Rosacea

The first signs of rosacea include:

• redness (blushing) across your nose, cheeks, forehead, chin, neck and chest that comes and goes, usually lasting for a few minutes each time – your face may also feel warm, hot or painful
• a burning or stinging feeling when using water or skincare products

The redness may be harder to see on brown or black skin.

As rosacea gets worse, the skin on your cheeks, nose and forehead may be red all the time.

Rosacea may cause tiny broken blood vessels to appear on your skin that do not go away.

You may get small pink or red bumps on your face, sometimes filled with a yellowish liquid, if you have rosacea.

Other symptoms can include:

• dry skin
• swelling, especially around the eyes
• yellow-orange patches on the skin
• sore eyelids or crusts around roots of eyelashes – this could be blepharitis
• thickened skin, mainly on the nose (usually appears after many years)

Triggers

It's not known what causes rosacea, but some things can make symptoms worse.

Common triggers for rosacea include:

• alcohol
• spicy foods
• hot drinks
• sunlight
• hot or cold temperatures
• aerobic exercise, like running
• being stressed

If you're not sure it's rosacea

Rosacea can look a lot like other conditions, such as:

• acne
• contact dermatitis, seborrhoeic dermatitis and other types of dermatitis
• lupus
• keratosis pilaris

• you have symptoms of rosacea

Rosacea cannot be cured, but treatment from a GP can help control the symptoms. It can get worse if it's not treated.

A GP may suggest:

• prescriptions for creams and gels you put on your skin
• taking antibiotics for 6 to 16 weeks

A GP may refer you to a skin specialist (dermatologist) if treatments are not working.

Rosacea is not caused by poor hygiene and it's not contagious. But there are things you can try to help with symptoms.

If you know a trigger like alcohol or spicy food makes symptoms worse, try to avoid it as much as possible.

• wear a high SPF sunscreen of at least SPF 30 every day

• try to avoid heat, sunlight or humid conditions if possible

• try to cover your face in cold weather

• use gentle skincare products for sensitive skin

• clean your eyelids at least once a day if you have blepharitis

• take steps to manage stress

• do not drink alcohol

• do not have hot drinks

• do not eat spicy food

• do not do too much aerobic exercise, like running

Symptoms of rosacea include a stinging feeling on your face, and redness that comes and goes. It can be harder to see on brown or black skin.

Treatment for rosacea focuses on controlling the symptoms and includes creams and gels or taking antibiotics. You may need to a see specialist.

You can try to control rosacea by avoiding things that trigger symptoms, such as alcohol or spicy food, and using products for sensitive skin.