About 7 years ago I was battling through the highs and lows of my 20's. I had split from my long term boyfriend a few months before and had just had my heart broken by a very stereotypical rebound. I woke up one morning and discovered my chin was a very angry shade of red, with little lumps that were dry and scaly. My skin looked like it was peeling off. Horrified, as any woman would be, with my years of inexperience with skin conditions (I was pretty lucky as a teen despite my naturally oily skin complexion) I painted on as much foundation as I could. Determined that if I could just build up enough layers you wouldn't be able to see the murder scene underneath. Of course this didn't work, within an hour the condition had escalated and my face looked like an archaeological dig. The foundation highlighting every line of the peeling skin beneath. In my particularly fragile state of mind I burst into tears. My boss at the time, a very blokey bloke had no idea how to deal with a crying young woman, kindly let me head on home. I went straight to a girlfriends house who was home from university. She took one look at me and took be to the bathroom. She got rid of all the make-up and applied some soothing moisturizer. Instantly there was an improvement, but it was still a major issue. I was young and couldn't cope so I ended up going to my local GP. In all my time Dr. King at the Sunny Coast medical clinic was by far the best. She was always kind but firm. Thorough but in a gentle way. She diagnosed me with Rosacea and provided me with a cream call Rosex. A firm warning was also given that this is may not be the final time I come up against Rosacea. Six years pass with no repeat. I sort out where I am going in life and move to Melbourne. I meet an amazing guy, do a bit a of travelling and get a pretty good job. Post travelling life got pretty overwhelming. My father unexpectedly passed away, Tim and I decide to by our first home at the same time as I got promoted at work. Eight weeks in two my new jobs and my Rosacea has returned but morphed into a much scarier beast. The tiny red bumps swell over my chin, around my nose, my smile lines, creeping up my cheeks and a couple heading down my neck. I am put onto antibiotics for a month and again prescribed Rosex which sadly didn't work.. A year has now passed and my skin is no where near as bad as it was 12 months ago but I'll admit its still present on a daily basis. Just one spot here or there. Its nothing that stops me from enjoying my life but did hit my confidence pretty hard early on. It's important to understand that there is no 'cure' for Rosacea and there is no definitive answer on what causes it. So each case is unique to that individual. Certain things have shown an improvement in the majority of cases but no guarantees I am afraid. Below are a few things I've changed that I believe have made a noticeable difference. 1. Reduced my stress levels - I believe stress if my biggest trigger. Knowing that to begin made me stress out about stressing so I had to take a few measures early on to overcome it. I tried a number of different styles of meditation and incorporated what worked for me into my daily life. I make sure I get regular exercise, even if its just walking the dog and I put balance first. Learning how to switch off and making up for travelling more by being present in the moment when I am with my loved ones. 2. Soap-free, pH neutral face wash. - I have binned all my previous facial cleansers. Before I knew too much about Rosacea I tried a number of acne washes, masks, corrector's, the lot. If you was to continue to use a face wash which going through an episode of Rosacea it is important to ensure the product is pH neutral and soap free. Most acne washes have a high level of acid based ingredients that will only aggravate the symptoms. I use Dermaveen on a daily basis. It's $17 a bottle but lasts a good 3 months. it leaves my skin clean and reduced the redness. 3. Avoid overheating - This one was really hard for me. I love being cosy. I like to have 2 doona's on the bed and my showers are always extra hot. The problem here is this does make your skin flush which increases the redness and will have long lasting affects across the day. Try stick to a warm water temperature, particularly when washing you face and try get the bedroom nice and cool while resting. 4. Sunscreen - Connected to my point above the sun and it's powerful UV rays are like cryptonite to Rosacea. I am a complete summer bunny, when the sun's shinning and I am outside I am at my happiest, so obviously I didn't want to eliminate something from my life that gives me such joy. So now i use an light SPF 30 sunscreen everyday and where a hat if I am planning to get extensive exposure. I chose to use a standalone sunscreen over a moisturiser with sunscreen in it for two reasons. I found most day creams irritate my skin and the SPF max was typically only SPF 15 which isn't really enough for the Australian Sun. 5. Moisturise at night - Following on from the above I moisturise my face at night. I found night creams to not irritate my skin like day creams have. I currently use Garnier Miracle night cream and only put this on my skin where the Rosacea is not present. 6. Diet & Alocohol - This was one of the harder steps. As I mentioned Rosacea is unique to each person but there are some common foods that can cause a flare up. Because of this I choose not to eat/drink the following. On saying that this is not written in stone. I will occassionally cheat this but on a regular basis I make a choice to avoid: Yogurt, Chili, Coffee (decaf seems okay in moderation), Wine (red and white) and dried fruits. I used to have a glass of red wine every day when I cooked. I have now changed this to a 3 times a week habit and swap wine for Gin & Tonic. Its actually a nice refreshing change although I suspect when winter comes around again I will be craving the red wine again. 7. Water - Last but not least water is so important. Keeping hydrated keeps your skin soft and healthy, able to repair itself quicker and keeps your body temperature down. Don't underestimate the difference hydration can make to your Rosacea. There are some pretty expensive products on the market attesting to cure the symptoms of Rosacea. Through my experience if you are more mindful about what you expose and put on your skin as well as in your body you will see the best outcome. At the end of the day if everything persists talk to a Dermatologist. But also remember this could be a life lesson in resilience and loving yourself. Beauty is so much more then your skin. LH X
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