Desonide and steroid rebound

[Joao]

Ola Why me?

I am having a bout of insomnia so I was researching elidel, and it sounds very good! Do you need a doctor's note in Europe I wonder? I am sure my doctor will give it if I ask. My sister lives in Brazil and she says the one can get many medecines without Rx also. I am feeling better now that dry winter air has gone away.

[Aurelia]

Hi João,

Evora sounds as wonderful as it looks. Please don’t worry about wandering a bit off topic because that is part of being human. Anyway, I started it. However, if you ever want to write on subjects totally away from rosacea, please note that we have an Off Topic section here:
viewforum.php?f=33

I think Elidel is prescription-only in most countries. It is very strong and there are unresolved cancer worries, so perhaps consider seeking a derm’s advice on it?

Unfortunately, my dear Lisbon friend can’t recommend anyone. She was first diagnosed with rosacea more than 20 years ago and the two derms she saw are probably no longer working. Her rosacea isn’t gone, but can easily be toned down with make-up. In 2001 she saw a hospital derm for another reason and asked about rosacea, but received only the same old advice: avoid triggers, apply ‘Metroderme’, use gentle cosmetics and sunblocks (La Roche Posay and Avene were recommended) and she was told that laser or IPL is the only permanent treatment.

She really wishes she could be more helpful, but thinks it is great that you have learnt to avoid triggers and have a good sense of humour and a proactive attitude, which is definitely the way to go. As for rosacea not being common in Portugal, she said it is increasing, at least in Lisbon, although perhaps not among the "alentejanos" from your region, who can usually get away with staying out in the sun more. Anyway, we both wish you the best of luck.

However, there are always other options. In your shoes, I would ask my physician to make enquiries and see if one of his or her colleagues can recommend a derm who is knowledgeable about rosacea.

Here is an online Portuguese forum for acne. Might it be worth posting to ask if anyone also has rosacea and knows of any good doctors?:
http://www.acnecare.pt/intro.aspx

Here is the clinic of a Lisbon derm who might be worth contacting (I pasted in the link, but couldn't get it to work so have removed it):

Clínica Dermatológica Doutora Teresa Correia Lda
Alameda D. Afonso Henriques 62-r/c-D, 1900-183 LISBOA Telephone 218 481 447
Actividade - Médicos - Dermato-Venereologia (Pele e Venéreas)
Especialidades - Alergologia Cutânea •Dermatologia Médica e Cirúrgica •Fotodepilação •Fotorejuvenescimento •Terapêuticas Laser
Serviços - Dermatologia •Fotorejuvenescimento •Provas Alergológicas de Contacto

Looking for recent research studies on rosacea turns up these teams of derms / researchers:

“Quality of life and rosacea: Pulsed dye laser impact” by Nuno Menezes, Ana Moreira, Gioconda Mota & Armando Baptista, Servio de Dermatologia do Centro Hospitalar de VN de Gaia/Espinho, Portugal
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/conten ... 387&db=all

“Granulomatous rosacea in infants. Report of three cases and discussion of the differential diagnosis” by João Borges da Costa, Sousa Coutinho V, L Soares de Almeida, & M Marques Gomes PhD, Clínica Universitária de Dermatologia, Hospital de Santa Maria, Lisboa, Portugal. joaobc77@hotmail.com
http://dermatology.cdlib.org/142/case_p ... costa.html

“Rosacea with extensive extrafacial lesions” (a case report) by Teresa M. Pereira, Ana Paula Vieira & A. Sousa Basto, Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Hospital de São Marcos, Apartado 2242 4701-965 Braga, Portugal Correspondence: Teresa M. Pereira, md teresa-per@netcabo.pt
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/jour ... 1&SRETRY=0

Do you think it might be worth contacting any of them to see if they can help with your steroid-induced rosacea?

Kind regards,

Aurelia

[Joao]

Obrigado Aurelia! You are so nice to go to all that trouble for me! I may have misspoken when I said the Portuguese do not often get Rosacea, Northern Portuguese do tend to be a bit more fair skinned than we alentejanos because they are more of celtic stock I think and we southerners have some of moorish and jewish blood mixed in. I think as we spend less time out working the fields and more time involved in modern jobs our skin may be weaker. I have heard that any type of skin can get Rosacea, light or dark. I will contact the doctors you posted, I thank you very much for that. I have been researching natural cures and read that some people drink vinegar or apply to face. That seems strange to me but maybe worth a try. My grandmother used to 'wash' her face with olive oil! Sounds disgusting but she had excellent skin and few wrinkles. I try stress reduction techniques also and it makes me feel better. Muito obrigado pela tua ajuda! (thanks for your help!)

[Aurelia]

Hi João,

You are very welcome. As with most boards, we mods try really hard to help our members, although it isn't always possible.

Yes, you are right about paler-skinned northern folk such as Celts (and Scandinavians) being more at risk of rosacea, but that any skin type can suffer from the condition. For example, there are many Asians with rosacea, and even some people of African ancestry, although in the latter case erythema (reddening) is far less noticeable than symptoms such as burning, papules or ocular rosacea.

Evidence is piling up thick and fast suggesting that our bodies don't work at all well without good amounts of the Vitamin D sunshine naturally creates on bare skin. As you say, most of us no longer work outside, which may weaken the skin, then we often risk terrible damage by suddenly soaking up blazing sun, often on holiday breaks in much hotter countries.

http://rosacea-research.org/wiki/index. ... Vitamin_D3

As you probably know, when people talk about using vinegar for health reasons, they are usually referring only to apple cider vinegar (ACV, sometimes also called ACV with mother, "the mother" part indicating that the natural, dark cobwebby fibrous sediment has not been removed). Because of traditional claims that it can kill mold, bacteria, etc., people often apply it to their skin in the hope of getting rid of conditions such as dandruff and seb derm, so it just might help you. However, be careful it doesn't irritate your skin.

Washing the face with oil, and especially with olive oil, is another old idea that is coming back into fashion. With "oil cleansing", the idea is that rather than use a surfectant that strips oils from the skin while removing dirt, one uses another, healthier oil to cleanse the skin.

Kind regards,

Aurelia

[Aurelia]

Hi João,

Having drawn your attention to Promiseb, it is only fair to warn you that on our older, email-based board a new member, who also has steroid-induced rosacea from treating seb derm with Desonide, has written this:

“I have tried different treatments prescribed my my derm. Metrogel was too strong for me. Tried elidel, promiseb, and even tried a clenia wash which was way too strong. About three months ago I went on the Rosacea LTD III site and some of the info seemed to make sense. I started watching what I eat, eating more alkaline foods and less acidic. Stopped drinking alcohol and coffee (not easy since I like to have a drink now and I so much miss my 1 cup of morning java. I can oly use the tan disk, the other one is too strong. I drink lots of water and that really helped alot. My skin was in decent cotnrol, but it seems to be getting worse now. The LTD website got be a little gun shy about trying other things, but I think it may be time. I have been on doxcyline the past three months, and have switched to Oracea. …”

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ro ... age/105682

Rosacea LTD III makes small compressed disks that are gently patted against the face to transfer minerals to the skin.
http://www.rosacea-ltd.com/

Kind regards,

Aurelia