Mediterranean diet / flushing

[Guest guest]

Matija mentioned that there seemed to be a large number of people affected

by rosacea on the island her family came from. It is true that they probably

ate typical Mediterranean diet which is considered to be quite healthy; on

the other hand, I was also thinking they were receiving a large dose of

sunshine, at a time when there was no sunscreen or sunblock available.

There are also two other factors - red wine is very popular in Croatia, and

I would assume that tomatoes were significantly represented in their diet.

When I was diaganosed with rosacea 8 years ago, my derm told me that

tomatoes are triggers. Yet I did not see them mention in any of the archive

files. Is it still true? Are tomatoes triggers? I also believe that the list

I was given at that time, mentioned chocolate (which I can live very easily

without, unlike most people) and ice cream. Can anyone comment on this?

(and by the way, Matija, I think that the Adriatic coast is one of the most

beautiful places on this Earth).

Since my flare up, I am back on tetracycline (less than a week) and I stuck

to my cabbage regimen every night, with the exception of one, when laziness

got the better of me). Already on Saturday, I could say that the one cheek

and the chin are completely back to their normal colour - no sign of

redness. My left cheek, which was significantly worse, is still showing a

circular patchin the middle, about an inch in diameter, which seems to be

the epicentrum of my rosacea. No more breakouts though, the skin is smooth

though the patch is still visible. I am not wearing any foundation at all.

I wish I could figure how to control flushing. I am not sure if I mentioned

this in my last post, but I am usually very cold at work (sit at the

computer all day) and in spite of wearing a thick sweater, I have " attacks "

when I am very cold, my hands are so frozen I can barely type, yet my cheeks

are burning. This typically happens early in the day and get better later

on. On those ocassions, the red in my face becomes more noticable.

especially in the patch on the left cheek.

Same thing happened to me on Saturday - I was in my car, there was a nice

sunshine, the car was nicely warm but not overheated - all of sudden I could

feel the fire in my cheeks and when I looked in the mirror, the patch on my

left cheek was not red, but almost purplish. However, these episodes come

and go, but I wish I could control them better. Otherwise, my skin has none

of those sensations that troubled me a week ago - the burning, the tingling,

the itching.

Alena