Acne Rosacea

What Is Acne Rosacea?
Acne Rosacea (pronounced roh-ZAY-sha) is a common but poorly understood disorder of the facial skin that is estimated to affect well over 14 million Americans — and most of them don’t know it. In fact, a Gallup survey found that 78 percent of Americans have no knowledge of this condition, including how to recognize it and what to do about it. Acne Rosacea is a skin condition characterized by redness or blotchiness around the nose and cheeks. Patients often have broken capillaries around these areas. Unlike acne, rosacea is not primarily a plague of teenagers. It occurs most often in adults (ages 30 to 50), especially those with fair skin, and affects both sexes but tends to be more common in women but worse in men. Unlike acne, there are no blackheads or whiteheads in rosacea. When rosacea first develops, it may appear, then disappear, and then reappear. Lasers such as Intense Pulsed Light are considered the preferred laser treatment for treat this condition.

Here are the common characteristics of Acne Rosacea:
• Redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead which is often aggravated by stress, sun, heat, alcohol, exercise.
• Small visible blood vessels on the face.
• Bumps or pimples on the face.
• Watery, irritated,or even bloodshot eyes.

The red-faced, acne-like effects of rosacea on personal appearance mean it can cause significant psychological, social, and occupational problems if left untreated. In recent surveys by the National Rosacea Society, more than 76 percent of rosacea patients said their condition had lowered their self-confidence and self-esteem, and 52 percent reported it had caused them to avoid public contact or cancel social engagements. Among rosacea patients with severe symptoms, nearly 70 percent said the disorder had adversely affected their professional interactions, and nearly 30 percent said they had even missed work because of their condition.

How is Acne Rosacea Treated?
Traditionally, when someone came to see their primary physician about rosacea they were given Metrogel and antibiotics. This would help control the inflammation but it never addressed the redness or broken capillaries. Patients would continue to suffer from the daily embarrassment of reddened skin. With the advent of the IPL, or Intense Pulsed Light, there’s a better option. This laser is able to target the red pigments in the oxygen carrying molecule, hemoglobin, that is found in the capillaries. There is a process called photothermo conversion whereby the light energy is converted to heat energy, shrinking the small capillaries thereby reducing the amount of blood. Less blood means less redness as the capillaries start to disappear and even eye symptoms can improve.

Acne Rosacea does require 6-10 IPL treatments to successfully control this disorder. They are usually done every 2-3 weeks. Patients have minimal downtime with some mild swelling and increased redness for 1-3 days. With each treatment, you should see improvement. Maintenance treatments every 6-12 months are needed.

To help maintain IPL results — or even as an alternative — we’re excited to introduce you to a new product that you can use at home, twice a day, to reduce the appearance of rosacea. Sounds too good to be true? Look at the results:

universal serum before and after rosacea

NuGene Universal Serum uses patent-pending stem cell technology to decrease the appearance of rosacea and hyperpigmentation, and improve skin’s firmness, elasticity, and brightness. NuGene Universal Serum uses human adipose stem cells (ASC), which are embedded within tiny spheres (nano-capsulation) that have properties similar to those found in cell membranes. This allows the ASCs to reach skin cells more effectively. Combined with polypeptides, antioxidants, and hyaluronic acid, NuGene Universal Serum can help you reclaim your complexion.

During your complimentary consultation, Dr. Tang can answer all your questions about Acne Rosacea and IPL treatments in detail.