Rosacea is a skin condition that affects mostly fair to light skinned people.  Through some research on the interent I also found that it is mostly those people with Celtic origins.  Some studies have said that there are mites that cause this that eat the dead skin cells.  I tried to kill these mites but that wasn't it--at least not in my case. There was a study from France and Japan that said that most people who get this "common ailment" are in their 30's.to 60's 

I must be an oddball because I have had this since the birth of my first child and I was only 20 years old.  I did not have acne while in my teens either and I thought that strange, but loved it.  I think it is a hormonal thing. 

According to Medical News Today: "Acne rosacea is an inflammatory skin disease that affects about 14 million Americans between the age of 30 and 60 and is more common in women than in men. It is more likely to affect fair skinned people of European or Celtic descent. Rosacea is characterized by facial redness (erythema), bumps and pimples (papulopustules), and spider veins (telangiectasia). The condition is chronic and gets worse over time. It is cyclical and flares up for weeks and months and then subsides. There is no effective treatment although antibiotics are sometimes prescribed with mixed results. 

My father has it and takes an anti-biotic everyday for it.  I have taken them too and my body seems to build up some kind of immunity to the anti-biotics within 3 weeks.  I have also experienced the flare-ups and yes they last for weeks and sometimes months.  It does come and go.  I will list some of the things that I have tried and the results that I have had with them in a minute. There isn't a cure--not that I have found anyway.

In this new study, done last year and the latest that I have found on this condition it tells that those with Rosacea have a higher level of an anti microbial peptide cathelicid and an enzyme called stratum corneum tryptic enzyme (SCTE).in their skin then others who don't have the condition. 

They also found that those with the condition also have more peptides of the microbial kind, which is a small protien in the immune system,.  Surprisingly they assumed that having more of the cathelicid, which helps illiminate inflamation of the skin, they found the opposite was true.

In conclusion the article says: "Too much SCTE and too much cathelicidin leads to the abnormal peptides that cause the symptoms of this disease."  He also explained why antibiotics sometimes work in treating rosacea, even though the condition is not caused by bacteria:  "Antibiotics tend to alleviate the symptoms of rosacea in patients because some of them work to inhibit these enzymes. Our findings may modify the therapeutic approach to treating rosacea, since bacteria aren't the right target."  "Increased serine protease activity and cathelicidin promotes skin inflammation in rosacea."

Hopefully those who suffer with this condition will get some answers and possible cures soon.  I know that I don't like going out and meeting people.  I do anyway because I need to do errands and grocery shopping.  My mother saw me last, in March of this year, when I went to my Uncle's funeral.  The first thing she said was to cover it up with makeup.  Makeup makes it worse and it is not worth the pain one has to go through afterwards to wear it.  I have found something that covers it well though, but I only wear it on special occasions and going to the grocery store isn't high on that list..  It is made by Covergirl.  The brand is CG Smothers.and it works great!

Some of the triggers that they tell you, such as  coffee and alcohol and chocolate and the heat and cold extremes do not work for me.  What I have found tirggers it is Coke and Pepsi.  I am not sure if it is the dye that might be the trigger or what it is.

Treatments that I have tried are:

Vick's Rub.  I did htis for a two week period of time and didn't get any good results from that--my skin felt cool and soft though.

Goat's Milk Soap products.  No change at all.

Peroxide.  This was as good as water with no help at all.

Anti-biotic creams, ointments and pills.  The creams and oitments were yucky on my skin and it attracted more dirt then without the stuff.  The pills, they only were effective for three weeks and then they stopped working all together.

Bleach.  Don't go off the deep end with this--you'd be surprised what goes into your skin just by driving to work or going out into your yard!  I did this in an attempt to kill any mites there might be from one of the studies that reported that mites caused the condition. This did help lots with the constant itch.  I would put some straight from the bottle onto a cotton ball and rub it into my face on the affected areas.  I would leave it on there for about 1 2 minutes and then take a shower and wash it off.  It isn't on my face long enough to cause a chemical burn, but it stops the itch for at least a week!  It didn't cure the condition, but made it more bearable.

Good Luck if you have this condition or know of anyone who has it.  I am waiting for a cure!  If you find something that works, please let us know!

I posted this on several other sites that I visit often.  One person told me to try Cetaphil (she uses the CVS offbrand) cleanser and lotion.  I am going to try this and then after a few weeks I will let you know the reaction that I had.

If anyone else uses something else please post it.  We all want to stop this stuff on our faces. 

Monday, March 16, 2009 Sunburn Might Play a Role in Rosacea
Skin blistering, as well as family history, appears linked to skin disorder, expert says

(HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that people with the reddening skin condition rosacea tend to have a family history of the disease and a personal history of sunburns.

Rosacea, a chronic condition that commonly affects the face and can also cause swelling and vascular abnormalities, affects roughly 14 million Americans. Its cause is unknown.

In a Boston-based study of 130 people, half with moderate to severe rosacea and half without, 34 percent of those with the disease reported having a relative who also had the skin disorder, whereas only about 10 percent of those without the disease had it in their family. The researchers also found that 44 percent of people with rosacea reported having had blistering sunburns at some time, compared with just more than 5 percent of the others.

"Even when we did a more sophisticated analysis of the data controlling for age and gender, we found these findings were statistically significant and confirmed our previous findings," Dr. Alexa Boer Kimball, an associate professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a news release issued by the American Academy of Dermatology. "Although these results are quite preliminary, they are important for future research as we start to explore these positive associations and their implications in controlling this condition." Kimball presented the findings at the academy's annual meeting in San Francisco.

Kimball said the research did not conclude whether sunburns contributed to the development of rosacea or whether people with rosacea just tended to sunburn because of their skin condition. However, she said, she advises people who have a family history of rosacea -- especially children -- to regularly use broad-spectrum sunscreen and use other sun protection measures.

In previous research, Kimball had suggested that being overweight might be associated with having rosacea, but she said that the new study found that both people with rosacea and those who did not have it had an average body mass index (BMI) of slightly above 26 -- putting them in the range considered overweight.

"Future studies should explore the possible connection between a higher BMI and rosacea, as excess weight could be found to be a contributing factor to the condition," she said.

More information

The National Rosacea Society has more about rosacea.
-- Kevin McKeever

SOURCE: American Academy of Dermatology, news release, March 5, 2009