Rosacea article in Sydney's Daily Telegraph

[Froggirl]

This article is more of an overview than anything new but i found it interesting, so in case anyone else does here's the link:

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,21705043-5006047,00.html

[Munch Ausen]

"Antibiotics and lasers are extremely effective, and we can clear people's skin in 90 per cent of cases, but eventually the redness will return," says Dr Walter. He believes stress is the fundamental trigger of a flare-up. "I don't think it's enough for a doctor just to give out pills and fire lasers. I think we have to go deeper and tell people to consider meditation, yoga and even counselling. They need to find out what is really happening when they react to stress and learn to react differently," he says.

Not a bad overview but the above information from that doctor is a load of crap. Yogo? Meditation? Come on ...

[Steve95301]

"Antibiotics and lasers are extremely effective, and we can clear people's skin in 90 per cent of cases, but eventually the redness will return," says Dr Walter. He believes stress is the fundamental trigger of a flare-up. "I don't think it's enough for a doctor just to give out pills and fire lasers. I think we have to go deeper and tell people to consider meditation, yoga and even counselling. They need to find out what is really happening when they react to stress and learn to react differently," he says.

Not a bad overview but the above information from that doctor is a load of crap. Yogo? Meditation? Come on ...

Agreed. Giving out pills and firing lasers is exactly what doctors need to be doing.

He does have something of a point, but he made it very badly. He should've just said that all rosaceans should see psychiatrists.

Most non-rosaceans don't understand the psychic injury rosaceans face. And most rosaceans, for whatever reason, don't focus on healing this aspect as much as the physical.

[Melissa W]

I don't think everyone with rosacea has psychological/emotional issues that they need help with. Granted, rosacea takes an emotional toll but many can handle this without professional psychological assistance.

This group is a huge help and having family/friends who are supportive is a huge help. Also, if you have a strong sense of self you will be OK.

I don't like the suggestion that rosacea is part psychological and therefore will be helped when the patient undergoes psychiatric counseling.

Personally, my flushing/burning is caused by external factors that have nothing to do with my emotional well being. Of course, if I feel self conscious while I am flushing it may get worse but no amount of counseling/meditation will change that. I have a strong sense of self and a good self-image (rosacea won't take that away from me) but that has nothing to do with reacting normally in certain situations. If undergoing therapy will make me not give a damn, well, no thanks. I like my emotions and feelings and do not want to be a "stepford" person or robot!

I'm not sure if I'm making myself clear but hopefully you get the gist.

Don't let the medical community make us seem as weak psychologically and that it is our fault that they can't help us.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[Peter]

Hello Kate

Yes I did find it interesting so thanks for posting the article up. For someone newly diagnosed with rosacea it would be helpful although obviously it doesn't cover everything but here are a few of my comments.

Think they should have mentioned more about skin care products because as we all know many of these can irritate the rosacea skin and finding products that suit you is key to controlling the condition.

My understanding is the experts have discounted the demodex mite theory as the cause but it's possible their presence may exacerbate the condition for some. I would agree that it is a genetic predisposition but not that we are born with abnormally sensitive skin. For me it seems it just takes something or some event in our lives to trigger it off and as I remember Kristen (Banshee) eloquently putting it once "one day all the slots just line up and bang we have the start of rosacea"

I had a quiet laugh over "minimum criteria for inclusion in the rosacea club".

It's important to remember that although we can share common triggers, we can also have our own unique ones just to complicate matters further. I don't think we should give up all the enjoyable things in life just because we read somewhere that it can be a rosacea trigger. Really it is all a matter a trial and error until you can work out what does or does not cause you a problem. Don't agree with some of the fish they mention as Salmon etc can be very high in histamine which is a trigger for me but then wine, beer and alcohol I find are ok, as is drinking hot coffee.

In my opinion I think eventually a cure will be discovered or a way of stopping the condition developing in answer to their statement "No cure has been found and may never be".

I don't agree that "stress is the fundamental trigger of a flare-up" Having said that if you do feel that stress can make your skin worse then no harm in trying meditation or hypnotherapy as they have suggested. I know some people who have tried counseling as a way of dealing with the stress resulting from having rosacea and they found it helpful. Anything that can make you relax when required can only be a good thing for all aspects of our health, especially if it makes us focus on our problems a bit less.

Dr Walter is quoted "Antibiotics and lasers are extremely effective and we can clear people's skin in 90% of cases but eventually the redness will return". Well we all know treating rosacea is for the long haul, so the idea usually is to continue whatever treatment regime you are on until you have control and then try and find a maintenance plan, so that you can eventually achieve remission. Not easy I know but it can be achieved. Also as well as Antibiotics there are other drugs which are very helpful in controlling the flushing associated with rosacea e.g Clonidine.

Interesting the prices they mention for Laser treatments and the comment about the operators.

Overall a reasonable article and it's always good to see rosacea written about in the press.

Bye

Peter

[Froggirl]

It is good to see rosacea being discussed in the mainstream press, since it's still so unknown to most people. But i totally agree with everyone's comments, especially with the ones about stress not being the number one trigger for flairs up, i totally diagree with that doctors view on that, sure stress doesn't help things at all but for me is nothing compared to other triggers, like heat and sunlight.

I do think counselling and meditation and things are very very useful for rosacea, but because they can help a lot with the stress that comes from flair ups and dealing with the emotional toll that it takes. But no amount of meditation or stress relief is going to fix a physical medical condition, only how it is dealt with.

Comments can be submitted on the article, did any one submit any?

[Peter]

Kate

It is good to see rosacea being discussed in the mainstream press, since it's still so unknown to most people. ?

I have collected several rosacea over the years from magazines etc so I will try scanning them and posting then up when I get time.


Comments can be submitted on the article, did any one submit any?

Why don't you put our views together and submit a comment? You never know it might get published.

Peter

[Miki]

[quote]"Antibiotics and lasers are extremely effective, and we can clear people's skin in 90 per cent of cases, but eventually the redness will return," says Dr Walter. He believes stress is the fundamental trigger of a flare-up. "I don't think it's enough for a doctor just to give out pills and fire lasers. I think we have to go deeper and tell people to consider meditation, yoga and even counselling. They need to find out what is really happening when they react to stress and learn to react differently," he says.

Not a bad overview but the above information from that doctor is a load of crap. Yogo? Meditation? Come on ...

Agreed. Giving out pills and firing lasers is exactly what doctors need to be doing.

He does have something of a point, but he made it very badly. He should've just said that all rosaceans should see psychiatrists.

Most non-rosaceans don't understand the psychic injury rosaceans face. And most rosaceans, for whatever reason, don't focus on healing this aspect as much as the physical.[/quoteall



all rosaceans should see psychiatrists? why would he say something foolish like that. stress is a huge trigger but its just that; a trigger. doctors need to start getting to the root of this disease. supposedly theres 13 million americans that suffer from this disorder yet nobody cares(why the hell do we have dermatologists, we should just get more yoga instructors).

[bentherebefore]

yeah, let's see stress is one of about 100 triggers I could name. and it's not even close to the biggest one. Gee, maybe if I do yoga, the summer heat won't bother we anymore. Load o' crap.

[Miki]

yeah, let's see stress is one of about 100 triggers I could name. and it's not even close to the biggest one. Gee, maybe if I do yoga, the summer heat won't bother we anymore. Load o' crap.

yoga will worsen most people's rosacea. i cant imagine doing some of those moves and not breaking out in a flush. were the only one's that can help ourselves at this point.

[Steve95301]

all rosaceans should see psychiatrists? why would he say something foolish like that.

I don't think it's foolish, or else I wouldn't have written it.

I think rosaceans are at a high risk for mental/emotional problems. Erythrophobia (http://www.answers.com/topic/erythrophobia-psychology?cat=health) is the most obvious, but I believe there are innumerable, subtle avoidance behaviors that can pile up over time and become a personality disorder.

Not to mention depression. Depression is a mental illness, right?

I'm not saying all rosaceans have mental disorders... I'm saying all rosaceans should be tested for mental disorders.

Not "should be tested" like required by the government or anything, just that it would be a good idea, on an individual, voluntary basis, to see a psychiatrist, just like you'd see your regular physician for a physical.

If you're referring to the stigma involved with seeing a psychiatrist, I don't know what to tell you, I'm not concerned with stigmas.

[Peter]

yeah, let's see stress is one of about 100 triggers I could name. and it's not even close to the biggest one. Gee, maybe if I do yoga, the summer heat won't bother we anymore. Load o' crap.

I don’t agree and I suggest you read the article again because it was quite good. As Steve points out the guy wasn’t suggesting everybody who has rosacea is “nuts” he is rightly pointing out that some people should look at their stress levels, as they could be a contributing factor to the worsening of their skin condition. The Doctor also isn’t saying that practicing yoga will cure your rosacea but it could well help you relax, thus becoming calmer which could mean you focus less on your problems. Some people find that meditation, hypnotherapy or counseling can help them gain a more positive approach to their life and to dealing with this skin condition. Like everything else it may not suit everybody but personally I wouldn’t knock it until you have tried it yourself.

Thanks

Peter

[Miki]

all rosaceans should see psychiatrists? why would he say something foolish like that.

I don't think it's foolish, or else I wouldn't have written it.

I think rosaceans are at a high risk for mental/emotional problems. Erythrophobia (http://www.answers.com/topic/erythrophobia-psychology?cat=health) is the most obvious, but I believe there are innumerable, subtle avoidance behaviors that can pile up over time and become a personality disorder.

Not to mention depression. Depression is a mental illness, right?

I'm not saying all rosaceans have mental disorders... I'm saying all rosaceans should be tested for mental disorders.

Not "should be tested" like required by the government or anything, just that it would be a good idea, on an individual, voluntary basis, to see a psychiatrist, just like you'd see your regular physician for a physical.

If you're referring to the stigma involved with seeing a psychiatrist, I don't know what to tell you, I'm not concerned with stigmas.


i hear you(but i dont think i have erythrophobia as im wearing a red shirt as i type). i think rosacea has made me a bit obsessive compulsive(maybe more than a bit). i think about it almost all the time, i don't want to go out anywhere because im afraid to flush. this disorder can definetly leave some psychological scars but so can alot of other things as well. i know for a fact that if there was a sure thing treatment, that i would get over my compulsion really quick.