Somebody, anybody, help me PLEASE!

[Twinklette]

I have had rosacea for five years now and just came across this board. It had been somewhat under control but this spring I had a MAJOR flare which I can't seem to recover from. I got all small bumps underneath the skin on my forehead and breakouts on my cheeks/chin. I decided to try a new derm who gave me a supposedly *gently* glycolic cleanser and Klaron 2x/day. Since doing this my skin has gone from bad to WORSE. Not sure if it's the cleanser or the Klaron or both. I can't seem to get it to calm down at all and my chin is a nightmare with almost what appear to be hives. My face is super fair so all these flares are going to leave major marks.

Unfortunately I'm one of the sufferers that gets the papules/pustules vs. the redness, though I have slight redness on my lower jaw/cheek area.

Do I call my derm and ask him to prescribe something else? He didn't say I had rosacea though I know that I do. I don't think what he gave me is an appropriate treatment for rosacea though especially the glycolic :(

If someone could please give me some advice???? I am going on vacation in two weeks and would really like to try to help clear this up at least a little. I could cry it's so painful and bad right now.

[adyus]

Hello there, Twinklette.

I'm sorry to hear that you are going through this. It seems to me that you had a reaction to one of the products you were using. I hope you stopped using both of them.

I would recommend talking with your doctor and asking him for antibiotics. I prefer clarithromycin or azithromycin. I recommend antibiotics because if you are to try a different topical solution on your face, there's a chance you could react to it and just make things worse.

Let us know if you need any more help and try to go through all the information posted here. You're bound to find things that you're doctor doesn't know.

Kind regards,

Adrian

[Twinklette]

Thank you so much for your reply. I just stopped using the products yesterday but am unsure what to use on my face at all. It seems very dry/irritated and of course broken out. Is there a gentle cleanser I might be able to tolerate in the meantime, till I can get to the dermatologist?

As for antibiotics, he did prescribe doxycycline 50mg 2x/day which I haven't taken yet. Is this antibiotic ok? I had my gallbladder removed recently and have a sensitive stomach, but he said it shouldn't cause any problems. Is there a gentler one that I should try instead - the ones that you mentioned, are they gentler?

[claudia]

Flaring is the pits...hang in there. Don't use glycolic acid products on your face! If you have sensitive skin it'll really make the blemishes worse and irritated :oops:

Sounds like your derm thinks you're having an acne outbreak so prescribed anti-acne products. But you can see it's getting worse so you probably have rosacea. I had the same problem with derms prescribing acne products...and had the same pattern of flare-ups as you have.

Doxycycline is hard on the stomach...or at least that's what I've found. But it doesn't hurt to try it...call your pharmacist to see if you can take doxy with food. If this is your first time taking it, it might dramatically clear things up (...if you take it repeatedly over time it sometimes stops working as well...). For rosacea you usually have to take antibiotics for a very long time to keep things clear and you have to follow a good rosacea diet and use a topical ointment. Read other people's posts. Some people have had great success with diet + light therapy, etc. too.

I'm taking Bactrim and like it cause it clears things up immediately! And you can take it with food so it doesn't upset the tummy at all.

Wash your face with a cleanser made specifically for sensitive skin. I like Olay Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin. Neutrogena has one too. Galderma makes a product too but it was too oily for me with my already oily skin.

Klaron is an antibacterial topical but it may be too harsh for your skin. You'll have to experiment to find what works and is gentle eneough. I like Metrogel 1%...it's soothing and keeps inflammation down. There's other rosacea topicals to choose from too. Tell your derm you want to treat this outbreak like rosacea versus acne...and see what he/she suggests.

When you're dealing with rosacea that manifests as blemishes the derms immediately want to aggressively treat it as acne vulgaris...big mistake! When your derm prescribes anything don't be afraid to emphasize that your skin gets inflamed really EASILY. If your derm persists and says to just "work through" the inflammation then find another derm that specializes in rosacea!!!

Hope this helps...

CV

[orangehorizon]

Cleanser is necessary ONLY if you use makeup, suncreens or water insoluble ingredients like silicones. Using a cleanser on your already irritated and flaking skin will only exacerbate the condition. Washing with water is enough. Cleansers do NOT stop breakouts or improve skin, no matter what the dumb cosmetics companies want you to think.

[IowaDavid]

Perhaps stop using any topicals and let your skin heal itself and break the inflammatory cycle?

Best of luck, that situation is so frustrating and horrible. :(

[adyus]

Thank you so much for your reply. I just stopped using the products yesterday but am unsure what to use on my face at all. It seems very dry/irritated and of course broken out. Is there a gentle cleanser I might be able to tolerate in the meantime, till I can get to the dermatologist?

As for antibiotics, he did prescribe doxycycline 50mg 2x/day which I haven't taken yet. Is this antibiotic ok? I had my gallbladder removed recently and have a sensitive stomach, but he said it shouldn't cause any problems. Is there a gentler one that I should try instead - the ones that you mentioned, are they gentler?

Hello.

Regarding the topical products, like I said before, I think it may be wise not to use anything at all on your face because your face is irritated and sensible right now and in this state, it might react to any new product.

Doxycycline is the standard antibiotic for rosacea. The ones I recommended are stronger in regard to their antiinflammatory action, but unfortunately, few doctors prescribe them.

If you have any problems taking doxycycline, you could use silymarin( milk thistle). It's often prescribed by doctors when the patient is taking too many pills, to help the liver and the stomach. Silymarin is also good for rosacea.

Regards,

Adrian

[redhotoz]

Hi Twinklette (cute name LOL)

Sorry to hear things are not going well for you right now. I agree with everything that has been posted in reply to you in this thread.

First thing you need to do is reduce the inflammation/agression on your face. I think antibiotics will help with this, short term. Doxycycline, since you already have a prescription, would be a good way to go. I started on 100mg twice a day to get the rawness of my face down. After that, I could then consider what to try next.

Since you are going on holidays in two weeks, this may be the way to go, for starters. Consider taking Acidophilus (Lactobacillus) supplement when on antibiotics. Antibiotics attack both the bad and the good bacteria and taking Acidophilus will put some of the 'good' bacteria back into your system. Also, make sure you take them apart. That is, space the time that you take the antibiotic (with a meal) and the Lactobacillus.

Personally, I don't recommend antibiotics long term. I have found a change in diet and red light therapy to be working for me. I hated the negative side effects of antibiotics for me but short term, I think it may be the way to go for you right now. After that, you can consider other long term options.

Oh, as far as cleansing and topicals...well...that's a hard one, especially when your face is 'raw'. Perhaps try cleansing just with tepid water and then gently applying a few drops of Rose Hip Oil to your damp face and allow to dry naturally. It's a natural anti-inflammatory and very soothing to the skin when it's 'raw'.

Good luck!

Jen