With Rosacea, the skin of the face and in particular the cheeks and nose tends to flush easily and over time becomes permanently red. Thread veins appear in the same sites and in pustular Rosacea (formerly known as Acne Rosacea) spots and pimples appear too. The condition is aggravated by over production of oil from sebaceous glands, hormonal changes, sun exposure, UVA/UVB, stress, climatic changes and some foods such as coffee, spicy foods and alcohol. Most sufferers are keen to improve the appearance by treating any pimple spots and reducing the redness and thread veins. Rosacea can be treated and controlled, and the sooner, the better. This condition generally gets worse if it goes untreated, causing more redness, more pimples and more visible veins. Rosacea can be treated but at this stage cannot be cured. Some severe cases will require oral or topical antibiotics prescribed by your doctor.

Rosacea treatment includes laser treatment on visible veins to reduce redness in combination with products to protect the skin i.e. broad spectrum sunscreen and antioxidants. Recurrent flushing and blushing is present and late in the disease, the nose may be enlarged with thick red skin, a condition known as “rhinophyma”. Enlargement of the nose is more common in males. Also, along with thicker skin, the oil glands of the face enlarge and are more active giving an oily appearance. Rosacea is often accompanied by other features and symptoms such as rashes, erythema, red bulbous nose, acne like eruption and burning sensation.

Stages of Rosacea
Stage One – Redness The cheeks or forehead appear to have a flush or sunburn. The redness is caused by dilation of the blood vessels in the skin, which allow more blood to flow and pool under the surface of the skin.

Stage Two – Pimples The next stage pimples may appear on the face. The types of pimples seen in people with Rosacea differ from acne, which are characterised by blackheads or whiteheads. In Rosacea the pimples appear as small red and solid or pus filled. A characteristic symptom of Rosacea is dilated blood vessels that become distended under the surface of the skin.