Redness and rosacea are troubling skin disorders. But thereare new options for smoothing your complexion.
The causes
Redness in the skin is often caused by acne, brokencapillaries, sunburn, stress or diet, or the result of a cosmeticprocedure such as a facial or chemical peel. It is the body's way ofsending a message that it is fighting inflammation and irritation fromwithin.
Rosacea's cause remains a mystery and we have yet to find acure, but medical help can provide relief from the symptoms.
Affecting more than 14 million Americans, this skin conditionmanifests as redness of the face and is sometimes accompanied byacne-like symptoms.
Traditional treatment options
Women traditionally soothe the redness in their skin withover-the-counter skin care products or camouflage it with green-tintedmakeup.
Many dermatologists find that starting with over-the-counterlotions containing sodium sulfacetamide might be helpful for treatingsymptoms of rosacea, although patients with hypersensitivity to sulfaantibiotics and women who are pregnant or nursing should not try this.
Depending on symptoms, a dermatologist can also recommend amyriad of prescription treatment options, ranging from retinoids andazelaic acid gels to oral and topical antibiotics.
Newer, low-dose oral tetracycline antibiotics and long-actingdoxycyline and metacycline antibiotics are other ways to get your skinout of the red zone by alleviating inflammation. It might be covered byinsurance, depending on your provider and plan.Light treatmentNew light-based treatments -- such as intense pulsed light andGentleWaves -- are effective for reducing persistent redness. Theyeliminate flushing because the specific light spectrums in intensepulsed light, pulsed-dye and diode treatments can attack and neutralizethe redness of the vessels associated with rosacea. Light-based treatments are becoming the top rosacea treatmentoption because they are generally downtime-free, though medicationsmight need to be continued to manage symptoms and sustain remission. When undergoing this treatment, you'll feel a snap andpossibly heat. The vessels will darken, or look like a bruise, beforefading away, but this can be covered with makeup. Intense pulsed light is generally recommended in a series ofthree treatments spaced six weeks apart, with maintenance treatmentsevery few months to sustain results. Starting at about $200 atreatment, it might be covered by insurance. Reach Paige Herman and Marie Kuechel, editors of NewBeauty magazine, at editors@newbeauty.com.Source: The AugustaChronicle. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. Powered byYellowbrix.
