Rosacea Lifestyles
One of the first things people notice about us if our face, we always try to put our 'best face forward' but with rosacea that can sometimes be a challenge. Finding new ways to manage and control your rosacea symptoms can give you the confidence to face others.
In treating rosacea, it is often beneficial to what others have tried. We know that each of us is different and our symptoms and response to treatment will also be slightly different. What works for some may not produce the same results for you but as you begin your rosacea journey, these hints, comments from others and results can be a good staring place as you explore what to avoid and what to try on your path to clearer skin. Before beginning a new treatment, allow the skin one to two weeks to rest or heal from the old treatment before starting the new one.
The approach to treating rosacea can vary from one person to another but all hope for the same positive results. These pages can you with the information and tools for success, but it's up to you to decide how much you wish to invest in your healing. Compromise can be difficult but it can sometimes be necessary in controlling rosacea. One small change in your rosacea treatment regimen can have major impact on your results and the management of your symptoms.
The basic cause of rosacea is an immune system imbalance! Learning to control and manage the degree of acidity in our body can have a positive impact on the appearance of our skin.
Drink some water. It sounds almost too simple. Water flushes toxins form the body, reduces skin dryness which often occurs as a side effect of rosacea treatments. Water also aids in regulating the core body temperature to keep the skin form becoming flushed or heated. Try substituting one coffee, tea or soda a day with a glass of water and drink a glass of water either with each meal or before each meal. Again over a weeks' time observe the difference in your rosacea symptoms. You'll be surprised how much better your will feel and how much improvement you will see in your rosacea symptoms. Dry, tight itchy skin can be a sign of dehydration. Ease your rosacea symptoms by increasing your water consumption. For a small inactive person, 8 to 10 glasses of water a day may be adequate, if you are over-weight, lead an active lifestyle, are outdoors a lot, or working in as stressful environment, you needs will be greater. In these instances start with at least 12 glasses of water a day and adjust as needed.
Learn to manage stress. Stress is a normal aspect of daily life. Stress can be a positive influence providing you with an adrenaline rush improving your focus, sharpen your senses in a dangerous situation, or increase your ambition and enthusiasm. Stress poorly managed can be overwhelming. It can create the feeling of being out of control of a situation or event; you may feel uncertain or unable to decide on a direction or course of action. The body reacts to stress with a rush of heat to the skin or flushing, it alters our immune system and may cause indigestion, nausea, constipation or diarrhea. The skin may break out in hives, a rash or redness very similar to an allergic reaction.
Managing stress is the ability to slow down, to step back, take a deep breath and accept that some things are out of our control. As we learn to re-focus on what’s important and take that moment to just let it go, create a mini-me time to give yourself a chance to relax, you will find that your reaction to stress is more manageable.
Stimulants causing vascular dilation can result in a spike in facial redness, stress, and an increase in oil secretin through the pores causing pimples and clogged pores. An example of these stimulants would be excess sugar from processed foods, cigarettes, sweets, caffeinated beverages or energy drinks, alcohol, beer or sodas.
Diuretics result in dehydration which will increase facial redness and it can also cause the pores of the skin to contract making the skin more prone to pimples and clogged pores. Some of the more common diuretics include coffee, tea, alcohol, and diet drinks.
The soap you use to cleanse your face can have an effect on your rosacea. Deodorant soaps can actually increase facial redness, dryness and skin irritation. Change the soap or cleanser you are using to clean your face. You wouldn’t think the soap you use could really matter all that much but it does. Switch from the soap you are using to one of the following:
Try cleaning your face with a shaving cream recommended for sensitive skin containing dimethicone. There are several varieties on the market so many options to choose from. The topical emollient dimethicone soothes minor skin irritations, eases dryness of the skin and helps with the rough dry and sometimes flakey patches of skin that are commonly present with rosacea. .
Another cleansing option is the unscented version of Dove soap. This is a very gentle cleanser that will still thoroughly cleanse the skin to remove makeup and residue but does not increase irritation or cause redness.
Neutrogena makes a glycerin cleanser specially formulated for dry, sensitive skin. Even for skin that is oily, this is a good option to try as cleansers designed for oily skin are often too harsh which causes the skin to produce more oil to replace the protective barrier of oil that was removed by the cleanser. The skin produces a protective barrier of oil as a shield to protect the inner organs of the body from dirt, germs and bacteria. The more you remove of this protective layer, the more the skin produces.
Facial scrubs and exfoliating treatments are often too harsh for the more sensitive rosacea affected skin. Using a clean damp wash cloth as you cleanse your skin will be just as effective without the harsh chemicals that are so damaging to the skin.
Facial massage can reduce inflammation and facial swelling. Facial massage done properly can improve circulation, and skin tone.
Hair sprays, styling gels, and conditioners can cause the skin to break out of become flakey or red along the hairline.
Try Jojoba Oil. Rather than beating up your skin with harsh chemicals and treatments, try soothing your rosacea affected skin today. Just two to three drops of jojoba oil applied twice a day for a week can aid in healing the skin, reducing the facial redness and skin irritation that occurs so often with rosacea. As an added benefit, it will also help to smooth the wrinkles and moisturize your skin.
Bath or shower in a moderate temperature below 98.6 F. at the very warmest down to roughly 75 F as the lowest will provide less redness of the skin. And obviously between 75 and 85 F. would be most ideal. Some people are surprised when they enjoy a hot tub, etc. at 101 to 1o4 degrees, yet when they think about it, they can understand 'why'. Obviously the skin is being dilated by the warm temperatures. When bathing, avoid scrubs or anything that makes the skin redder. Keep the skin 'safe' as it is the first line of defense against bacteria, virus and fungi.
Rosacea symptoms may result from food allergies. Usually the central portion of the patient's face becomes red with a butterfly pattern of redness. And we believe that it is not really an allergy but the body becomes overly acidic with too many acid foods and not enough alkaline foods and not enough alkaline water. Alkaline water usually has a pH (potential of hydrogen) between 7.0 and 7.3 and most often can be found in your home directly from the faucet or spigot. Bottled water is usually acidic to prevent bacteria or virus or fungi from growing as the bottled water is stored for possibly 2 to 6 months before consumption. The old saying of, "What triggers one person into a rosacea flush does not trigger another person" may be true to a certain extent. However, if one considers 'what the person has consumed already before the ingestion of a certain food or drink, then they may realize that the recently consumed food or drink 'took them over the brink' or into the acidic range. Most often the high calorie foods of carbohydrates, sugars, coffees, soft drinks, etc. are the final force. Other times when the body is calm or early upon arising, many foods do not affect us. We often find that the red flares begin later in the day after a large lunch or dinner. There are many lists that you have read already. Likewise many drugs ingested cause flushing or allergies.
Exercise to relieve stress. Exercise at temperatures that are comfortable is a simple way of thinking of when to exercise and at the most comfortable temperatures. Or early AM and late PM after work.
Try to exercise aerobically or with plenty of oxygen without becoming fatigued or with heavy sweating. Make exercise fun instead of exhausting work and you will be more likely to exercise more frequently and meet your objective of weight control or toning your muscles or both. The worse exercise is heavy weight that can be damaging with pulled muscles as well as an overly red face from exhaustion. Take plenty of breaks and have a friend to be with if possible.
There are many medications on the market that can cause skin sensitivity to the sun, which can result in a rash or even a severe sunburn. If you aren't sure what medication can cause sun skin sensitivity, may want to talk to your pharmacist. If you're taking such a medication, sunglasses are critical to prevent damage to your eyes, and to ward off ocular rosacea, a condition that is quite difficult to manage.
Swimming is an excellent exercise with most muscles of the body being used and there is never a sprained ankle or damage. Swimming pools usually have a very well balance water with proper pH so that the water is cool and the pH actually help acne pimples and does not cause much redness. Try to exercise and take plenty of breaks to make it fun. Mental stress and toning of the muscles can take place and the release of endorphins to make the mind feel very relaxed. Also, try to drink water while swimming as the water will remove water from your skin by osmosis thus the wrinkled or shriveled fingers and hands. Also swimming is vigorous exercise with most people not realizing that they are actually sweating.
Exposure to bacteria from fabrics that come in contact with your face can result in facial redness and pimples. These would include bed linens, pillows, face cloths and towels used in bathing. Bacteria can survive for quite some on these surfaces and be transferred onto the skin from contact. Even a hairbrush, makeup applicators or facial brushes can harbor and transfer bacteria to the skin. Change these items frequently, clean brushes and launder fabrics with Clorox to reduce bacterial growth.
Proper weight management. Excess weight overloads the heart resulting in increased facial redness and difficulty in breathing deeply which results in less oxygen in the blood, more stress to the body and impaired immune system function.
Eat many small meals instead of three large meals to help reduce rosacea related redness.
Sun exposure. Too much exposure to sunlight can increase your chances of skin cancer, also the sun acts like an astringent meaning that your skin will feel very tight. This tightening of the skin can clog your pores causing bacteria to be trapped with more inflammation and causing your face to appear redder.
We know it's impossible to completely avoid the sun, but here are a few ways to help protect your skin. First, make sure you are using a sun screen that is at least SPF 45, the higher the better. Second, If you must be outside for long periods of time make sure you are wearing some type of hat. This will help block some of the harmful rays from damaging your face even more.
Sun shine is very good for us in moderation. Sun rays carry vitamin D, which promotes and regulates calcium and phosphorus in our body.
Prescription and over the counter medications can result in skin redness, rashes, hives and sun sensitivity. Be aware of the possible side effects and how to prevent them when taking any medication.
Try any one of these options for a week, make this the only change to your rosacea treatment routine and observe the difference just one small change can make.