Rosacea

ouchpotato

I meant to ask...does anyone suffer from rosacea? I have a rash on one side of my face which erupts into red lumps and occasionally whiteheads. It has definite flares, and seems to correspond with the arthritis flaring (as it is now). When I saw the rheumy 5 weeks ago she noted that I have a 'rosacea type rash' so I assume that that is what it is. If anyone else gets it how do you deal with it? It's so horrid.

Thanks

x

barbara12

Ouch I dont know much about it, but I do know that Lupus can cause a red rash ..and Lupus causes joint pain..so you might like to get it checked out..x

applerose

Quite a lot of years ago, my GP said I had this because I had a red rash over the tops of my cheeks. It did disappear but I get it quite often now. I assume it is because I'm too hot as it doesn't stay. I mentioned it to my rheumie as I was thinking about lupus but he didn't say anything about it.

ouchpotato

Barbara, it's only one side of my face, and my understanding is that the lupus rash affects both sides. It did cross my mind that it could be, but I dismissed that because it was one sided.

Applerose, it's odd because I had it in exactly the same place some 10 years ago. It went away and although it left slight scars I never thought any more of it, but it has now reared it's head again, a decade later.

What is also strange is that spots (as in acne) usually come from oily skin (or so I believe) but my skin has become impossibly dry. I also now suffer from dry eye and have eye drops from the rheumatologist, and have dryness elsewhere too. I am convinced that this rosacea/rash is autoimmune in nature, and somehow connected to the arthritis.

x

janie68

Hi

I too have a rash, although mine is on both sides. Exactly as you describe. I had the Lupus tests which thankfully were negative. So now is called an 'autoimmune' rash. Mine is pretty bad, I do get looks, you know when someone is talking to you & they're just looking at it?

Maybe I should go to GP & get something, think you can.

Take care

Janie x

villier

Hi ouch, I have it and I have a bad flare going on right now, I get the redness on my face and the pustile spots luckily just under my jaw line. I am now on month four of anti-biotics and have also got a gel for my face as my skin is like sandpaper. You will maybe need to get anti-biotics from the doctor to clear it up. hopefully a three month course will do the trick..........................Marie xx

Mat48

I looked into Rosacea when I kept getting spots around my nose, cheeks and forehead but mine were itchy like insect bites and spread out and flared up so they were even on my neck and shoulder. After wondering about Rosacea my GP said that they were probably hives of the autoimmune variety. I still get one or two dotted around the place but nothing on the flare of a few months ago.

When I looked into Rosacea I learned that it is more like acne and affects people with fair skin most commonly. There are treatments for it and, according to my friend who has it, they can be very effective. It is often made worse by stress (flares), spicy food, alcohol and sun exposure. I would see your GP and suggest Rosacea if they don't - as they will probably give you a specific medication for it and hopefully that will keep it well controlled as it does for my friend. I think it is very close to the discoid butterfly rash of Lupus but doesn't mean you have Lupus - it's quite common in people with no autoimmune conditions too.