Rosacea
Rosacea is a common condition and prolonged skin that causes inflammation (swelling) and erythema (redness) on the face. It usually starts with redness on the cheeks and nose and can also affect the forehead and chin. The late comedian W.C. Fields, known for his witty looking nose, red and bulbous, suffered from advanced rosacea.
Currently, rosacea affects 13 million people in the United States is more common in fair-skinned adults between 30 and 50 who have red hair and white skin and a history of blushing easily. Women develop rosacea more often than men, but men are more likely to have noses inflamed (swollen) and enlarged, a condition called rhinophyma. Rosacea is often mistaken for sunburn and are generally not diagnosed. There are many good treatment for this condition.
Symptoms
There are four progressive stages of rosacea:
- First stage: facial flushing and erythema intermittent.
- Second stage: persistent erythema on the cheeks, nose, chin and forehead.
- Third stage: small bumps, pus-colored or red with blood vessels that appear red fine lines.
- Fourth stage: lumps and thickening of the skin of the nose.
Below are the most common symptoms of rosacea:
Erythema: redness of the skin of the face like sunburn or blush. This is caused by flushing, which occurs when excess blood flowing quickly through the blood vessels in the skin and blood vessels enlarge to handle this flow. Gradually this redness becomes more evident and does not disappear. The skin of the face can also become very dry.
Blackheads and papules, may appear “bumps” small, red, hard or “pimples” full of pus in the face, similar to those seen in juvenile acne. In fact, rosacea has often been called adult acne or acne rosacea. The causes of acne rosacea are different, however, adults with rosacea do not have white spots or blackheads (called comedones) commonly seen in acne.
Red lines (telangiectasia), facial flushing or redness causes small blood vessels to expand and eventually show through the skin. These enlarged blood vessels appear as tiny red lines (telangiectasias) on the face, especially in the cheeks. First, telangiectasia may be hidden by erythema caused by flushing or blushing, but usually reappear after the rash disappears.
Nasal hump, if left untreated, rosacea can finally form small lumps and knots on the nose, giving it an appearance of being swollen. This condition is more common in men and is called rhinophyma.
Eye irritation: the eyes become red and dry in about half of people with rosacea. Involvement of the eyes is usually relatively mild. In rare cases, there is severe involvement of the eyes, which if not treated, it can affect vision.