Some questions about IPL/lasers and ocular rosacea.

[humanperson]

Now that I've finally quit my job (due to rosacea), I have some free time to consider possible treatments. I've looked for IPL/laser treaments in the Minneapolis area and have found three viable choices: V-beam, Sciton bbl or Laser Genesis. I've been researching those for the last few months nonstop but haven't really been able to find much information at all. All three cost roughly the same. For a while I've been leaning towards the V-beam. It seems to be the strongest of the three and since I'm unemployed I don't mind being bruised for a while. The only problem I have with the V-beam is that it seems more like a spot treatment, not a whole face solution. My redness used to be confined to my cheeks only, but has gotten worse rapidly and now occupies my whole face including neck. So my first question is if vbeam can be done on larger area? For that reason I've been considering the sciton. I heard it has a YAG head. Does every sciton BBL machine come with one or it an optional attachment?

The main reason I'm considering these options is not the redness or even the pain accompanying my worse flashes, but the occular rosacea. It's reached a point where not only are my eyes irritated most of the day but everything is blurry and I can't focus on objects further away. I'm worried that if I don't do something about this then I'll suffer some perm. damage to my cornea. Much of what I do involves computers and programming and even quit my former job because of it. So I've been wondering about how effective IPL and laser treatments are for ocular rosacea since they don't directly target vessels in the eye but only the adjacent cheek and skin areas?

If anyone has any experiences or information they could add to this, I appreciate it.

Matt

[IowaDavid]

Have you tried antibiotics (macrolide) or Evening Primrose Oil (Gamma Linolenic Acid) supplementation. Ocular rosacea tends to respond well to antibiotics; GLA supplementation, after a heavy course (~300mg/day) for a couple of months can also work wonders.

Do you use eyelid scrubs?

Laser treatments are thought, as far as I know, to reduce ocular symptoms because of the lessened bloodflow around the eyes. That's assuming you get a good result from laser treatment. If your eyelids are involved, putting metal shields under your eyelids while being treated may be something to look at. I have been treated several times on my eyelids (and face) with metal shields under my eyelids.

[humanperson]

Thanks for the reply David,

I've been on GLA for a 3 months now 2x daily and haven't seen much of a difference but then again I haven't taken much of it. I've been pretty hesitant about trying antibiotics but I suppose it's worth a try. I haven't tried eyelid scrubs and will look into that. I've also read much about your LED array and have been interested in building one of my own and maybe adding something along the lines of a peltier to provide some cooling effect. Right now there is one definite thing that helps me and that is walking. I think you posted plans for that at one point so I'll have to look into that. If I go on a 40 minute walk the eye irritation goes does to almost zero but then returns quickly. I take 4 of these walks a day now and it's a nice sigh of relief though only temporary.

Matt

[edude99]

Laser treatments are thought, as far as I know, to reduce ocular symptoms because of the lessened bloodflow around the eyes. That's assuming you get a good result from laser treatment. If your eyelids are involved, putting metal shields under your eyelids while being treated may be something to look at. I have been treated several times on my eyelids (and face) with metal shields under my eyelids.[/QUOTE]

Hi David,
I'm interested in getting my eyelids treated with IPL or preferably Vbeam. I've had it done twice before, but the Dr. has since retired. Would you mind sharing the Dr. who treated you? Or other Doctors that treat eyelids? I live in Michigan, but can travel. Eventually, I need to find one close to home.

Thanks.
Eric

[dave75]

hi matt, i'm sorry you had to quit your job due to rosaeca...i know you don't like antibiotics..but have you considered oracea? it is "supposed" to be antimicrobial...meaning it doesn't screw up your healthy bacteria etc...personally, having been on it so long, i think it does have an effect, although slight in my experince. i had the ocular rosacea as well and that for me was worse than the rosacea on the cheeks. the oracea knocked out the ocular rosacea in about a week for me and the rashes on the face in a little over a week...just something to consider..you could try it for a week and see what it does for you. hope you get to feeling better. in regards to the laser treatments, i feel they do help, but to me, this is a problem that needs to be addressed internally with a solution...(for me this was a healthier diet and oracea) best regards, dave

[dave75]

oh, on a side note...i noticed your work was in computers...so i'm assuming you were staring at a screen all day like me! computer screens absolutely make ocular rosacea worse!(in my experience anyways!) while on oracea, i can stare at a computer screen day and night with no problems.