Rosacea

Abstract

Rosacea is a common skin disorder most often seen in individuals between the ages of 30 and 60. The condition frequently produces erythema, papules, pustules, and edema of midfacial skin. Ocular rosacea occurs in a high percentage of patients, and is a major cause of red eye. A variety of treatments exist that can eliminate pustules, but no therapy is highly effective in eliminating the vascular flushing associated with rosacea.

Rosacea – global diversity and optimized outcome: proposed international consensus from the Rosacea International Expert Group

“…Caucasians of Celtic origin appear to be particularly susceptible to the condition, whilst it is less common in dark skinned individuals. Conservative estimates suggest that rosacea affects 13–14 million individuals in the US alone, 4,5 i.e. at a prevalence rate of approx 5%.…”

“…The patient’s discomfort and distress can make it difficult for them to appreciate therapeutic improvements, affecting both the patient‐doctor relationship and concordance with treatment. Around 75% of rosacea patients suffer from low self‐esteem and approximately 70% experience feelings of embarrassment and frustration associated with their condition 5,85,92 . A clinical investigation highlighted the presence of co‐morbidity between rosacea and depressive illness, correlating it with cosmetic disfigurement.…”

An observational descriptive survey of rosacea in the Chinese population: clinical features based on the affected locations

“…Ocular rosacea is a subtype that displays a series of non-specific ocular symptoms. For the first three subtypes, the present method of assessing the severity of this disease classifies the progression of rosacea into four general stages (Wilkin et al, 2004): Stage 1, which is characterized by frequent blushing; Stage 2, which is characterized by transient erythema of the central areas of the face, and obvious, but slight, telangiectasias; Stage 3, which includes more severe facial erythema, increased telangiectasias, and papule and pustule formation; and Stage 4, which is the most severe, and is also known as rhinophyma (Zuber, 2000). Based on this classification system, it could be inferred that the stages of rosacea might evolve from one to another and rhinophyma seemed to be the “end-stage” (Wilkin, 1994; Jansen & Plewig, 1997).…”

Critical review of the manner in which the efficacy of therapies for rosacea are evaluated

“…Rosacea is triggered by various factors, especially hot drinks, spicy food, alcohol, or cold weather, which may lead to increased blood flow to the face and hence frequent blushing and flushing in affected individuals 2 . The severity of rosacea has been graded according to stages 3–5 …”