Understanding Facial Redness and Rosacea

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By Jakobs

Looking in the mirror and seeing that your skin is overly red for no discernable reason is a troubling experience. If you've noticed you tend to have a predisposition for developing facial redness, here are some suggestions on what might be the cause and what you might consider doing about it.



A fairly standard representation of facial redness as caused by rosacea.
A fairly standard representation of facial redness as caused by rosacea.

Rosacea

Rosacea is a skin condition that effects millions of people around the world, although it primarily is found is fair skinned adult women. Rosacea is characterized by facial redness and sensitive skin. People with rosacea might experience facial flushing due to exposure to the sun, wind, eating spicy foods, exercising, and taking in hot coffee or tea. These types of things function as "rosacea triggers", leading to a flareup of its most common symptoms, including facial redness.

This skin condition is treatable through prescription drugs and identifying and avoiding triggers as much as possible. Keep in mind there is no cure for rosacea, and treatment is often a life long affair of keeping the symptoms at bay or under control.

For more information on Rosacea, see the Rosacea Treatment Guide.


Washing and Scrubbing The Face

Sometimes, when experiencing acne, it's possible to get in the habit of over-scrubbinhg and over-cleaning ones face in an effort to control an acne breakout. The problem is that over-exfoliation of the skin cells can lead to an overall reddening on the face, which can then lead to someone thinking they need to clean their face again, which then leads to an overall reddening of the face... and so on.

Be careful not to over do things. Certain facial creams that target acne can increase facial inflammation. Look for words such as "anti-inflammatory" and "sensitive skin" which sizing up such products.



Long Term Sun Exposure

Over-exposure to the sun over the years of ones lifetime can lead to a red face being ever present. Amazingly, this is due to how the skin reacts to the rays of the sun. Ultraviolet radiation from the suns rays can cause the blood vessels in a persons face to grow, which is what creates the overall red appearance in their face.

If this is a problem for you, laser treatments are available that target the blood vessels. This is very similar to the type of laser rosacea treatments done for the same problem.


. . .


In the end, it will be up to you to take action to figure out what the cause of the redness is. Book an appointment with a dermatologist and get the advice of a professional on how to proceed. The most likely cause of persistent facial redness - especially if it's accompanied with an overall sensitivity to the skin, including a connection between redness and heat - is rosacea, something that dermatologists see consistently and diagnose on a regular basis.

For a condition such as a rosacea - and a good rule of thumb for any medical issue - the earlier it is treated, the better the chances a patient and a doctor have of controlling the symptoms.



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