A. Acne Rosacea is a chronic condition, usually involving the face. It seems to affect women more often than men and first tends to appear between 30 and 50 years of age. Medically speaking, it seems to be an inflammatory disorder of the tiny blood vessels, but its precise cause is UNKNOWN. It is NOT the same thing as adolecsent acne (acne vulgaris).
People with this condition complain of blotchy red spots on their face, usually the nose, cheeks, chin and/or center of the forehead. These spots will go away on their own at first, but later will re-appear and stay. The real hallmarks of the condition are the tiny spider-like red lines that then appear in the blotchy areas. These little red lines are called telangiectasias. Often, people will also get what look like regular pimples. The other telltale sign, but by no means the most common complaint, is that of rhinophymia, a thickening of the skin of the nose, often with purplish coloration to it. ( just picture the old cartoon drawings of drunk men with big noses).
As for treatments, there's a couple of options.
Others talk of avoiding excessive sunlight, excessive alcohol intake, hot liquids and spicey meals. Other than the obvious benefits of each of these pieces of advice on their own, I'm not convinced they'll help reduce acne rosacea!
Acne rosacea is a chronic condition, often lasting over a number of years. But take heart. With good topical treatments, the condition is well controlled in the majority of patients and periods of remission are not uncommon.
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