re: your 'rosacea' column
my dermatologist prescribes a cortisone cream twice a day and a sulfur cream before bed
since i am only 55, i am concerned about long-term safety of such creams used every day----------------is there any danger?

No! No! No! I went to the ZO Skin Heatlth's Radical Night Repair link and the it lists 4 types of people that are not recommended for using this product. The first one is people with sensitive skin that is easily irritated. Umm...isn't this one of the biggest problems with rosacea besides redness? Don't put bad info out there and possibly (more than likely) make the problem worse.

I developed Rosacea a couple of years ago. Very annoying little disorder. I tried a product that Clinque has - it's for reddening skin (like Rosacea). I bought the whole package and it seems to help somewhat. I don't have many flare ups, so maybe the products work.

I was diagnosed at about age 45, but had it probably starting around 42. I gave up on trying to fight it with creams and had my dermatologist use a laser treatment. Not cheap, but has lasted a long time. I'm now about to turn 51 and have a couple of spots I am probably going to go have touched up. The things that bothers me about this condition is that is it considered cosmetic, so none of the treatments are covered by insurance. What forced me to finally go see my doctor was the pain I was experiencing while driving and the sun beating through the window. It can be a painful condition.

I really did not like the way this information was used for this person to sell her product. People with rosacea need to ask for their doctor for the correct product for their skin. They can also ask for a referral to a dermatologist for the correct treatment.

What do you think of also using minocycline? or are you an anti-drug prescriber. Respectfully, Hank

Yeah, sure. Buy the stuff that doctor sells...what a crock!

I have been using Metrocream for about 20 years with great success (no new broken blood vessels since I started using it daily). I would not use a steroid (cortisone)cream for extended periods because it thickens the skin.

MY DERM. SUGGESTED WASH WITH CETAPHIL GENTLE CLEANSER & PRESCRIBED METROGEL 1% - MY SKIN LOOKS GREAT AND KEEPS ROSACEA UNDER CONTROL.

METROGEL 1% VERY EXPENSIVE, BUT LASTS A LONG TIME.

Rosacea is much more common since 1995 and the international use of microwave communication systems. As a health stress, Microwave is a great cause of this affliction (and other immune system problems), first noticed in Sweden and gradually spreading, through wireless phones,wi-fi routers in homes, and computers. Keep in mind that microwave and lower frequencies are just lower frequecies in the electromagnetic spectrum, like sunshine. Women especially suseptable. If you have rosacea, at least try a few days staying a distance from wi-fi routers, cell phones, wireless home phones and see what happens...see actual videos of this situation at www.magdahavas.com

If you have rosacea try the baby quasar. It is a home light therapy device that worked for me when nothing else did. The up front cost is around 400.00 but it is all you need and has a five year warranty. It is sold on many website, shop around and good luck

Kiehl's centella regenerating cream has controlled my rosacea. I put it on every night in effected areas and it has never come back!

Salycilate intolerance will cause rosacea. Salycilates are not just in aspirin, Pepto, etc, they are in most foods, some higher than others.
Look up salycilate intolerance online. My step daughter is very fair skinned and she has it, she checked out food intolerances and made some diet tweeks and she looks a lot better, feels better and she lost weight too.

Lyrica as prescribed for post herpetic neuralgia has removed all signs of rosea from my face. Your doctor will not believe this but if you check with my dermatologist you will find that he too now believes it works.

I've had it for a long time ... I've tried metrogel (too drying) metrocream (was better) and a few other topical prescriptions. Didn't seem to improve anything but it didn't make it worse (well the metrogel did). I've also tried the Aveeno moisturizer/spf,for redness - works nice and is much cheaper. I've had the best success with First Aid Beauty products, when I use it, it really does calm the redness. It's pricy ($25 to $45) but it last a long time. It is too bad that the more long term solutions (laser resurfacing/IPL's) aren't covered by insurance. After all this IS a medical condition and it shouldn't be considered "cosmetic" ... I'm not asking for lypo or something, just to not have my face burn from the redness.

The Metrogel really irrated my skin terribly. Many things offered to treat my rosacea, actually made it worse. Presently I am using the Clindamycin Lotion and taking a antibiotic by mouth called Docycline. These are the only two things that have helped my skin and I also use an Emollient Cream on top of the Clindamycin Lotion, because I have dry and sensitive skin as well. The Emollient Cream is by Mary Kay. I need the oiliness because of the severely dry skin. I do not have the pimples. Just the painful, burning redness. And yes, it sure can hurt. Especially when driving in the car and the sun hits my face.

If this is inflammation of blood vessels, you might try using the same nutrition suggested for that. Inflammation is also a component of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and strokes. Fish oils can have anti inflammatory benefits. Maintaining a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids (naturally available in foods like fish oil and flaxseed oil) and low in omega-6 fatty acids (found in foods like red meat and dairy products) may help lower inflammation. Curcumin (a compound found in the curry spice turmeric) can overpower pro-inflammatory proteins called cytokines. investigators found ginger may reduce inflammation more effectively than non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as aspirin). Monica Reinagel's book "The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan" explains how the foods you eat can make make inflammation worse or reduce inflammation to improve your health risks. Naturally reduce inflammation by focusing on proteolytic enzymes. Proteolytic enzymes ingested on an empty stomach can retain up to 40% of their activity, and proteolytic enzymes appear to have an affinity to accumulate at sites of inflammation. There are impressive European studies that showed marked reductions in healing times of patients who used proteolytic enzymes