Treating My Rosacea: Routine with both Prescription and Over-the-Counter Products
My skin has given me a lot of grief over the years from acne to folliculitis, seborrheic dermatitis and facial redness.
After a flare up on my right cheek consisting of inflamed redness and pustules that didn’t budge for 5 MONTHS even with the help of steroid creams. I misdiagnosed this flare up as eczema due the chronic and persistent occurrence of the flare. But as the prescription steroid creams barely helped, I found myself taking another trip to a dermatologist - officially my 6th dermatologist.
After some close examination with a medical headlight, he gave me a diagnosis of rosacea.
Quick definition and example:
Rosacea is a chronic skin condition characterized by facial redness, flushing and visible blood vessels. This condition is exclusive to the face and mostly on the cheeks and nose (distinguished from seborrheic dermatitis) and not necessarily the forehead and chin (this is how it can be distinguished from acne).
There are several type of rosacea, mine being papulopustular rosacea, which is associated with pustules (whiteheads) and red bumps (papules) typically appearing on the cheeks and nose, as well as forehead and chin and is constantly misdiagnozed as acne.
Clinical before and after of rosacea treatment.
Continued…
This is the last thing I wanted to hear considering rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition related to your gut microbiome, immune system and endocrine system.
This means after I get my skin under control with prescription medication and a new skin routine - I will have to get in touch with a holistic naturopath to address the issue long term, which I’ll be documenting in the future.
The silver lining is my problematic skin can be converted into educational content to save you time, research and frustration since I’ve already expended that energy for you.
If you’ve been struggling with skin disorders and multiple diagnoses, you’re in the right place, we’ll be covering a lot.
This will especially benefit those who can not afford or access a dermatologist for prescription medication. The information below may allow you to skip the specialist wait list, go straight to a general practitioner to get a prescription and simply pay for that tube of goo without dropping a couple of hundred dollars on a dermatologist appointment.
Treatment: Products and Routine
Now, without further ado, here is the rosacea products of my skin routine in order, inclusive of both prescription and over-the-counter products, as noted:
CeraVe Facial Cream to Foam Cleanser OR CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
It should be noted that gentle cleansers, preferably with no actives are used. Avoid using cleansers that are abrasive or have fragrance, less is more, be gentle.
Rosex (night)
Prescription medicated cream/gel containing the antibiotic and antiprotozoal medicine, Metronidazole, for papulopustular rosacea.
NOTE: The gel resulted in a MAJOR flare up of whiteheads across my cheek. This is likely due to the texture of the gel both being a breeding ground for bacteria and locking in sebum and demodex face mites that excrete during the night.
Get the cream, not the gel.
Soolantra (Morning)
Prescription medication that contains the active substance Ivermectin, an antiparasitic drug.
Nizoral 2% Cream
Non prescription Ketoconazole cream, sold under the name Nizoral, is an antiandrogen, antifungal, and antiglucocorticoid medication used to treat a number of fungal infections. This is relevant to Rosacea as the condition can commonly occur along with seborrheic dermatitis, which is commonly triggered by an inflammatory reaction to excess Malassezia (a type of skin fungus).
Special mention - this one was a skin saver! Before booking my dermatology appointment, I used this cream solely to treat my skin and saw a near 70% reduction over night - it was amazing.
You can get a tube of this magic for less than $20 at your local chemist, possibly different brand name depending on what state your in, just ask for ketoconazole cream or even sodium sulfite.
Avene Cicalfate Restorative Protective Cream
Over the counter, by a reputable french skin care brand that specializes in sensitive, intolerant skin. The cream is thick, non-greasy, absorbs well and did not react adversely with the other products.
Extra Sunscreen Tip:
I use Avene Suncreen Aqua-Fluid SPF50+
As the name suggest the consistency of the cream is very wet but as a result glides on smoothly, doesn’t roll and is great when following up with makeup application.
Hopefully this write up gave you some optimism seeing how quickly conditions can improve when your employ the right products to address your issues.