Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 Hi, cea can be really hard to diagnose at first, and I went through the same thing you are. Others didn't really notice anything at first, and my doctor hemmed and hawed for about a year before giving me metrogel. My symptoms were very mild at first, and it was a while before I noticed a real difference in my coloring after being in the sun briefly. Now the sun is one of my worst triggers. The good news is that if it's rosacea, the earlier you catch it and start treating it, the better. If your doctor doesn't want to prescribe a rosacea medicine because he/she isn't sure, you could try using some of our other remedies to see if it helps. Here are some of my favorite suggestions: 1. try a mild cleanser (without alcohol-my favorite is Zia cleansing gel with sea algae extract), 2. stay out of the sun and away from fluorescent lights (or wear a broad-brimmed hat all the time like I do), 3. use a sensitive skin moisturizer, preferably without alcohol, fragrance, color, etc... (I use Oil of Olay for sensitive skin-it does contain one form of alcohol, but also has dimethicone which is something you definitely want in your lotion.) 4. and try putting a very thin layer of a zinc oxide ointment (like desitin, although some people do better with a cream with fewer ingredients-I love desitin) on your face at night. Cortisone creams are devastating to rosacea skin - although they may seem to help at first, with long term use they make the condition worse by thinning the skin. If you use one for a long time and then stop, you get what we call " rebound " and it isn't pretty! Another option that some people have had success with is the rosacea ltd disks. They are mineral disks developed by rosacea sufferers which contain sulfur, zinc etc... so you can order them without a prescription. They have a website but I don't know it offhand. I haven't used these, but others in the group can provide info on them. Glad you found us. Hope this is helpful. Welcome! Kerry ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eGroups.com home: /group/rosacea-support - Simplifying group communications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 14, 1999 Report Share Posted June 14, 1999 I recently posted my first note and got two e-mail responses which was so nice. I explained that I had a rash a few months ago and the doctor gave me hydro-cortisone cream which I took for six weeks. The rash went away rather quickly but my face still remained mildly red. I have since discontinued using the cortisone (about a month ago). My doctor said it was too early to tell if I have rosacea. Someone wrote me back suggesting it may be a long term affect from the steroids. Someone else related their initial experience with rosacea as very mild for the first year so it was hard to diagnose. I was wondering if most people had very mild redness to begin and it got worse? Does it always get worse? I guess I'm asking becuase I don't know if I should follow my doctor's advice and leave it alone for a while longer (wait and see attitude) or if I should try to start treating it. Any one else have a similiar experience? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eGroups.com home: /group/rosacea-support - Simplifying group communications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 15, 1999 Report Share Posted June 15, 1999 <<<<<<<<A few months ago I got a rash on my face. I was given hydrocortizone cream, and it pretty much went away. However, since then, my face has been mildy red around my cheeks and nose and I occasionally get a couple of small pimples around my mouth. >>>>>>>> Hi, There is such a thing as steroid (cortisone or hydrocortisone induced cea). You could have that. And, if you stay away from the cortisone, and treat your skin gently, it could go away. However, you may want to see a derm to be checked for cea, and perhaps use a topical medication so it doesn't get worse. I personally wouldn't go with an oral medication unless it was rather bad. The redness we have comes in different degrees, depending on the person, and the condition of the cea at the moment. During flares, or recovering from cortisone use, it can be a bright red. When things are calm, it can be a faint redness that is easily covered by make up. Whatever else you do, STAY AWAY FROM CORTISONE in any way, shape, or form. It's great for everything except cea. It will mask your symptoms for a while, but then it gets worse, and there are side effects (creeping, crawling, burning skin, among other things). Then, when you try to go off, you find that your skin may be addicted to the cortisone, and you have to wean yourself off gradually to avoid a painful, swollen, oozing, hamburger-textured face. It took me six months to taper off of cortisone, and it's taking another few months to recover from it's damage. And, the derms, for the most part, don't believe this. They think that cortisone is the cure for everything! I wish someone had warned me - I was put on it before I had this computer with access to all the help on the internet. Wanda ------------------------------------------------------------------------ eGroups.com home: /group/rosacea-support - Simplifying group communications Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 1999 Report Share Posted July 25, 1999 To answer your question on stomach problems... I believe that my digestion is not the greatest, though there are things I do to improve it such as by taking digestive enzymes, eating foods that agree with me, properly combining my foods (you may want to look more into proper food combining... for instance, they say you should always eat fruit on an empty stomach and never combine it with a protein etc...). I know that when my digestion is poor my rosacea symptoms flare up but it is only one of my triggers... I will even flare when I have just put certain foods in my mouth... emotions will also flare me as well as when I am feeling nervous and anxious. Some books that I have read point to digestion as the major culprit of rosacea, such as low stomach acidity but from personal experience I feel that there is more involved... But there is so much that it I find it really hard to make any one specific generalization as to what causes this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 25, 1999 Report Share Posted July 25, 1999 Stomach problems here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 1999 Report Share Posted July 26, 1999 Yes, I have had stomach problems too! I would get at least 4 or 5 severe stomach aches a week, then I stopped eating carbohydrates...down to 20g a day and I have NO stomach aches. It is worth it. They were awful.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 1999 Report Share Posted July 26, 1999 In a message dated 7/25/99 5:24:49 PM Pacific Daylight Time, rabiddog1999@... writes: << who here has some sort of problem with their stomach.(aches,pains) >> Hi Rabiddog, My stomach will hurt if I don't take acidophilus every day. It really helps me. I seems to have trouble digesting protein food (dairy, beans, meat, etc.). But, I also suspect that my skin does better with more protein. I've read that the stomach digests just protein, and the carbohydrates are digested in the intestines. Makes sense to me. So, when I take the acidopholus every day, and don't go way overboard on the ice cream, I'm okay. Wanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 1999 Report Share Posted July 26, 1999 I also have hearturn and loose bowel movements and sometimes more frequesnt bowel movements. I never had heartburn before. I wonder if the enzymes will help or willcause me to have diahrea. >From: qwerky@... >To: rosacea-supporteGroups >Subject: Re: Question for all >Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 07:46:59 -0700 > >I also have stomach problems and a lot of heartburn, so much so that it >caused a polyp to form in my esophagus. I've had two endoscopies on it >(the last two years ago) and they said it was reduced in size. For some >reason, they didn't want to remove it although they did a biopsy and >said it wasn't cancerous. > >I didn't have heartburn for a long time until fairly recently, >especially after eating bread and pastry, but I've had the >heat/flushing in my face and I always look sunburnt. As I'm a singer, >it is so embarassing to stand up in front of hot lights before an >audience and feel so hot in the face. > >Anyway, I wonder if there IS an connection between an acidic stomach, >growly big intestines and rosacea? What do others think? I hate the >thought of going back for another endoscopy! Perhaps I should try the >washing in camomile tea idea, sounds pleasant anyway. > > wrote: >original article:/group/rosacea-support/?start=66 >37 > > I get very frequent heartburn. Used to think it might be an ulcer, >now > > think it might be a hiatus hernia. Could just be a weak cardiac >sphincter > > allowing acid back into oesophagus. Gets worse with stress, wrong >foods, > > silly postures. > > > > I'm interested in the low stomach acid angle to rosacea. My >grandmother > > spent her life thinking she had an ulcer and yet drinking cider >vinegar > > which she swore helped. Finally in here 70's it was diagnosed that >far from > > having an ulcer she had very low stomach acid. I don't remember if >she had > > rosacea, but I have inherited a lot of her physical characteristics. > > Question for all > > > > who here has some sort of problem with their stomach.(aches,pains) > > > > > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >eGroups.com home: /group/rosacea-support > - Simplifying group communications > > > > _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 26, 1999 Report Share Posted July 26, 1999 I also have stomach problems and a lot of heartburn, so much so that it caused a polyp to form in my esophagus. I've had two endoscopies on it (the last two years ago) and they said it was reduced in size. For some reason, they didn't want to remove it although they did a biopsy and said it wasn't cancerous. I didn't have heartburn for a long time until fairly recently, especially after eating bread and pastry, but I've had the heat/flushing in my face and I always look sunburnt. As I'm a singer, it is so embarassing to stand up in front of hot lights before an audience and feel so hot in the face. Anyway, I wonder if there IS an connection between an acidic stomach, growly big intestines and rosacea? What do others think? I hate the thought of going back for another endoscopy! Perhaps I should try the washing in camomile tea idea, sounds pleasant anyway. wrote: original article:/group/rosacea-support/?start=66 37 > I get very frequent heartburn. Used to think it might be an ulcer, now > think it might be a hiatus hernia. Could just be a weak cardiac sphincter > allowing acid back into oesophagus. Gets worse with stress, wrong foods, > silly postures. > > I'm interested in the low stomach acid angle to rosacea. My grandmother > spent her life thinking she had an ulcer and yet drinking cider vinegar > which she swore helped. Finally in here 70's it was diagnosed that far from > having an ulcer she had very low stomach acid. I don't remember if she had > rosacea, but I have inherited a lot of her physical characteristics. > Question for all > > who here has some sort of problem with their stomach.(aches,pains) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.