Living with rosacea
There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason for my rosacea coming on. Even though I've got red hair and am very pale, I'd always had good skin. Then suddenly, about five years ago, I got what looked like angry acne on my cheeks. It was so annoying. Like being a teenager again!
I used spot creams for about a year, which I now know probably made it worse. Then finally, I saw my doctor, who diagnosed rosacea.
She suggested it could have been caused by stress, as I was getting divorced at the time, and prescribed me the antibiotic tetracycline.
It did help, slowly. But it made me really constipated, which drove me more nuts than the rosacea! So I stopped taking it and looked for other ways of controlling the condition instead.
I don't drink much alcohol anyway, and I've always avoided the sun. I never really wore make-up either, which apparently can make rosacea worse. The best thing I've found is a moisturiser from Skincare Solutions by Fadeout. As well as moisturising and protecting my skin from the sun, it has a green tint in it which helps tone down the redness.
I also get really dry eyes, which is another symptom of rosacea, but I find eye drops really help. The only time I'm really conscious of the rosacea is on special days, like my daughter's wedding. On days like that, I'll wear make-up. It doesn't make the rosacea worse, as long as it's only the odd day here or there.
