Both a skin and eye disorder, acne rosacea disease is a type of acne characterized by the appearance of pustules and vascular manifestations on the affected tissues. So far, the cause that triggers acne rosacea is not fully explained although it is known that sun exposure will increase the risk of disease development. The face and the chest are the most affected body parts both by the flushing and the pustules outbreak, and the disease tends to get worse after spicy food, hot drinks and alcohol.

It appears that acne rosacea affects more women than men, with the preponderance of the condition in the middle-aged group. Thus, most of the cases have been reported on people between 30 and 60, with the mention that in the case of black complexions the identification is more difficult and often delayed. Although many assumptions have been made on the preponderance of acne rosacea with fair-skinned people, the theory is not supported by clinical evidence.

The acne blemishes characteristic to the disease are most often distributed in the nose area, on the cheeks and chin, but the central forehead doesn’t get spared either. The skin is usually very oily too, yet there are some major differences between acne rosacea and valgaris acne disease. In traditional acne forms, comedones are widely spread, whereas with rosacea they only appear in the flush areas. Moreover, acne rosacea has a hypertrophy dimension that is not found with acne vulgaris.

Unlike regular acne forms, acne rosacea is a chronic disease that evolves in time, sometimes extending over years. Most often, topical corticosteroids are applied to reduce the intensity of the symptoms and to improve the overall condition, but they are not suitable for long-term therapy due to the tissue atrophy risk or the danger to cause permanent vaso-dilation. Most doctors will therefore choose to recommend the systemic treatment instead of the topical one.

Depending on the skin changes caused by acne rosacea, surgical intervention could become necessary but only after running medical tests and at the special recommendation of a dermatologist. Electrocautery and the tunable dye laser procedure represent the two main solutions under the circumstances, but one could also choose excision, skin grafting, dermabrasion ands so on. The analysis of acne rosacea should not be ignored or postponed even if the condition shows an improvement over some periods of time.

Tags: acne rosacea, acne vulgaris, treatment of acne rosacea

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