Purpose of this Site
An Editorial by Brady Barrows, the Webmaster

According to the Rosacea Research & Development Institute, rosacea is " a chronic and progressive disorder of the face, characterized by some or all of the following symptoms:
Extremely sensitive skin, blushing, flushing, permanent redness, burning, stinging, swelling, papules, pustules, broken red capillary veins, red gritty eyes (which can lead to visual disturbances) and in more advanced cases, a disfiguring bulbous nose. Men and women of all ages can be affected, with over 45 million sufferers of Rosacea worldwide."

According to the National Rosacea Society rosacea is a chronic, acne-like condition of the facial skin that may affect as many as 14 million Americans, which is one in twenty. The Medical Reporter says that number may be up to 20 Million! That is only in the USA! Over 2 million Canadians have rosacea (could be up to 6 million) and the number in the UK may be up to 10 million. This gives you an idea of the scope of this disease which seems to be growing worldwide even with all the best intentions of treatment to curb its growth. In England or France rosacea may be known as 'couperose.' ( # see footnote) What I have done is put together one of the best rosacea sites on the internet putting all the commercial treatments for rosacea in some very neat categories which are listed as links at the left side of every page on my site. This site is a clearinghouse of information on rosacea. If I haven't heard about a treatment for rosacea and it is not listed on this site you obviously haven't told me about it! So tell me about it. I have my current regimen for rosacea due in large part to all the feedback I get from rosaceans and from putting this web site together over the past five years and my results are recorded in my Diary of a Rosacean.

According to the International Rosacea Foundation index page, "Rosacea (pronounced roh-ZAY-sha) is a relatively common, chronic skin disorder. Most people have no knowledge of this disease, including how to recognize it and what to do about it. Rosacea is the fifth most common diagnosis made by dermatologists. A rosacea cure has yet to be found and its cause is still unknown. Knowing the symptoms and finding the treatment that works for you is the best defense against the social and psychological trauma of rosacea. Its classic symptoms are patchy flushing (redness) and inflammation, particularly on the cheeks, nose, forehead, and around the mouth. It typically appears between the ages of 30 and 50 and affects more women than men. Because the symptoms emerge slowly, rosacea may initially be mistaken for sunburn, leading to a delay in treatment. Rosacea is a hereditary; chronic (long term) skin disorder that most often affects the nose, forehead, cheekbones, and chin (Dr. Berasques). Groups of tiny microvessels (arterioles, capillaries, and venules) close to the surface of the skin become dilated, resulting in blotchy red areas with small papules (a small, red solid elevated inflammatory skin lesion without pus) and pustules (pus-filled inflammatory bumps). The redness can come and go, but eventually it may become permanent. Furthermore, the skin tissue can swell and thicken and may be tender and sensitive to the touch. Note: Pustules are NOT pimples. Pimples have a bacterial component to their makeup and are also mainly localized in and around the hair follicles...." source > http://internationalrosaceafoundation.org/

According to Dr. Geoffrey Nase, Ph.D., "...at the most basic level, rosacea is a disorder of the facial blood vessels. This disorder results in hyper-responsive blood vessels that dilate to numerous internal and external stimuli. This causes frequent facial flushing and skin changes such as facial redness, inflammatory papules, pustules, burning sensations and rhinophyma...." [source > http://drnase.com/patient_faq.htm] And no one knows for sure what causes rosacea. [see What Causes Rosacea?]

An interesting site on rosacea facts can be found by clicking here.

The National Rosacea Society says, "Rosacea (pronounced "roh-ZAY-sha") is a chronic and potentially life-disruptive disorder primarily of the facial skin, often characterized by flare-ups and remissions." source

What is the difference between a pimple, a pustule and a papule?
Answer

Basic Rosacea Facts

For a comprehensive book on basic rosacea knowledge for newbies get my book, which is a comprehensive 373 page book by clicking here.

Most basic rosacea facts can be obtained from a few downloads of pdfs that are in my BOOKS page which is the most complete source list of rosacea publications for the public on the internet (this list does not include medical publications or journals on rosacea unless you consider Plewig & Kligman's Acne and Rosacea an exception). I have complied a huge number of other these publications for your consideration by clicking here. However, for your convenience I will list four downloads here so you can begin learning about rosacea >

The Treatment Evolution of Rosacea

Rosacea New Perspectives on Disease Management through Lifestyle and Treatment Modifications

Your Everyday Guide to Treating Rosacea,
Dermik Laboratories > click here for pamphlet.pdf

Australasian College of Dermatologists
Rosacea pamplet >
http://www.dermcoll.asn.au/Images/skin_a-z/pdfs/rosacea.pdf

The four downloads above require Acrobat

If you prefer html, go to this url >

Questions and Answers About Rosacea

Or David Pascoe's Frequently Asked Questions on Rosacea > http://www.faqs.org/faqs/medicine/rosacea/index.html

While rosacea has been called 'acne rosacea' or 'adult acne' there is a difference between acne and rosacea. Click here and look for the article, Acne or Rosacea? in the top box by scrolling and click on the article.

My LINKS section is now a reciprocal link exchange with other sites related to rosacea.

Diagnosis

It is important that you see a physician to diagnose your rosacea. Your rosacea may be easily misdiagnosed. Self-diagnosis is not a good idea. You really cannot be an expert on what is on your face and should let a dermatologist determine if you have rosacea. See this recent news item about this.

The National Rosacea Society has recently classified rosacea into four subtypes, and I have a page dedicated to this subject.

How About Treating Each Subtype of Rosacea?

The traditional classification of rosacea involves three stages:
Stage I - Erythema (redness)
Stage II - Inflammatory papules and pustules
Stage III - Large inflammatory nodules, furunculoid infiltrations, and tissue hyperplasia

Untreated rosacea may develop into rhinophyma, which the nose has hypertrophy of the sebaceous tissue resulting in some serious disfigurement. [source]

It can never be over emphasized that you need to see a physician to diagnose and access your rosacea or whatever skin condition you may have.

Steroids

Never use steroid topicals for your rosacea which will make your rosacea worse. More on steroids.

Cause and Cure

Read my page on the cause of rosacea. Remember, no matter what you have heard about rosacea, there is no known cure for rosacea, only treatment of the symptoms to control it. If there were a cure, I would have known about the cure since this site is very popular and someone would have told me by now! You need to check back to see if I have posted something new since many have told me about what has helped them with their rosacea. You never know what someone will come up with and I may post it.

Commercial Treatments for Rosacea

Any treatment for rosacea is commercial. Can you name a treatment that is not? I have begun a list of non commercial treatments for rosacea for your benefit *click here. Doctors and clinics may offer treatment for rosacea but charge for their services, unless you are in Canada or some other socialized country that offers medical treatment for rosacea. If you are blessed with insurance you may use insurance to get rosacea treatment from a doctor or clinic for your rosacea, but nevertheless have to pay for insurance. There is a plethora of prescription medication for rosacea and I have begun a list for these drugs that have been discussed in the various yahoo groups which you may check. Just click here for prescription drugs. However, a growing number of rosaceans want alternatives to prescription drugs and this site lists every known rosacea product ever mentioned on the web for rosacea in one clearinghouse of information.

Some may be concerned with some of the alternative treatments for rosacea mentioned on this website which is understandable. There may be some bogus treatments for rosacea (ie., read the article Spontaneous Remission and the Placebo Effect & Why Bogus Therapies Often Seem to Work by clicking here). However, I have tried to note claims of a rosacea cure with this designation, 'cure' to denote this possiblility. However, the traditional or standard medical treatments offered by physicians may be unsatisfactory to many rosaceans and alternative information needs to be in a central clearinghouse and this site is it. If you know of something not mentioned here, why not post it here?

So I am offering a public service on the world wide web on this site, rosaceans.com, rosacea-control.com, or rosacea-diet.com for a clearinghouse of information on the commercial control of rosacea as well as FREE information to do so.

The 'official' authority on rosacea is the National Rosacea Society and claims not to promote commercial treatments, yet receives funding from Galderma, a pharmaceutical commerical business and other pharmaceutical corporations or other commercial sponsors, like so many other 'non-profit' organizations. The NRS does not even mention one treatment for rosacea other than those offered by medical doctors. You may enjoy an alternative 'official' site, the International Rosacea Foundation which no one has figured out whether this organization is commercial or what the agenda is but the IRF mentions both prescription and non-prescription treatments with an emphasis on non-prescription. Another obviously commercial site, rosacea.com, which is owned by Dermik Laboratoires Inc. promotes prescription drugs by medical doctors. This site says, "Over-the-counter medications are not effective for the treatment of rosacea and can irritate your skin or worsen your rosacea." [source] This gives you an excellent example of a commercial site that narrows its choices discouraging alternatives. There are now many rosacea sites that are obviously commercial and you can find them on my LINKS page.

The difference is, this site does promote and publish all known treatments. All commercial information on this site to control rosacea is clear and obvious. Free information advertising the commercial control of rosacea is what this site is about.

How This Site Evolved

This is the history of this site. In 1999 I experimented with posting some information I discovered about rosacea on my own homepage, then moved my rosacea page to my first commercial site, mumbet.com, and finally to this site, rosacea-control.com. I was one of the first rosacea sites on the internet. In 1999, there were only a handful. Now there are many, but this site is one of the more popular sites for information on rosacea. As you will discover, this site puts all the information on rosacea in some neat categories which may help to control your rosacea.

And the free information is yours for the taking! For example, you can get some free information on alternative treatments on rosacea by clicking on osCommerce subdomain. There are links to Dermatologists and Physicians, and a way to list your physician if you want others to know. And of course there are links on how to control your rosacea with PRESCRIPTIONS and IPL Therapy, ie., PhotoDerm® Links, and ETS. There are BOOKS on rosacea you may not be aware of. One of the more popular free areas is the Comments from Around the World on Rosacea, which you may read some interesting comments on rosacea or post your own comment in my Rosaceans Forum or the older Rosaceans Group at Yahoo. or the older Yahoo Rosacea Diet Users Support Group. You should check the Recent News page. From the comments I have received, the majority appreciate the information on this site. That is what the worldwide web is about, and why you found this site because you need information on rosacea. I have tried to make this site the best rosacea site on the net. You should read the legal disclaimer if you are interested in such things and my privacy policy. One very helpful page is the site index.

I have had rosacea for around twenty years, and cannot remember when it was first diagnosed by a dermatologist who prescribed tetracycline. When I was a teenager I had taken tetracycline for acne off and on so I accepted the diagnosis and the treatment. If you have a skin problem, you can't have a better name for a disease like rosacea. It sounds so flowery! Most people haven't heard of it so when I tell them I have rosacea, they think I must be an impressionist painter or wonder what I am talking about. However, my face does leave an impression upon them when I have a flare-up of rosacea.

However, there are the side effects of tetracycline which comes with taking the drug, such as sun sensitivity and upset stomach, not to mention the cost of prescription medication and visits to the doctor. But taking tetracycline along with its side effects is better than having rosacea breakouts. That is what the medical profession says is the benefit/risk ratio in any treatment. A patient has to determine if the benefits are worth the risks, including the side effects. What do you think the long term effects of taking tetracycline for years are?

Sometime in the Eighties the dermatologist handed me a tube of Metrogel® and said I didn't have to take tetracycline anymore! I was so happy with the gel. It even worked for a while. Then I quit using the gel and the tetracycline and my rosacea seemed to go away. But as anyone with rosacea knows, it will come back. So after a move and much stress, the rosacea did return and the Metrogel® didn't seem to help this time. I tried several natural remedies since I didn't want to go back to the tetracycline or go to the dermatologist. I was not happy with the side effects. Finally after no success at home remedies and every sort of natural treatment suggested, I returned to the dermatologist who handed me a prescription for tetracycline and Metrogel® again. I asked him why the Metrogel® wasn't working alone anymore? He said that the tetracycline works along with the Metrogel® to relieve the rosacea. So for a few years I was back again with my tetracycline dosage, which worked to control rosacea.

Then by accident, I discovered how to control my rosacea without tetracycline and Metrogel® . This treatment is so simple, in fact, I save dermatologist visits and prescription medication, and does not require any special product to purchase. It simply involves controlling my eating and drinking. Now, don't get me wrong, the tetracycline and Metrogel® work to relieve rosacea flare ups and you can keep going to the medical doctors and taking prescription medications if you prefer, but I can tell you how to avoid or reduce this routine, if you want to control your rosacea with your diet.

You probably have tried to control your rosacea by avoiding certain foods and drinks, with no relief, right? If you want to know what I discovered, "A Simple Method to Control Rosacea," now known as the Rosacea Diet, which is simply a method to control rosacea symptoms, not cure it, with your diet. Many have tried this diet and it has helped them.

I have tried different products for rosacea due to learning about them through the internet since many send me information on new products. I have written diaries on my experiences trying out these products.

Since many send new information for treatment for rosacea to this web site or I read about it at the yahoo groups I sometimes try these new treatments.

My recommendation on what products to use can be read by clicking here.

Or you may just want free information on rosacea, since you probably found my site by some search engine for that very purpose, so, hopefully you will find something that helps control your rosacea.

*see the list of free or inexpensive treatments for rosacea.

# "To the best of our knowledge, the first medical description of rosacea was by Dr. Guy de Chauliac, a French surgeon living in the 14th century. Dr. de Chauliac wrote about "red lesions in the face, particularly on the nose and cheeks." He called the condition "goutterose" (French for "pink droplet") or "couperose" (now a common French term for rosacea)." - NRS website's Spring 2000 newsletter