Rosacea is a chronic skin disease that manifests as redness, papules and pustules (‘pimples’) on the cheeks and/or nose. Initially, intermittent episodes of redness in the cheeks are suffered, accompanied or not by a sensation of suffocation. Later this redness is permanent (couperose) and telangiectasias (small blood vessels) and inflammatory lesions appear.
It is usually seen in young or middle-aged women and, although it has no impact on the patient’s health, it does involve an aesthetic alteration and an almost constant uncomfortable sensation. Although it is usually only a skin problem, sometimes conjunctivitis or blepharitis (inflammation of the conjunctiva of the eyes or eyelids) can also appear.
Without early diagnosis and treatment, rosacea tends to worsen progressively. It is important to know the treatments and skin care that the patient has had previously, as well as the impact of suffering from this skin alteration. Therapeutic measures include hygienic-dietary advice, skin care and the use of specific treatments in each case, either applied topically or administered orally in advanced cases. The most effective options lie in the use of anti-inflammatories and very low doses of antibiotics, which are perfectly tolerated in most cases.
In cases where the vascular component is especially intense (a large number of telangiectasias -blood vessels-), the use of the 1,064 nm vascular laser produces a complete disappearance of these small vessels, improving the redness that is suffered from the base. Laser therapy has no remarkable adverse effects in the vast majority of cases, does not require local anesthesia and crusts or petechiae do not usually appear after the sessions.
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Check out the Blog posts for more information:
→ Characteristics and treatment of rosacea
→ Redness treatment with brimonidine cream
Bibliographic references
van Zuuren EJ, Kramer SF, Carter BR, Graber MA, Fedorowicz Z. Effective and evidence-based management strategies for rosacea: summary of a Cochrane systematic review. Br J Dermatol. 2011 Oct; 165(4):760-81.
van Zuuren EJ, Kramer S, Carter B, Graber MA, Fedorowicz Z. Interventions for rosacea. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 Mar 16; (3).