treatment will usually allow for good success in controlling rosacea and preventing it from progressing into a more severe form.