Rosacea and Rhynophyma at 26.

[Drako]

Hi.

I'm very depressed that I have rosacea and rhynophyma at the age of 26, apparently it is usually women that develop rosacea, but in men it is nearly always accompanied by rhynophyma, yet this is usually in late middle age. Well, I'm a young man, and I have both. Great.

I have always suffered with skin problems, and the impact it has had psychologically has been quite a detriment to my quality of life. In my teens I had bad acne, although this went from my face when I was about 19, only to appear on my back instead, and now that has calmed down, I have rosacea and rhynophyma. I have always had unpredictable and irregular bouts of eczema as well ever since my teens, although this comes as suddenly and mysteriously as it disappears, but when I get it, it is intense, it makes me feel like setting myself on fire just to get relief.

I had accepted my acne scarring, but with my rosacea problems now as well, I am completely disinterested in my appearance, because I don't see the point in caring, and I am pretty much a complete recluse. I sleep all day and would rather be awake during the night, because I cannot stand to have daylight on my face, especially when other people are looking at me, I hate it, it's psychologically painful. I was like this due to acne in my teens, and I am in the same habit now. I live like a vampire, the exposure of sunlight crushes my spirit. I work from home, but I'm getting so depressed I can't even do that anymore.

I first noticed the symptoms of rosacea developing in Summer last year, when a little, red, dry patch appeared on my cheekbone. Around that time, I noticed that I was blushing a lot over very trivial things, like I used to in my teens, although I've always been a blusher, and now I realise this was a warning sign of oncoming rosacea. I realised I had rosacea due to my own research, although because I am only in my twenties, I had a hard time convincing the doctor of this. I did get a diagnosis though, and I was prescribed some gel called 'Rozex', although I'm not sure if it's all that effective. I have the Celtic ancestry that rosacea sufferers tend to have in common, and I have noticed that my nose is beginning to change shape, and is continually greasy, no matter what I do - so I know this is the rhynophyma that accompanies rosacea in males.

When I first realised that I had rosacea I decided to change my diet, by cutting out all red meats and eating a great variety of vegetables, I basically lived off stir fries and fish. My skin improved, and so I slipped back into my old eating habits, although because my problem is gaining on me again, I have returned to a vegetarian diet and have stopped smoking. I intended to go vegan, because I have an intuitive hunch that tells me that dairy products are not doing me any good, so I'm going to cut dairy out eventually as well, and just eat raw fruit and veg. Call me superstitious, but I am going to eliminate all red foods, and overdose on the green, because you are what you eat. I have developed an aversion to the colour red. To me, it represents the devil. So yea, this problem is having quite a psychological impact - haha. I'll never drink alcohol again, because even just one can of beer makes my face tingle and burn.

I really need to know how to stop this conditon getting any worse right now. The rosacea doesn't worry me nearly as much as the rhinophyma, because rosacea is just discolouring, and can reverse, but rhinophyma is disfiguring, and cannot be reversed, I would require surgery, and my nose is changing shape at an alarming rate, I can even feel it constantly. The doctor says, 'your nose looks fine to me', but that's because he doesn't know what my nose looked like before. I feel like taking a razor blade to it. Im very concerned as to what my nose will look like in years to come if this doesn't stop. I have no self-esteem as it is, and an aversion to looking in the mirror. For example, even before this, if I went out and caught my reflection in a window I would cringe, and I could not go into lifts that had mirrored walls on the inside, because this was like torture to me, and this was before I had rosacea due to the psychological damage caused by acne in my teens, and now problems of this nature are very much intensified.

Anyway, sorry for rambling on so much, but I can't talk to anybody about my concerns without being told things like, 'Oh, don't worry about it', or, 'You look fine to me', and, 'It's not all that bad', which is just peoples way of saying that it's just hard luck and I'll have to deal with it, but I can't deal with it. Skin problems have already changed the course of my life for the worse, and I really don't need this nail hammered in any further.

[Melissa W]

Hi Drako,
I'm so sorry you are going through all of this and know that you are not alone and there are treatments that can provide relief.

Here are some helpful links:

http://rosacea-support.org/how-to-cu...llen-nose.html
(by David Pascoe)

http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosa...ght=rhinophyma

I would suggest finding a good derm to work with and getting a proper diagnosis because there is much you can do to prevent your symptoms from progressing.

Best wishes,
Melissa

[Zstar]

Sorry to hear that you are suffering so as well. I am 32 and only diagnosed last year after an adult life marred by acne so you are not alone

Anyhow I have spent a lot of time on this forum the last few days and already feel better about the way forward (Although what I am going to eat I have no idea) onwards and upwards my friend !

[queta]

Hi.

I'm very depressed that I have rosacea and rhynophyma at the age of 26, apparently it is usually women that develop rosacea, but in men it is nearly always accompanied by rhynophyma, yet this is usually in late middle age. Well, I'm a young man, and I have both. Great.

I have always suffered with skin problems, and the impact it has had psychologically has been quite a detriment to my quality of life. In my teens I had bad acne, although this went from my face when I was about 19, only to appear on my back instead, and now that has calmed down, I have rosacea and rhynophyma. I have always had unpredictable and irregular bouts of eczema as well ever since my teens, although this comes as suddenly and mysteriously as it disappears, but when I get it, it is intense, it makes me feel like setting myself on fire just to get relief.

I had accepted my acne scarring, but with my rosacea problems now as well, I am completely disinterested in my appearance, because I don't see the point in caring, and I am pretty much a complete recluse. I sleep all day and would rather be awake during the night, because I cannot stand to have daylight on my face, especially when other people are looking at me, I hate it, it's psychologically painful. I was like this due to acne in my teens, and I am in the same habit now. I live like a vampire, the exposure of sunlight crushes my spirit. I work from home, but I'm getting so depressed I can't even do that anymore.

I first noticed the symptoms of rosacea developing in Summer last year, when a little, red, dry patch appeared on my cheekbone. Around that time, I noticed that I was blushing a lot over very trivial things, like I used to in my teens, although I've always been a blusher, and now I realise this was a warning sign of oncoming rosacea. I realised I had rosacea due to my own research, although because I am only in my twenties, I had a hard time convincing the doctor of this. I did get a diagnosis though, and I was prescribed some gel called 'Rozex', although I'm not sure if it's all that effective. I have the Celtic ancestry that rosacea sufferers tend to have in common, and I have noticed that my nose is beginning to change shape, and is continually greasy, no matter what I do - so I know this is the rhynophyma that accompanies rosacea in males.

When I first realised that I had rosacea I decided to change my diet, by cutting out all red meats and eating a great variety of vegetables, I basically lived off stir fries and fish. My skin improved, and so I slipped back into my old eating habits, although because my problem is gaining on me again, I have returned to a vegetarian diet and have stopped smoking. I intended to go vegan, because I have an intuitive hunch that tells me that dairy products are not doing me any good, so I'm going to cut dairy out eventually as well, and just eat raw fruit and veg. Call me superstitious, but I am going to eliminate all red foods, and overdose on the green, because you are what you eat. I have developed an aversion to the colour red. To me, it represents the devil. So yea, this problem is having quite a psychological impact - haha. I'll never drink alcohol again, because even just one can of beer makes my face tingle and burn.

I really need to know how to stop this conditon getting any worse right now. The rosacea doesn't worry me nearly as much as the rhinophyma, because rosacea is just discolouring, and can reverse, but rhinophyma is disfiguring, and cannot be reversed, I would require surgery, and my nose is changing shape at an alarming rate, I can even feel it constantly. The doctor says, 'your nose looks fine to me', but that's because he doesn't know what my nose looked like before. I feel like taking a razor blade to it. Im very concerned as to what my nose will look like in years to come if this doesn't stop. I have no self-esteem as it is, and an aversion to looking in the mirror. For example, even before this, if I went out and caught my reflection in a window I would cringe, and I could not go into lifts that had mirrored walls on the inside, because this was like torture to me, and this was before I had rosacea due to the psychological damage caused by acne in my teens, and now problems of this nature are very much intensified.

Anyway, sorry for rambling on so much, but I can't talk to anybody about my concerns without being told things like, 'Oh, don't worry about it', or, 'You look fine to me', and, 'It's not all that bad', which is just peoples way of saying that it's just hard luck and I'll have to deal with it, but I can't deal with it. Skin problems have already changed the course of my life for the worse, and I really don't need this nail hammered in any further.

Hey
I know how you feel, at least to a degree. I looked in the mirror one time after going off my diet for a few days and drinking some alcohol and eating some spicy foods. OMG I wanted to die right there. My entire facial appearance was changed-I looked kind of mannish when I smiled, my pores were enlarged, and my skin had an orange peel texture. My nose looked huge, and my cheeks, forehead, chin, and eyelids were swollen. I wanted to crawl into a hole. That's when I went and bought low dose accutane on line and absolutely swore off alcohol, spicy foods, dairy, etc. It has made a big difference, as has the introduction of a supplement known as quercetin with bromelain. Check out my thread on that topic for more info in the oral supplements section. You also might want to check out NasalCrom nasal spray. The reason I shared with you my story about the horrible face day was to let you know there is hope. Since changing my diet, etc. my skin looks so much better. My nose has shrunk back down to only about 10% enlarged, which I can live with. The old men we see with phymatous noses all deformed, etc, probably didn't know much about rosacea and didn't take the radical steps that we have to keep the inflammation at bay, so please don't automatically assume it will get worse and worse. Since you're being proactive you can probably stop its progression or actually reverse it. I did.
Regards
Queta

[jen]

Hey
I know how you feel, at least to a degree. I looked in the mirror one time after going off my diet for a few days and drinking some alcohol and eating some spicy foods. OMG I wanted to die right there. My entire facial appearance was changed-I looked kind of mannish when I smiled, my pores were enlarged, and my skin had an orange peel texture. My nose looked huge, and my cheeks, forehead, chin, and eyelids were swollen. I wanted to crawl into a hole. That's when I went and bought low dose accutane on line and absolutely swore off alcohol, spicy foods, dairy, etc. It has made a big difference, as has the introduction of a supplement known as quercetin with bromelain. Check out my thread on that topic for more info in the oral supplements section. You also might want to check out NasalCrom nasal spray. The reason I shared with you my story about the horrible face day was to let you know there is hope. Since changing my diet, etc. my skin looks so much better. My nose has shrunk back down to only about 10% enlarged, which I can live with. The old men we see with phymatous noses all deformed, etc, probably didn't know much about rosacea and didn't take the radical steps that we have to keep the inflammation at bay, so please don't automatically assume it will get worse and worse. Since you're being proactive you can probably stop its progression or actually reverse it. I did.
Regards
Queta

could you tell me where you bought the accutane on the internet? Thanks

[TutuisCute]

Drako, I have the exact same problem. Except I'm a girl and 27. I know exactly what you mean about the doctors, they try to tell you it's not a big deal. One doctor told me to bring in pictures of what my nose looked like before b/c he didn't believe me and told me that my nose was probably just "growing" with age. Obviously I know that's not true. For me it started a year ago, always at night time or when I was just sitting stationary my nose would start to swell up and I couldn't really breathe from it. Then when I would go to bed and wake up in the morning my nose would be swollen and hard. It would go down very quickly in the early stages. Then 6 months down the road, still every single night the swelling and waking up with a hard nose but, the nose didn't "go down" as much as before. At this point I've almost given up, it's so depressing. I don't look in the mirror either...though I looked the other day and was so shocked at how bad my nose looks I started to cry, it's disgusting. My doctor gave me accutane but it dries out my eyes so severely I can't take it every day. I find the red light helps, but, once I am away from the red light I feel it just comes right back, almost with a vengeance. I can barely bring myself to go out anymore, just to work and that's even hard in the morning. So...I know how you feel. my nose feels so foreign right now I just want to chop it off. =I
Anyway, if you ever find anything that really helps, I love if you'd let me know and I will for sure do the same.

Melissa

[Melissa W]

Hi Melissa,

I am sorry you are dealing with this
What dose of accutane are you on? Perhaps if you took a smaller dose you can gradually build it up in your system without the side effects being so difficult to handle. You can also use heavy duty rewetting drops and ointment at night to help the tear film drying problem from the accutane.

Take a look at these threads as they may be helpful

http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosa...ght=rhinophyma


http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosa...ght=rhinophyma


http://rosacea-support.org/treating-...yag-laser.html


http://www.rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosa...ght=rhinophyma


and finally

http://rosacea-support.org/how-to-cu...llen-nose.html


HTH and hang in there!

Best wishes,
Melissa

[J-Mill]

I notice a few people here talking about rhynophyma and the size of their nose. This was just discussed in this thread: http://rosaceagroup.org/The_Rosacea_...ad.php?t=17585

See the picture at post #7, that is rhynophyma.

Edema or swelling of the nose is fairly common with Rosacea but this is not rhynphyma nor is it necessarily a precursor to it.

Rhynophyma is characterized by the formations of clear hard nodules on the nose, you can't mistake it for anything else. It is caused by hyperplasia of the sebaceous glands, and it is easily diagnosable by any doctor.

If your doctor is saying your nose looks fine, it is because you are not exhibiting signs of rhynophyma.

That being said Rosacea can be a horrible diease to deal with mentally. Redness, breakouts and swelling are not easy to deal with. Nor is ithcing, stinging and burning. I am a strong believer is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It teaches you how to take back control from situations where you feel you have no control.

I would suggest you try it, you have nothing to lose.

It is trite to say, but bears repeating, beauty comes from within. If you feel you are judged by your outward appearance that is normally a reflection of how you yourself judge yourself and others. Changing your thinking it on this point is critical. Anyone who judges you by your appearance alone is not someone worthy of your friendship.

Finally, you are your own worst critic. I know I have been told by those close to me when I am flaring that it doesn't look even half as bad as I think it does. It feels like they are minimizing it at the time, but in retrospect this is probably true. No one focuses on flaws when they look at you as they are looking at you as a whole. It is only the individual who stares (normally cm's away) in the mirror at the flaws and focuses on them as though they are representative of the whole picture.

[queta]

Drako, I have the exact same problem. Except I'm a girl and 27. I know exactly what you mean about the doctors, they try to tell you it's not a big deal. One doctor told me to bring in pictures of what my nose looked like before b/c he didn't believe me and told me that my nose was probably just "growing" with age. Obviously I know that's not true. For me it started a year ago, always at night time or when I was just sitting stationary my nose would start to swell up and I couldn't really breathe from it. Then when I would go to bed and wake up in the morning my nose would be swollen and hard. It would go down very quickly in the early stages. Then 6 months down the road, still every single night the swelling and waking up with a hard nose but, the nose didn't "go down" as much as before. At this point I've almost given up, it's so depressing. I don't look in the mirror either...though I looked the other day and was so shocked at how bad my nose looks I started to cry, it's disgusting. My doctor gave me accutane but it dries out my eyes so severely I can't take it every day. I find the red light helps, but, once I am away from the red light I feel it just comes right back, almost with a vengeance. I can barely bring myself to go out anymore, just to work and that's even hard in the morning. So...I know how you feel. my nose feels so foreign right now I just want to chop it off. =I
Anyway, if you ever find anything that really helps, I love if you'd let me know and I will for sure do the same.

Melissa

Hi Melissa
I'm a female (39) with phymatous rosacea as well. My nose, cheeks, forehead, chin, and eyelids swell. I have found that Nasalcrom, a mast cell nasal spray has helped with the nose and cheek swelling. Also, I take a quercetin/bromelain combo before eating which has made quite a difference. Check out my thread "yowsa my rosacea is so much better" for more info. Good luck to you!
Queta