rosacea or autoimmune related

[trc1962]

I just posted on my thyroid TSH and now I have questions about what is rosacea. It came when all the other symptoms came...tired, not myself, constipated etc,. I have dealt with it a little bit before and it has been gone for years. I do avoid caffeine and any spices or it can make me a bit pink. Lately though it has been painful on my entire face, forehead and scalp. I am thinking I am histamine intolerant as an antihistamine help the pain/burning and I am avoiding foods high in histamine too. Is rosacea autoimmune in nature. Lots of questions, but when your body isn't cooperating you have to problem solve.

[eye2dry]

hello trc1962.

I was diagnosed with rosacea in 1995 by my GP and a dermatologist.
I have relatives with it, it is genetic...mostly to people of European descent.
Usually strikes in 30's to 40's range, men and women, yes,
sunlight, spicy foods, alcohol, exercise....anything that's makes you flush
triggers it.

I was told that the surface capillaries on your face (mostly on nose,cheeks and chin)
dilate so much and so easily that eventually stay dilated and the flush is always there.
Some medications can also exacerbate it.

I had a variety called acne rosacea b/c I had little minisule red bumps with the flushing
and was given Metrogel. I have also taken doxycycline to decrease the inflammation/redness.
Now I just use Finacea gel at bedtime.

For tiny capillaries on my nasal area and mychin I have
had laser treatment to fade them away.

I read on an autoimmune website that it is also suspected as an
"autoimmune disease"

My grandparents came over from Ireland and my grandfather had this
and I also have a few aunts and uncles with it.

I have never had it to burn or be painful.
Hope this info helped with your questions.

take care.
shelly

[trc1962]

Thanks for the replies. I have no relatives with rosacea, even both my brothers who drink pretty regularly flush at all. I had to be on prednisone for 2 and a half years and my rosacea was gone, what a relief! It cam back recently, even after being off pred for 2 years. Mine is very painful with the stinging and burning. The flushing and swelling just started this week. I am hoping I can control it. No bumps at all for me but mine is bad on my forehead and scalp. I do have blue eyes and lighter skin. I haven't had coffee, tea, alcohol and hot spices, nitrate deli meats for many years and I am okay with that. I am thankful the antihistamines are helping with the pain!

[Sooki]

I also have rosacea on my face and in my eyes - sometimes my eyes look like Darth Maul.  Especially when I go to a hospital - doctors always see me with bright red eyes.

Sometimes a red rash on the face , especially one that is rough and feels itchy, can be lupus.  A rheumy can usually tell by looking, but there is a biopsy for it as well. Many people with Sjs get lupus after awhile.

My eye doctor said she;s had a few patients with rosacea who found big relief from Ivermectin which has been used for scabies and other skin mites for a long time but apparently recently formulated in a topical cream and approved for rosacea.  she said the new skin cream is very expensive ($300) and often not covered by insurance.  Two of her patients have taken the old cheap pill route (one dose a week for three weeks) and it helped them.

I tried it and it may have reduced the ocular rosacea a bit.  But mostly I have to stay out of the sunlight totally (hats and gloves) for the rash to go away.  Sunscreen doesn't help much.  I didn't have any side effects with the Ivermectin.

[araminta]

This is slightly away from the original question, as I don't know whether rosacea is autoimmune or not, but I've recently read that it can possibly be triggered or made worse by Demodex mites.

Demodex can be responsible for blepharitis as well.    (At the suggestion of Blue Gardenia on this forum I am using tea tree oil to treat my blepharitis, it kills off Demodex,  and it seems to be working for me).   

[eye2dry]

Demodex are beneficial. They mop up (eat) debris on your eye/skin. they live
just under your outermost layer of skin and emerge to do their work.
In my years working for a dermatologist I have seen skin scrapings under
a microscope and viewed the little critters....

Sort of like gut bacteria.....we need it but an imbalance could cause problems

shelly

[trc1962]

I have read about demodex a lot and my husband the who was a biology teacher talked about their presence on the skin. I think for me my body just over reacts to so much. I have been finding antihistame to pretty much relieve the pain I was dealing with and so I read some on histamine intolerance and I certainly am that as I have avoided histamine foods for years (though didn't know about histamine issues, just knew the food made me hurt/itch). I had tests come back yesterday that are kind of worrying me; elevated crp, high bun, creatinine, low albumin, raised white count and TSH elevated, pretty much out of sorts lately and it showed up in the blood work. I should hear from my rheumy soon, but with the pain on my face, forehead and scalp in check I can work and keep going. I think my T cells are so over active on my poor skin and it causes a strong pain response. That is a guess on my part but thank goodness for the antihistamines for now. Thanks to all who posted, I am grateful.

[SjoGirl]

There are many triggers for Rosacea. I didn't realize I had it until after I saw a dermatologist when I had been diagnosed with Sjogrens. He gave me a very long list of possible triggers then said don't be bothered, they aren't all my triggers just all of the possible ones.

Items included chocolate, sun, heat, and many other items. Heat is a definite trigger for me as are a few foods.

[trc1962]

I have a list of foods that has bothered my skin for some time, just not the full blown red face I have had lately...any preserved meat like bacon, pepperoni, avocados, caffeine or decaf coffee or tea, anything spicy, butternut squash (go figure), arugala and spinach, blue cheese and alcohol are the worst and I can't eat them for any reason on earth or the head itch and dandruff is awful. I decided to try and stay away from histamine higher foods for a few days and my face is better but still not quite normal. I noticed today I wasn't as sun sensitive, last week even light sun made my cheeks fire engine red. When I was on longer term prednisone I had no flushing or face pain whatsoever...if only it didn't eat our bones up and cause the weight gain!