Facial Redness, Rosacea And Blushing

At various times in our lives most of us suffer from some form of unwanted facial redness either in the form of overall reddening of the skin over the nose and cheeks or patches of broken veins around the cheeks and sides of the nose. It can affect both men and women and can range dramatically in its severity. There are various causes of this but the most common ones are sun damage, skin sensitivity and the most difficult of all, Rosacea.

Rosacea is a skin condition that is extremely common particularly in the fair skin type and is now so common that in certain parts of the country it is almost considered normal. It is very important that we recognise when it is present as certain treatments can exacerbate the problem and some fairly simple steps can significantly reduce its progression and severity.

Hall marks of Rosacea in the early stages are a tendency to flushing and blushing, facial and neck redness that comes up easily and takes an annoyingly long time to subside. Gradually a more persistent redness starts to appear after the flushing should have subsided. A common story is that after a summer holiday when the tan has faded the skin has a lingering redness that just doesn’t go away. In some individuals surface thread veins may develop but in others it simply appears as a diffuse pink or red colour to the skin. Areas that are commonly affected are the cheeks, nose, forehead, chin, ears, and neck. Spots may or may not be present and can be red or white and often linger for months. A few unfortunate sufferers develop a thickening of the skin and a common area to see this is the nose. A large number have eye symptoms with redness of the whites of the eye and an irritable crustiness along the edges of the eyelids.

Probably the most common symptom of all with Rosacea is the complaint that their skin is dry or dry sensitive.