Help!! Not sure what's wrong!

[Tomd17]

Hello everyone, my name is Tom and I'm 17!

I'm very worried about my skin at the moment and I wanted to come online to seek help from anybody available, here's my story. At the moment, I am in my final year of secondary school and need to focus I exams and studying etc but I can't as all my attention is on my face. When my school moved to a new building, my friend turned to me and said "your cheeks are very red, are you hot??" I was a bit hot as the building was heavily insulated and heating on full blast but I wasn't aware of this redness and this comment came as a surprise to me. Following on from that day, I have been constantly worried about my face. The more I thought about going red, the bigger the fear became, it came to a stage last year when I DREADED getting up in the morning and dreading school (which I still do). The more I thought about it the more I made my cheeks go red. Now, some days they wouldn't go red at all and it'd be a great day, other days, I could look like someone threw a lasagne at me! Then, one day, I found myself blushing at times and when checked the mirror, instead of red cheeks all over I had a dominant rash on my jaw bone and a bit on my cheek! I thought it'd go down in time but never did! My mam bought me tons of creams from la Roche posay ciracast baume to ant-irritation creams. I found the la Roche posay good but because of its consistency my face was covered with an obvious thick white creamy application. I have been dealing with this for a while, I have now such a fear I dread any social outings, I avoid going out with my friends and I've taken so many sick days from school! I can't now cause I need to study loads and the thought kills me!

Anyway I'm now here 6 months later. I've been to the doctor he said it was anxiety and prescribed me endarol, which helped with the blushing for a while but don't seem to anymore.ni still have the rash on my face and now I noticed another one forming on the other cheek! In the past 6 months in school, I feel very hot even if the room is not hot and I blush every minute nearly and I worry about blushing which causes me to blush it is a vicious cycle! My face becomes very flushed looking after all the blushing throughout the day which makes me more aware of it so it gets redder. When at home, I can blush occasionally but not to the same extent as in school and my cheeks aren't that red at home unless sitting on front of the fire. Sometimes, I get a tingly sensation in my cheeks and I focus in on this and before I know it my cheeks are beet root and burning, I really don't know what to do, I used to LOVE schoolwork I hate it, I dread going to the shop even and I'm embarrassed about this

PLEASE HELP
MY QUESTION IS COULD IT BE PREROSACEA, OR IS IT JUST ANXIETY AND ME MAKING MYSELF GO RED FROM ZERO-ING INTO IT?!?

[Cazini]

Hi,

Sad to see that there is nobody answering.

Nobody here can tell for sure what you have.

But for me it started with just a reddish spot, about 2-4 cm i diameter. It started itching and became harder and harder like sandpaper in the skin.
Then my problems spread.
You can read my story if you like. Not so uplifting though.

Best of luck!

/Cazini

[arb161]

This one is a very hard one to answer. It could be Rosacea, it could be blushing from anxiety, it could be an allergic reaction, it could be something else. I don't know what type of doctor you went to but I would say you need to see an experiencd dermatologist, as well as an internist who can rule out other medical conditions. Unfortunately this is something for which there is not an instant resolution. I know that's something that's hard to hear. In the mean time I would suggest that you stick with creams like cetaphil, or vanicream because you may be reacting to some of the things you're using on your face.
Arlene

[CursedForALifetime]

Hi! I think you are developing or already have developed erythrophobia which can lead to rosacea because every blush/flush is damaging your blood vessels on the long run if it happens too often. The fear of getting red will make you even more red and prone to blushing.

In my opinion it is important to break the "vicious circle" which can be done with a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication (e.g. paroxetine or another SSRI).

I am sure you will find something that works for you. Good luck!

[willingtotry]

Tom, for peace of mind, try another derm just to make sure you know exactly what it is and you can treat it appropriately. I am very sorry to hear that you feel the way you do. I can appreciate what you are going through, but i am much older than you, so i understand how stressful this would be at your age.

I can't help you with diagnosing your condition, but I can give you support. My best piece of advice is always remember that you are only very young. Things are not always so bad and you have time on your side. I know it can be very depressing, but try not to get too down about it. I know this part of your life is very important, but trust me, when you get older, you will understand how young you were and how life changes so much from school. Also, confide in your closest mates. Tell them you have this problem and that is distressing you. I am quite certain my condition was brought on by anxiety and it felt so much better telling my friend and around him, I seem to not be as bad and tend to be more relaxed. As a male, we tend to keep things to ourselves and showing any weakness is often looked down upon. This worry can have a detrimental effect on your condition. You have your family to help you get through all of this emotionally and i think a friend at school would make it much easier for you. Keep your chin up. You have time on your side and the years to come, you might look back and think, "why was i so worried".

Don't forget, you also have support here as well.

Wtt

[Brady Barrows]

I have noticed that many rosacea sufferers seem to be concerned about avoiding flushing (or blushing). There are a number of posts to consider about this. Your doctor may be correct that it is due to anxiety. You need to rule that out first. It you can't then the doctor is right.