Can Rosacea be caused by mold allergy flushing?

[SaraL]

Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum and am yet to be diagnosed with rosacea but I'm exhibiting some symptoms. Here is some background info:

I never have been a blusher or flusher nor have I had sensitive skin, although 9 months ago I started to suddenly experience severe burning sensations and flushing attacks on my cheeks, nose, and chin. I also experienced severe dryness and sensitivity that got worse throughout the next 7 month. At night my face would be completely swollen and beet red, I found out later that my entire house was covered in black mold and the bedroom area was the worst, which explains why my face was so red and swollen at night.

I moved out of the house about 3 months ago and am not swollen at night, but the flushing still exists, just not nearly as severe. I'm wondering if I now have rosacea because of the constant flushing for 6 months, which caused capillaries to break all over my face. Am I sensitive and flushed easily because of capillary damage?

So I'm curious, can rosacea be caused by constant exposure to an allergen? I'm about 100% sure that I would have never experienced this if I had never lived in a mold infested house for months.

The worst part is now my face can't handle any facial moisturizers without being severely irritated and it's extremely dry to the point of being painful

[Melissa W]

Hi Sara,
Welcome to the RF.

I just answered your other post so won't repeat myself here except to add that no one knows for certain what causes rosacea but if you can restore your skin barrier and remove the trigger (in your case the mold) hopefully you will be just fine.

It will take some time though as remember this didn't happen overnight. Just treat your skin gently and find a good derm to work with you. In your case you are very fortunate that you found the offending trigger and removed yourself from the situation. That was key. Best of luck!

Melissa