Rosacea Research
Mar. 14th, 2012 05:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusRosacea Research
I did a whole bunch of research on rosacea Saturday night. I have type one rosaecea which is the mildest but the hardest to treat because it's mostly redness. According to my aunt, dermatologists (after ruling out lupus and other diseases) usually prescribe a mild antibiotic. I don't have health care, so I have to go another route.
If you're at all interested, here's a synopsis of what I've learned.
Turns out doctors have different theories about its cause (a build-up toxins in the GI tract one dermatologist says; bacteria is one theory that's out of favor; a diet that needs to be more alkaline is the more new age approach; the timing suggests to me that it's related to hormonal shifts leading up to menopause since it goes away naturally in the late 50s/early 60s but I'm no doctor).
There's not a lot of disagreement about what helps.
There are three things to do:
1 - Discover and avoid my particular triggers.
So far sun (the worst!), wind/fans/air conditioning, chocolate, ice cream, hot foods -- both physically hot and hot-hot -- and test for niacin and tryptophan. The hard part is avoiding them. I'm trying to reduce chocolate to 1x a week. I'm better with the sunscreen now. I pretend that I don't see the mention of "lack of sleep" as a possible trigger (she says, posting at 5am).
2 - Take care of my skin. Moisturize. Don't take very hot showers or use very hot water on my face.
Use a night cream. Ingredients recommended: topical vitamin K (the NIH found it speeds the healing of bruising after cosmetic surgery) for the redness (otherwise use tetracycline); a good moisturizer for the flaking; avoid anything drying such as alcohol or witch hazel; nordihydroguaiaretic acid and oleanolic acid is the "in thing" for the inflammation, willow bark/salicyclic acid, light use of sulfur as-needed for any pustules; zinc and hyluronic acid and/or aloe for the sensitivity). Jojoba oil should help with any skin damage. There are a couple of expensive products that contain the ingredients dermatologists recommend: DERMAdoctor Calm, Cool and Corrected, Dermaglow Acne Night Anti-Aging Cream, to a lesser extent Skoah Turbo Tonic.
3 - Other than avoiding triggers, dietary changes suggested.
Eat "cooling" foods: apples, watermelon, strawberries, mango, raspberries, purple grapes -- and oh yeah, greenery like broccoli. Shift protein intake from poultry to soy and nuts, especially walnuts. Eat/drink foods high in antioxidants such as white tea, lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, parsley, peas, cabbage, cauliflower, soy, even some cereals and dairy, soybean oil, canola oil, and olive oil.
4 - Take antioxidants and vitamins!
Especially take vitamin K (specifically vitamin K2), vitamin E, B-complex, vitamin C, zinc, flaxseed oil and omega 3s (Udo's oil! which I need anyway for my low cholesterol). Vitamin K2 will also help my bone density as aids in the body's use of calcium!
I did a whole bunch of research on rosacea Saturday night. I have type one rosaecea which is the mildest but the hardest to treat because it's mostly redness. According to my aunt, dermatologists (after ruling out lupus and other diseases) usually prescribe a mild antibiotic. I don't have health care, so I have to go another route.
If you're at all interested, here's a synopsis of what I've learned.
Turns out doctors have different theories about its cause (a build-up toxins in the GI tract one dermatologist says; bacteria is one theory that's out of favor; a diet that needs to be more alkaline is the more new age approach; the timing suggests to me that it's related to hormonal shifts leading up to menopause since it goes away naturally in the late 50s/early 60s but I'm no doctor).
There's not a lot of disagreement about what helps.
There are three things to do:
1 - Discover and avoid my particular triggers.
So far sun (the worst!), wind/fans/air conditioning, chocolate, ice cream, hot foods -- both physically hot and hot-hot -- and test for niacin and tryptophan. The hard part is avoiding them. I'm trying to reduce chocolate to 1x a week. I'm better with the sunscreen now. I pretend that I don't see the mention of "lack of sleep" as a possible trigger (she says, posting at 5am).
2 - Take care of my skin. Moisturize. Don't take very hot showers or use very hot water on my face.
Use a night cream. Ingredients recommended: topical vitamin K (the NIH found it speeds the healing of bruising after cosmetic surgery) for the redness (otherwise use tetracycline); a good moisturizer for the flaking; avoid anything drying such as alcohol or witch hazel; nordihydroguaiaretic acid and oleanolic acid is the "in thing" for the inflammation, willow bark/salicyclic acid, light use of sulfur as-needed for any pustules; zinc and hyluronic acid and/or aloe for the sensitivity). Jojoba oil should help with any skin damage. There are a couple of expensive products that contain the ingredients dermatologists recommend: DERMAdoctor Calm, Cool and Corrected, Dermaglow Acne Night Anti-Aging Cream, to a lesser extent Skoah Turbo Tonic.
3 - Other than avoiding triggers, dietary changes suggested.
Eat "cooling" foods: apples, watermelon, strawberries, mango, raspberries, purple grapes -- and oh yeah, greenery like broccoli. Shift protein intake from poultry to soy and nuts, especially walnuts. Eat/drink foods high in antioxidants such as white tea, lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, parsley, peas, cabbage, cauliflower, soy, even some cereals and dairy, soybean oil, canola oil, and olive oil.
4 - Take antioxidants and vitamins!
Especially take vitamin K (specifically vitamin K2), vitamin E, B-complex, vitamin C, zinc, flaxseed oil and omega 3s (Udo's oil! which I need anyway for my low cholesterol). Vitamin K2 will also help my bone density as aids in the body's use of calcium!
no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 03:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 11:21 pm (UTC)The Burt's Bees acne wash with willow bark/salicyclic acid was v. v. bad. I don't know if it reduces the bacteria, but it certainly made my skin look like a cracked painting!
I'm trying the hylaronic acid today. It has the texture of aloe, but seems to somewhat irritate my skin. I'll give it a little more of a go, however.
So far, Jojoba oil has been the best find.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-20 06:23 am (UTC)The sulfur soap works great. It makes the pustules disappear immediately. But I won't let myself use it except to dot on the spots, and then only rarely, because it can thin the skin and make the veins visible.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-30 07:19 pm (UTC)