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Subject: Seaquanil facial cleanser

I joined this list yesterday and would like to say hello to everyone. My

first experience with rosacea was in 1993, or maybe 1994, when I was

diagnosed. I was on tetracycline for a year, and also used metronidazole,

though I firmly believe that what helped me most was non-mainstream

treatment, and I will get to that later.

Since then, my rosacea was in remission until about a month ago, when it

flared up. I did not make the connection then, but I think it started when I

started to use facial wash cloths. There was also one week of extreme

stress. I may have set myself up for this flare up as I ate spicier foods

than usual this winter. Since my rosacea was in remission for so many years,

I did not even think about spicy food as a rosacea trigger. Though I have to

say that what I consider spicy would make other people laugh (they would

find it very mild) but it was a step up in spiciness for me.

I read the articles posted at http://rosacea.ii.net/toc.html and I would

like to ask this: it is mentioned there that alcohol (in moisturizers) is to

be avoided, though not every alcohol is equal. Right now, I am using

Nutraderm moisturizing lotion by Galderma, as it is something I used 8 years

ago, and it contains cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. Can somebody tell me

which specific alcohols should be avoided?

As I said earlier, I resorted to a non-mainstream treatment. I read a

brochure that contained recommendations of an old Austrian lady, a known

herbalist, for many disaeases and illnesses. Her suggestion for rosacea was

cabbage - not as food, but applied externally. I figured I had little to

lose, so each night I would mince a bit of cabbage, put it through a garlic

press and apply the paste on my face (Return of the Swamp Monster!). After a

few minutes I would brush it off. I swear this is what helped me get my

rosacea under control. I had one or two very minor flare ups after the

initial incident in 1993/4 and a few nights of cabbage treatment would

always restore me to normal.

On Tuesday, I stopped at a health store and bought PhytoCort cea Cream.

I am a big believer in holistic approach, but I was bitterly disappointed.

It did nothing to alleviate the already bad stinging/burning sensation, I

would say 3 applications of it irritated my skin so badly, that I had to go

to a doctor yesterday (I could feel the itchiness spreading as high as my

eyes) and I am back on tetracycline. I started my cabbage regimen last week

but I was not consistent. From now on, it's going to be every night. I

applied it last night and today, I feel so much better. All the burning is

gone and my skin feels almost normal. Also the redness is considerably less

than what it was yesterday. Anyway, I know that you may find all this

amusing, but I do believe it is working for me. I only had a single dose of

tetracycline yesterday so it could not have been the antibiotic.

I am on a hunt for a good cleanser - I have never seen Cetaphil bars here (I

am in Canada) - I only know the liquid Cetaphil cleanser in a bottle. So, I,

too, would like to know where to get Seaquanil. Sorry that this post is so

long. I was really depressed when my rosacea bounced back with so much

vigour and just finding this group and reading all the archives made me feel

better already!

Alena