Rosacea or lupus???

[jpd54]

I am 58 years old and my face has never been clear.  It is usually red all over and huge bumps/zits on it.  I have a dermatologist appt. Thursday.  I have tried several things and they just don't work.  It is so embarrassing that some days I don't want to get out of the house.
Does anyone have this problem and what were you told it was??

  Thanks!!

           jpd

[Jellyb]

Hi there, skin problems are so awful.
I started getting rosacea a few years back and it really started to ramp up about a year ago and every morning was a new nightmare of how bad is it going to be today.

I saw a really good dermatologist last spring. I was also worried about lupus also, but she told me since mine does not flare in the sunlight, it's just rosacea. But she also said rosacea is progressive. That it will continue to get worse and worse for years unless treated.

My skin is so so crazy abnormal  hyper reactive that all the lotions and potions she had me try only made matters worse, so I opted for the IPL laser treatment. I have had it done twice and will go back in January for a third treatment. It's been truly amazing. I still flush and have some small breakouts but not anything like before .

If yours turns out to be a lupus rash or rosacea, it's treatable. I am glad you have a dermatologist appt. Let us know what happens

[Tivia]

You should get an appointment with a dermatologist. I dont know if you have another AI or not, but skin problems can manifest in several AI's. I just had a punch biopsy done yesterday for sclero or lupus skin changes. My skin history is this, always had a ruddy complexion oily prone to breakouts but not the big pimple type. More like small red bumps and blackheads. My skin on my face stated to develop spider veins and flushing, back in 2006 to 2008 any heat or sun would cause a red flush that would last for hours.

Fast forward to this year, and this is just my opinion but...we had a severe drought and I think what was a mild or latent AI flared partly because of the drought. My skin went from oily and normal texture outside of some spider veins, to bone dry and cracked not producing any sebum or sweat, and a increase in veins and  the red blood spots that look like pimples but are act blood vessels. This all happened in a period of a month from normal oil production and sweat to zero. So now I am getting skin changes on my arms and hands that raised a red flag to my doc to start looking at pos lupus or sclero. If you have a rheumy mention it to them about the skin problems and see if they can get a derm doc to look you over too. It could be nothing but your own complexion type or it could be a manifestation of something else you wont know until you see a doctor.

[slccom]

I hope someone told all of you with rosaeca to always, always, always wear sunscreen when you leave the house! It made a huge difference for me. Besides the skin issues, it can cause nose deformity.
Sharon

[Tivia]

I hope someone told all of you with rosaeca to always, always, always wear sunscreen when you leave the house! It made a huge difference for me. Besides the skin issues, it can cause nose deformity.
Sharon

Yes this so much, if its rosaeca the sun the wind the heat the cold even spicy foods can flare it from what I understand. The nose thing I did not know about interesting. Oh and another thing ocular rosaeca is also something that can manifest with reg skin rosaeca

[Gramma]

Also my dermatologist said to use zinc oxide/titanium dioxide sunscreen only as that formula is more effective and less irritating.  My Rosacea is the one that causes intense heat, stinging, and flushing when triggered.  Some studies say that this is a neurological disorder, since I rarely have any swelling or papules.  I'm thinking about trying the laser next time I see my dermatologist.

[Daisy1234]

Jpd54, you're doing the exact right thing to see a dermatologist.  That's the proper specialist to tell you precisely what is going on.  Yes, it might be rosacea, but it could also be adult acne or a hormone imbalance amongst other things.

I was pretty fortunate for most of my life not having any problem with my skin until about 5 years ago when all of a sudden I developed a nasty case of rosacea, which I battle to this day.  Good old rosacea is another autoimmune manifestation and is very common with Sjoggies.   I do see a dermatologist for this condition and have been prescribed Erthromycin (orally) for it as well as applying Metrogel 1% twice daily topically.  I also have to use a 60 SPF sunblock now.  I'm doing everything I can, but I am still getting some vein scarring from the rosacea and the redness is there most of the time, but gets worse when I'm flaring.

I can avoid alot of major flareups with the roseacea however, as long as I try my best to avoid the triggers that cause breakouts for me.  Each person's triggers are different, but alot of times for roseacea they may include some of the following:  sun exposure, hot baths, alcohol, spicy foods, face creams (depending on what the ingredients are) and different types of foods.  There is a pretty long list on the internet you can google, but each person may react differently to different ingredients as we do with other things like allergies. 

I just hope the dermatologist can give you a diagnosis  right away and immediately put you on a treatment plan that works best for you when you see them this week.  We all can understand how important it is to get this under control and I am hoping that you're able to do that as soon as possible.

All the best,
Daisy

[mshistory]

I get numerous skin rashes, some of them AI related, some of them rosacea. Rosacea usually affects the nasolabial folds, whereas it is uncommon for malar rashes associated with SLE to affect the nasolabial folds. I do have a dermatologist, who told me the treatments are essentially the same - MetroGel in the evening after cleaning face; Elidel in the morning; mineral sunblock; oral medications to help with inflammation (e.g., Plaquenil and Imuran, although I'm no longer on the Plaquenil).

The thing that has helped the MOST is wearing that mineral sunblock every single day. Rosacea and SLE rashes are photosensitive (my mom has rosacea - no AI disease that we know if, and sunlight will make her rosacea very bad). Sunlight and I do not get along at all 

[jpd54]

Thanks for all of the great advice.  I will let you know how the appt. goes.

                jpd

[Liz D.]

I have never been diagnosed with rosacea, but this past spring I was diagnosed with a terrible case of allergic perioral and periocular dermatitis.  (It was the worst pain I have ever had in my life and I have had a lot of pain!)   I used to pride myself on the fact that I had good skin.  Well not anymore!!

Although the majority of it has cleared up with the help of antibiotics and steroid creams (sparingly) and Elidel cream, I think I will always have some scars and redness.  Just like Daisy, I have to avoid hot showers, alcohol, spicy foods and the sun at all costs!!  It flares up and starts hurting again.

The good news is that I found a wonderul concealer for the red marks that has zinc oxide in it.  It is put out by Clinique and is called Redness Solutions.  It is the only thing now that I can put on my skin without it being irritated.  And now I have to wash my face with Aveeno Ultra-Calming Cleanser with feverfew.  Everything else is an irritant.

I have to learn to become a 'hat' person.

Liz D.

[Tantalus]

I've had a mild case of rosacea with seborrheic dermatitis along for the ride for several years.

What seems to be the first rosacea treatment many dermatologists try, metronidazole, didn't work for me and actually irritated my skin.

For the past year or so I've used sodium sulfacetamide lotion (generic for Klaron) which is inexpensive, and Oracea, low dose time released doxycyline, which is wildly expensive with very good results.  I probably could discontinue the Oracea and have the good results with just the sodium sulfacetmide.

I keep with the Oracea because the dermatology PA suggested that the Oracea could be helping control the inflammation of the Sjogren's.  (At this dose it doesn't have an antibiotic effect as much as some other anti inflammatory action?)

[bern331]

I too have always been prone to redness (very easy to blush) and breakouts. Last year I developed a terrible case of acne rosacea. I was miserable!!! I tried Metrogel with little results, then the dermatologist proscribed Finacea gel. This seemed to help somewhat, however, my skin cleared up best when I started using (over the counter) Prosacea gel! Love it! I also started taking Plaquenil for my Sjogrens in September and think my skin has improved even more since then.. Good luck to you! Skin issues are so frustrating.

[wowthird]

Have any of you Rosacea sufferers tried Oracea?  i have had Rosacea for most of my adult life and have tried Metrogel and most of the other treatments with little to no effect.  Oracea makes my symptoms disappear.  It has made a huge difference in my self esteem.  Even the redness dissipates along with the plaques and pimples.  I never imagined my nose would look "normal".  I am sad because their cost-reducing program has ended which allowed me to have a suppy at $25 instead of $60.  I may try spacing it out versus taking it everyday.  I don't relish the thought of going back to "before".  Good luck to everyone here!

[jpd54]

Saw the dermatologist this afternoon.  He put me back on Metrogel and on Doxycycline HYC (another anti-malaria medicine)!!!
Made another appt. for January to see how this works.  Also he has me on a morning moisturizer with SPF 30.  He has me on a night moisturizer also.  I am using the makeup from Clinique to hide the redness.  Hope my brain fog doesn't keep me from remembering everything I am supposed to do and when.  Haha   Have to keep the humor in everything.   

    Jennifer

[jpd54]

I forgot (BRAIN FOG) in my last post.  The dermatologist also said to get off the tea, coffee, sodas, spicy food and hot foods.   What a bummer!!  I don't know which I want more -- to eat and drink what I want or have a red face!!

             Jennifer