What Is Rosacea (and is it adult acne)?
(Source: www.niams.nih.gov)
What Is Rosacea?
Who Gets Rosacea?
What Does Rosacea Look Like?
How Are the Eyes Affected?
What Causes Rosacea?
Can Rosacea Be Cured?
What Can People With Rosacea Do to Help Themselves?
What Research Is Being Conducted to Help People With Rosacea?
What Is Rosacea and Adult Acne?
Rosacea (short for acne rosacea) is a long-term disease that affects the skin and sometimes the eyes. Its symptoms include redness, pimples, and, in later stages, thicker skin. In most cases, rosacea only affects the face. This should be distinguished from acne vulgaris, the type of acne that involves skin flare-ups typical in teenagers but which also aflicts adults.
Who Gets Rosacea?
About 14 million people in the United States have rosacea. This disease is most common in:
Women (especially during menopause)
People with fair skin
Adults between the ages of 30 and 60.
What Does Rosacea Look Like?
Rosacea has many symptoms, including the following:
Frequent redness (flushing) of the face. Most redness is at the center of the face (forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin). There may also be a burning feeling and slight swelling.
Small red lines under the skin. These lines show up when blood vessels under the skin get larger. This area of the skin may be somewhat swollen, warm, and red.
Constant redness along with bumps on the skin. Sometimes the bumps have pus inside (pimples), but not always. Solid bumps on the skin may later become painful.
Inflamed eyes/eyelids.
A swollen nose. In some people (mostly men), the nose becomes red, larger, and bumpy.
Thicker skin. The skin on the forehead, chin, cheeks, or other areas can become thicker because of rosacea.
How Are the Eyes Affected?
Up to 50 percent of people who have rosacea get eye problems. Eyes can have redness, dryness, itching, burning, excess tears, and the feeling of having sand in the eye. The eyelids may become inflamed and swollen. The eyes may become sensitive to light, and the person may have blurred vision or some other kind of vision problem.
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