I started the Rosacea Support Group on the internet in 1998. It started as an email group hosted at makelist.com. The email service became egroups.com and later it was acquired by Yahoo! The email group is now hosted at Yahoo!Groups.
The email group has grown slowly and steadily over the years to more than 7000 members.
When I changed my ISP in 2000, I decided to host some rosacea pages at rosacea.ii.net – that being the second home for my web pages.
In July 2005 Rosacea News was born. This was an attempt to collect all the interesting bits and pieces of news related to rosacea, as they happened. As the number of news items approaches 300, it was time to consolidate all of the existing Rosacea Support Group pages and Rosacea News pages together.
So what you see now is the third generation of the web pages for the Rosacea Support Group. Most pages on this site will now allow you to leave a comment at the bottom. Please feel free to comment on articles and pages that interest you.
In 2003 I appeared in the health section of the West Australian Newspaper. Here is a scan of the 2 pages, if you’d like to have a read.
In April 2008 I was mentioned in 2 articles in the New York Times. The first was an article mentioned a book on rosacea that was written by a computer: He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work). The second article was titled In a Perfect World, Rosacea Remains a Problem.
Reliable information about rosacea can be hard to find on the internet. If you agree that this site is useful and would like to link to me, please link to http://rosacea-support.org and call the link Rosacea Support Group in the anchor text. Thanks for your help.
What do you and don’t you like about Rosacea News and the Rosacea Support Group ? Is there something you’d like to see ? Please email me with your thoughts.
David Pascoe.
david@rosacea-support.org
Credits: This site is run using the WordPress blogging platform. The blog layout was based on the `3 Columns Copyblogger Theme.’ The forum is using phpBB. The site is hosted at siteground.com.
27 comments ↓
David
Its nice to get to finally see you. I love the article, your skin looks great now.
Thanks for the comments. It took quite a few years, but yeah now my skin looks great and most people will never know. I still wear a tinted sunscreen everyday to cover that ever present redness though.
thanks David for creating a “place” where we can share our rosacea problems…I’m glad u are finally fine…thanks again
David
I have sebaceous glands on both sides of my nose and it looks like i could be getting a bulbous nose.I went to four skin drs. and they said i won’t get rhinophyma of the nose.What do you think and can i help my nose?
thank you
Pete
Went to a dermatologist for the first time yesterday. I am just now learning about rosacea. The DR prescribed metrogel and Oracea. I am not crazy about the idea of taking an antiobiotic, but I also want the most effective treatment. After looking on the internet today, I am more concerned with side effects of the topical cream.
Now I am wondering should I be trying over the counter products like Eucrin first?
Hi Pete,
Great to see you posting on the forum as well. Hope you get some good help there as well.
Hi Stacy,
Oracea is a low dose antibiotic so it should give you much less problems compared to regular, higher doses. Also metrogel is a good treatment that works well. Some people can’t tolerate it due to sensitive skin, but if you can tolerate them, you should see some good benefits. All the best,
davidp.
Hi,
I just joined the site. David treatments have you used and what eventually worked? When were you diagnosed with rosacea? How many years did you have it before getting treatment? Did that affect the results? Sorry for all the questions;-)
Thanks
Michelle(Blue on the rosacea support group)
Hi Michelle,
on the right hand side under David’s Pages are links to a couple of pages where I waffle on about various treatments that I have used over time. Hopefully those will give you a good idea of what I’ve used so far.
davidp.
Hi David,
Thanks for replying to my message.
couldnt find David’s pages to the right–I went into search and that pulled up your pages–just wondered if you could tell me under what headings I would find the links;-)
Michelle
In the right hand column, there are headings Subscribe, Recent Articles, Recent Comments, Spotlighted Articles, _David’s Pages_, Products, Subscribe via RSS.
Hello,
could you recommend a face-cooling gel/creat/lotion that will help keep my face cool (and reduce prickly heat) through out the day.
thank you
Peter Haynes
David,
Would appreciate a trial sample of the Seabuckthorn Cream if any left. I leve in Brisbane and would pay postage.
Regards,
Jim.
hI
i WOULD ALSO APPRECIATE A TRIAL SAMPLE OF THE Seabuckthorn Cream.
I only discovered your site now.
Interesting.
Thank u
Ludi
Hi David.
Thankyou for your articles. I treat people rosacea with IPL and often put them onto the web site for more info.
If you have any of the sea buckthorne I would love to give to some of my clients to try.
Thank you
Marjie
Sorry but the freebie samples are all accounted for now.
davidp.
Hello I have been given ROSEX Gel from the Doctor but it seems to make me worse I only used it 3 times and when I read the side affects that it kills DNA I stopped using but I am frightened to go back to my GP as he didn’t say any thing useful only that he would give me tablet form but I don’t want to be a guinea pig for my GP please help
Hi Bev,
Rozex gel does cause bad reactions in some people. If you can tolerate it, it should work reasonably well. Another option is noritate (if available in your country) or metrolotion or metrocream. It is generally safe to use and a very common treatment. It is good to have a good read of the prescribing information though as no drug is without side effects.
Oral metronidazole (flagyl) is sometimes used to treat rosacea, but it has even more possible side effects than topical rozex. Oral antibiotics like doxycycline have also been used a lot to treat rosacea, but again this is not without possible side effects.
If the usual route of rozex+doryx doesn’t work or isn’t applicable then there are lots of other things you can try: a gentle moisturizing and cleansing routine with a tinted physical sunscreen, IPL and others.
Have a read of the information for newly diagnosed rosacea sufferers here and see if it helps get you started ;
http://rosacea-support.org/community/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=150
davidp.
Hello,
I kind of stumbled upon your website by accident. Boy am I glad to get to know you. I am an African American with roseaca. Imagine the looks I get because in everybody’s mind I should not have roseaca.
Anyway, my skin feels on fire most of the time. I have been on Tetracycline for a while but not now. It seemed to help some. I also use Metrolotion daily. But I still have the red inflammed looking skin. I have seen several different things advertised on the internet but am hesitant to try especially if it is topical. What do you recommend? Thanks and keep up the good work.
i am experiencing redness in the facial area with burning and not hot to the touch when I am in the wind just for one minute. I am 45 years old and I smoke and have alcohol(L.I.lced tea) on the weekend and once during the week.
What will help? or what can I try? should I try Eucerin redness relief soothing night cream?
Please help
I am not a diabetic or have any other health issues.
Thank you Robbin
Digital Dave, this site is so great. I want to try that seabuckthorn cream, I guess I better find where to buy it, I will keep looking around on this site.
Just thought I would post an update since my rosacea flared out of control a few months ago and I thought I was going to die. I started trying just about every “cure” and aid I could afford. From boron, to apple cider vinegar, to supplements including niacinimide, primrose oil, vit a, zinc, mag, c, b’s, olive leaf and beta glucan, etc. I haven’t tried all that I want but I am on overload. Unfortunately, when you do too many things it’s hard to say what works but when I started the metro gel, along with an anti inflamation diet (Dr. Perricone’s 29 day anti inflamatory diet; try it for three days and see if it helps) and continued the supplements, (manage about 5 out of 7 days, everyday doesn’t seem possible) I did get relief.
That means no more honey in my green tea, (switching now to herbal chamomile only, no more caffiein) no more potatoes, fried or otherwise, no more rice, brown or white, and of course no sugar at all. No hard cheeses, very little dairy except cottage cheese and yogurt in small doses, well, you can look it up. If I accidently get something (sugar in a salad dressing for instance) I immediately get a flush happening. If I lose control and eat hard candies on my way out of the Daily Grill or some other restaurant well, I pay for it the next day. I figure I have to heal the skin, and the gut and that may include candida, so anti fungals are included in my supplements.
I am on my way for a one week fast of raw foods and sprouts along with colonics as part of my “program” of healing. I don’t mind eating well if I have plenty of choices so making sure I have healthy food I can eat handy is sooo important. NO popcorn at the movies (I bring green apples, carrots etc.) Oh and I am eating a lot of WILD salmon, according to Perricone’s diet. A little quinoa and oatmeal is okay.
Finding moisturizers has been tricky, but I found a tube of Physician’s formula tinted moisturizing cream that seems to be working now, after washing with Cetaphil. I also then brush on some Bare Minerals and that has been covering nicely. The cosmetics are all new as of this week so who knows if it will last but I am getting burned out on the money spent and hope I can use it up until it is gone. I even got vaseline, and am using it judiciously. So far it’s okay. They really try to get you at the cosmetic counters in the dept stores but I ask for samples and see how I tolerate them. Clarins sample extra moisturizing foundation seems to be okay but I will wait until I am feeling flush with some extra money.
I know the next layer is stress, and as I am having intense family issues, elderly sick mother, evil siblings issues, I know I have to combat that. Then of course there is the hormone issue, having just turned fifty. Yeah, it’s all hard. But I am motivated. Walking a few days a week helps but I know I need some yoga or other stretching excercises.
Wish me luck. I wish all of you luck.
Cara
Santa Monica
For anyone who has severe flushing/burning I sympathise……Its the most awful feeling and you cant go out as normal as your face is on fire all the time. I got IPL laser and hand on heart-it was the best thing-after a few sessions no more burning. Its expensive but so so worth it… I use Facedoctor soap (which has seabuckthorn oil) and MD Cleanser with glycolic acid (not together) and also Rosex Gel and Minocin if I get flare up.
Hope this helps someone suffering from horrible Rosacea
I sent you an email. Please let me know if you receive it. You are welcome to post it on your website.
Best
Just wanted to put it out there that I have suffered with rosacea for eight years now and have had not one bit of success getting rid of it, or shall I say, maintaining it!!
I have tried every perscribable ointment, gel and medication from all different doctors… Nothing ever got rid of it.
I am now 30yrs old and attending college, which will be ending in three months and have been stressing out, trying to resolve the horrible appearance of my face for when I join the worforce, once again!!
A friend in class told me how she used to have this really bad and that she had a doctor who suggested she try a fungial shampoo!!
Of course, the sensitivity of my facial skin, you can imagine the truly genuine fear I had with trying something else foreign on my poor face.
My face at this point was so bad that it was literally huge welts on my face glowing red burning like crazy and some acne, to top it all off!!! WONDERFUL.
I am seriously tired of holding my head in shame of what my face looks like to other people-which I know was horrible.
Ok, so heres the deal…. I eventually tried it…the shampoo is called Nizorol…. I only wash the affected area with a thin layer of the shampoo, once lathered on area, I let it sit there for a minute and then rinse it off…
Thats it…. I did this twice a day until it was gone, now I do it at the first spot of it and it is gone within days…
As well, this really dries out the skin, so at night, I use a moisturizer on it.
I haven’t had such a clear face in forever!
I have been living in such embarrasment for so long… I actually feel good about myself again-despite all my other flaws ha ha ha, can’t find a shampoo for them!!!
If I am able to help even one person with this-that would make me feel like a million dollars!! I truely know how depressed this made me feel for so long…
Hope this helps someone out there.
Hi Dave
I have just been diagnosed with Rosacea. I am 47 and I think that it has been triggered by the peri-menopause. Thankfully I do not have flushing, mainly a patch of spots near my nose which do not go away and ocular as my eyes are very dry and gritty. I realise now that my father has had rosacea for years untreated and has gone on to develop the nobbly nose rhinophyma. I am paranoid that I will also develop this as my nose is going red and has strange sensations in it.
I have been given Rosex and an anti-biotic. I have also changed my diet as I have nerve tingling from the peri-menopause also and I can feel the effects of food on this, especially wine and bread and carbs. Looks like my body does not like histamine.
Do you think that if, heaven forbid, I develop rhinophyma it can be improved with surgery?
Karen
Gibraltar
Hi Karen,
Thankfully rhinophyma is rare, mostly in men and develops over many years. So you are quite unlikely to develop it.
Oral isotretinoin is one possible treatment should you start to develop early stages, but this is a drug that you of course need the close support of a specialist to take.
There are surgery options but they are only required for the most severe of cases which are thankfully rare.
I don’t know of any studies that show that you can stop rhinophyma developing over time, but it seems like a reasonable guess that if you reduce the amount of frequency of facial flushing then you might reduce your risk.
davidp.
Hi Dave
many thanks for your prompt reply! Looks like I will just have to keep my fingers crossed re the nose and do my best to stop it happening. At least having to watch what I eat should help me to lose some weight.
Many thanks
Karen
I have had rosacea for too long and saw many doctors. I am at my wits end and don’t know what to do. The doctors take it lightly and I have tried just about everything and spent a fortune. Does Intense Light Therapy help and where do I get it?
Thank you,
Louise
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