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Allergan’s Oxymetazoline based cream, Rhofade (oxymetazoline hydrochloride cream 1%) – for the treatment of the redness of rosacea is now generally available. Does it work to effectively and safely reduce the redness of rosacea? You have come to the right page to find out.
Some Oxymetazoline History
For rosacea sufferers it has been a long development cycle, the story starting with the emergence of Oxymetazoline as a rosacea active in 2007. Aspect Pharmaceuticals, Vicept Therapeutics and finally Allergan were owners of the intellectual property behind Rhofade, which first came to our attention through a 2005 patent (20050165079) by Shanler and Ondo.
So it has been a very long time since rosacea sufferers first starting hearing about the active in products like Afrin being a possible treatment for the redness of rosacea.
What is Rhofade?
Rhofade is being promoted as ;
The first and only α 1A adrenoceptor agonist approved for persistent facial erythema associated with rosacea in adults.
This is sales-speak as Mirvaso has been available for several years now and is similarly promoted as the only `α adrenoceptor agonist’.
Is Rhofade the same as Mirvaso?
If you were to solely read internet reviews of Mirvaso you could be forgiven for thinking that Mirvaso has been a very problematic product for Galderma (see Mirvaso Reviews). The adverse reaction rate to Mirvaso during the clinical trials before approval does not appear to be borne out by subsequent internet respondents. It isn’t clear why this appears to be the case – more frequent adverse reactions experienced outside the tightly controlled and monitored environment of the blinded clinical trials.
Every rosacea sufferer looking for relief from their red face is hoping that as claimed, Rhofade really will prove to be a “topical treatment of persistent facial erythema associated with rosacea in adults.”
Rhofade – the successor to Mirvaso?
It isn’t yet clear what Allergan have been able to do with the commonly available active ingredient Oxymetazoline to package it as palatable to the sensitive skin of rosacea sufferers. One clue appears to be the usage of “more selective for α1D-adrenoceptors are less prone to induce receptor desensitization than are α1A– or α1B-agonists” as found in the off the shelf products”. Although we know now that Rhofade is being promoted as a α 1A adrenoceptor agonist.
Certainly we are all hoping that Rhofade will become a well liked and tolerated rosacea treatment, that is true to the 1 year, only 3% adverse reaction rate generally experienced during the Rhofade clinical trials.
How much improvement will I see?
It is worth tempering your hopes for success with Rhofade with the published clinical trial data that shows that ;
Going on the published clinical data, basically one in 6 or 7 users of RHOFADE will have a 2-grade improvement in their facial redness, typically for 12 hours, and continuing for 29 once-daily uses.
Rhofade Reviews
So finally, rosacea sufferers are able to fill a prescription for Rhofade. Please let your fellow rosacea sufferes know what you think of Rhofade, we are especially interested in any rebound redness that your might experiences.
Please leave a comment below. Thanks!
I had some hope when my insurance covered this medication. It does work to some degree for me, but there is a noticeable rebound effect. When using the product, though, I do notice some improvement some time after application, I also notice I look worse than ever the day following the treatment and before reapplication. Going by experience, if I had eliminated triggers a day or few before, It would appear that I would look significantly better in the morning without having used this product the day prior. Isn’t that the way it is? Avoiding triggers over the long…long….long haul, gets better results than anything else? Who’s surprised?
I suffered from Rosacea but I am now clear of any symptoms for more than 3 years. There is a cure with absolutely no side effects other than that amazing feeling of being able to look in the mirror.
Paul, Would you please be so kind as to share what worked for you to be able to clear & keep you clear for the last 3 years? I and I’m sure so others would be interested to know how you did it. Thanks in advance!!
My thoughts exactly! Help us out Paul, if you can
Paul would be so interested in your regimen/plan you used for rosacea if you are willing to share.
Everyone, please ignore Paul. He has been doing this for years and is a scam
Thanks Mike for letting me & everyone else know Paul is a scam. I guess some people got nothing better to do than give others false hope!
Please email pmullally2005@yahoo.ie and I will send photos of myself before and after.
My do prescribed Rhofade and I was excited because my insurance covered it. He asked that I apply Rhofade in the morning and Soolantra in the evening. My pimples, pustules and papules returned with a vengeance. I abandoned the Rhofade after six weeks. I back on Soolantra twice a day now.
And summer is the worst to experience a “return with a vengeance.”
I hope the Soolantra has been able to quickly calm down the skin.
I had an adverse reaction with both Mirvaso and Rhofade.
Mirvaso caused rebound flushing after it wore off. Splotchy red and purple patches.
Rhofade reduced redness not as well as Mirvaso for me but cause a tingling feeling in my face shortly after application. It felt like there were ants under my skin and gave me that skin crawling feeling.
Cannot use either daily.
What I have found is that either of these topical meds can be used sparingly to isolate the broken capillaries for an excel v laser treatment at my dermatologist. That resulted in only then broken vessels being targeted by the laser rather than the overall redness.
I have had very good results with soolantra. It did not completely erase the redness but it certainly made it a lot less noticeable. I have been using it for 3 years now. Best thing is that there are no side effects like increased redness or burning.
I’ve been using Soolantra for about a year and it has done a good job. There are no side effects is easy to apply and while it has not completely cleared my face it is a prescription that I would recommend based on my experience.
Wes
I have been using Rhofade I the am finacea in the pm all is calm so far hope I can keep the flare down
Mike,
Does Soolantra have alcohol in the ingredients? (Stearyl alcohol/ceteryl alcohol)
I can’t use anything with alcohol on my face I’ve found and a lot of creams have it.
Katherine,
There is no alcohol in Soolantra.
Rhofade has done nothing for me at all. Fortunately I only wasted 50.00 with the manufacturer coupon as opposed to the 502.33 I would have paid at the pharmacy as my insurance will not cover these meds. My facial redness is actually more prominent intesnse after using Rhofade.
I had a horrible reaction to Rhofade. After only 4 days of using it I developed severe rebound redness. My rebound redness lasted 7+ days and caused intense redness, flushing, swelling, skin texture changes, numbness and broken capillaries. I thought once I got through the rebound redness phase I would begin to heal and get back to normal. That was almost 3 months ago. I am still suffering from severe flushing episodes daily. To the point I want to pass out. I was never like that before. And now when I flush my skin BURNS so bad. This is a symptom I also didn’t experience before. I don’t know if things will ever go back to normal. I have been to multiple dermatologists following my reaction and none have been able to help and just keep telling me I have rosacea. I’m like well duh I knew that when I walked in. They won’t listen to the fact that it’s the Rhofade that has made it like this. I was fine before using Rhofade. I made one of the worst decisions of my life trusting that dermatologist and using the product she prescribed.
I was really excited to try a sample of Rhofade but a very similar reaction after using it for 3 days. It reduced the redness the first couple of days but the 4th day my nose was bright red, burning, purplish. It’s been over a week and my skin looks and feels like it’s been burned – flaky, leathery, burning and red.
My skin looked great before compared to now!
Did your skin recover after your expletience with Rhofade?
Yes. My skin has recovered from Rhofade and I’ve cut back on every prescribed rosacea med since I started using red/blue led combo on my face. If you haven’t read about this “treatment” yet, read this study https://jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13256-019-2339-6/figures/1
I had a blue LED light for whitening my teeth and figured I would “test” it out I noticed positive results in a month and then purchased a red LED light wand. My husband says my skin looks the best it ever has and since I started using those lights my “flare ups” have been manageable.
I have been given samples of Rhofade by my dermatologist. My Rosacea is only vascular and decided to put on only one cheek so it would better be able to see any difference I was quite surprised to see the amount of redness reduction. Will continue with the samples and will be following up with any adverse effects.
I sincerely hope it works for you. But look forward to your update/s.
Has anyone experienced headaches when they started using Rhofade? I started using it a week ago with no adverse skin reactions. In fact I have seen a marked difference for the better. However, I noticed I’ve had a slight headache pretty much everyday since a few days into using it. Could be coincidence, but I’m curious to know if anyone has noticed this too..
September I irritated face with a new vanicream product ,then 2 days later used rhofade 2x.Face was blotchie and pitch red got terrible flushing and burning which I never had before. It’s been 5 1/2 months now and seeing a slight improvement. Hope it will continue to improve. Very long and miserable months. Never Use this product. Called Rhofade Co. and ect. and nobody knows shit.
Not every product is going to work for everyone. I was prescribed two other medication prior to Rhofade. Neither worked. Rhofade has worked miracles. My redness is gone. I apply first thing in the morning, let it absorb, then proceed with my regular morning moisturizing and makeup. My dermatologist also prescribed Seldane, which I use before bedtime. The combination of the two works great. Seriously, no redness or bumps at all.