Background:
I am a 42 year old white male. 2 months ago i started getting warm/burning sensations on my face and neck. Also, my face started to look more red. I remember walking thru Loews lights section and thought my face was going to burn off. I could really “feel” the lights on my face and it burned like crazy.

I went to see my Primary Care doctor and he said I probably came in contact with something my skin did not like so he put me on Prednisone (20mg) for 7 days and use Cortaid on my face. I did not see any improvement and went to see a dermatologist. He thought it was contact dermatitis even though my skin never itched. He thought dermatitis because I was having my kitchen remodeled and there was lots of dust, etc in the house. He continued with the Prednisone (30mg for 4 days, 20mg for 4 days, 10mg for 4 days) and I continued using Cortaid on my face. I also changed hair and skin products for sensitive skin. I went back to the dermatologist and he now said it was due to sun damage as my skin was thinning and I was getting those thin red lines on my face. My thinking was just out of the blue my face starts getting red and burning and its due to sun damage. He said something probably irritated my skin which led to the redness, etc. He said the burning should get better within 2 months and the redness might get better.

Current Status:
Every morning I wake up my skin is white and not red. Like it used to be. I shower and get ready for work and my skin is still white. I drive to parking ramp and walk about 10 minutes to work (inside, not outside). I get a little warm from the walk but my skin is pretty much white still with a hint or redness. I sit at a desk most of the day and am on a computer. Usually within an hour or 2 my face and neck will get red all over except on neck under chin. It is a pinkish/red color. I sit under a florescent light and at times can feel the light on my face and sometimes the light seems brighter. My face will feel warming/burning sensation at times and not always in the same area. It stays that way until I get home around 7 oclock at night. My skin will get mostly white again but can get red at times. Seems to get red when i am sitting for some reason. Also, I have noticed when I smile my forehead, cheeks (only half of cheek by nose), nose, under nose and chin get red. It can go back to white once I am done smiling. Also, I had a few beers the other night and my face, neck and ears got real red and somewhat warm. My ears and hands will get red and hot at times too. Not always both ears. I am also getting more thin red lines on my face and I have noticed more lines/wrinkles as well. I do not get acne but i have gotten a few pimple like bumps only in temple area. I did have some acne on nose but that has pretty much gone away. And I dont have the intense warming/burning sensations as much or they are not as intense.

Both my doctor and the dermatologist said it was not Rosacea but I feel I have a lot of Rosacea symptoms.

After reading my lengthy post do you think it could be Rosacea? I am wondering as well if I used the Cortaid for too long as I have read it is not good for your face. I used it for about 4-5 weeks 2x a day. I have read overuse of these topical steroids can cause thinning of the skin, those thin red lines and redness. Could this be what is happening as well? If so, is an antibiotic good to treat this? The dermatologist said it could take another 2-3 months for face to fully heal or see improvements. Is this true? My skin does look a little better from a texture standpoint than it did when i first had these symptoms. My dermatologist said my skin looks 40-50% better than when I first went to see him.

Any thoughts, suggestions, etc would be very much welcomed.

Doug
dooteetime@aol.com

I’m a 47 year old female with some seb derm as well as Rosacea. I don’t get flares anymore, maybe because I use a glycolic acid cleanser. Glycolic acid peels are known to help rosacea so I decided to try the Aqua Glycolic brand cleanser as it is very reasonably priced -about $14, though my pharmacy has to order it as they don’t keep it in stock.

COULD YOU LET ME KNOW MORE INFORMATION ON THE LIGHT PULSE FOR ROSESEA THANK YOU
catherine_paradine@yahoo.co.uk