Acne Rosacea
Acne rosacea is a disease with dermal and ophthalmic manifestations that combines the symptoms specific to rosacea with the pustules of acne. So far, the nature and exact causes of acne rosacea is not fully explained although it is known that sun exposure will increase the risk of disease development. The face and the chest are the most affected body parts both by the flushing and the pustules outbreak, and the disease tends to get worse after spicy food, hot drinks and alcohol.
It appears that acne rosacea has been reported in more women than men, with a higher occurrence of the disease in the middle-aged group. Thus, the majority of patients are people between 30 and 60, with the mention that in the case of black complexions the identification is more difficult and often delayed. Yet, there is not enough clinical evidence to support the idea that acne rosacea affects fair-skinned people most of the times.
The acne blemishes specific to the disease are most often distributed on the chin and cheeks, or in the nose area, but the central part of the forehead is also commonly affected. Although the oily appearance of the skin makes acne rosacea resemble acne vulgaris, differences do exist. In traditional acne forms, comedones are widely spread, whereas with rosacea they don’t even appear in the flush areas. Moreover, acne rosacea has a hypertrophy dimension that is not found with acne vulgaris.
Since acne rosacea is a chronic disease its evolution usually expands over several years marked by critical episodes characterized by inflammation. Corticosteroids are commonly prescribed for the alleviation of the symptoms, but they cannot be prescribed for long-term therapy because of the risk to cause an atrophy or permanent vaso-dilation of the tissues. Most doctors will therefore go for the systemic treatment instead of the topical one.
Sometimes the damage caused by acne rosacea needs surgical treatment, but only an expert can decide on such a course of action. Electrocautery and the tunable dye laser procedure represent the two main alternatives under the circumstances, but one could also choose excision, skin grafting, dermabrasion ands so on. The treatment of acne rosacea should not be ignored or postponed even if the condition shows an improvement over some periods of time.
