Rosacea is a lifelong condition that can adversely affect emotional health and quality of life. Even when the physical symptoms of rosacea are relatively mild the impact on the quality of life for those living with the condition can be significant.
In a recent talkhealth survey assessing the impact of rosacea, in response to the question “How would your life change and what would you do differently if you were clear of rosacea symptoms”, 54% of respondents said they would either be less self-conscious or more confident/have more confidence.
Additionally, 28% of respondents referred to an improvement in their social life such as going out more, socialising more and improved relationships/dating if they didn’t have rosacea. Here’s what some of our respondents had to say:
- “My life would change dramatically, because I would feel more confident going out, without worrying who is looking at me, & I would feel much more confident & relaxed in photos, also on the dating scene!”
- “I would have a lot more self confidence in myself and be able to walk round with my head held high instead of worrying about what people think about the state and condition of my skin as Rosacea has had a huge impact on my day to day life.”
- “My self-confidence would grow and help improve my anxiety that I feel with my red patches on my face due to rosacea. It would be amazing if I could wake up and have clear skin like I had before! It’s overwhelming to even think about it, it would be life changing and I might even join in with family gatherings and photos.”
Below, we’ve created a word cloud of some of the most recurring words used in response to the question:
These results for the talkhealth survey tallied with other surveys and studies carried out on the emotional impact of rosacea. In a survey conducted by the National Rosacea Society in America 75% of respondents reported that their rosacea had lowered their self-esteem and 70% reported that their rosacea made them feel embarrassed. This survey also found that medical therapyled to reported improvements in emotional wellbeing (70% of respondents), professional interactions (60%) and social life (57%).
Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy indicates that severe rosacea negatively impacts emotional well-being with elevated psychological stress (depression and anxiety) and social phobia scores, suggesting that patients with severe rosacea are self-conscious about their appearance leading to the avoidance of social situations.
If you are living with rosacea and are struggling with either the physical or emotional impacts of the skin condition, you can find more support and articles here. In addition to this, talkhealth also provide a free patient support programme, myrosacea which provides 24 weeks of self-management support and advice, written and designed by medical professionals.
The post Rosacea and its impact on emotional health appeared first on talkhealth Blog.
ork hard to avoid rosacea triggers and make lifestyle changes to keep my skin condition under control, there are times when flare-ups happen. Inevitably, flare-ups happen at points in my life when I can’t just hide myself from the rest of the world.
Concealer – I’ve seen a lot of debate in this area. Some people with rosacea swear by green tinted concealer, others use yellow. I use a pale green, and I try to apply as thin a layer as I can. If the green colour is too dark, my foundation won’t cover it up, and the finished product looks muddy and greenish. Not exactly the best look. I won’t use anything darker than a pale minty green. The lime-green and grass-green colour correctors cover the redness but they refuse to be covered by my foundation. That said, since we all have different skin tones, you might find that a different shade of green or the yellow will work for you. If you have access to a makeup specialist who has experience with covering redness, I highly recommend consulting with him or her so you can test a few shades of concealer with your skin tone and to make sure they won’t cause your skin to react.
Blush – Believe it or not, after all that effort to cover redness, I do apply blush. With a very light hand, I apply just a touch of sheer pink in the colour that naturally occurs on my face. I add just a tiny bit of it to the tops of my cheeks, over my nose and up the side of my face to my temples. The key isn’t to give my cheeks redness, it’s to break the uniformity left behind by the foundation. After all, I want to look like a person, not a mannequin!
Keep brushes, sponges and other tools clean – If you give bacteria and other nasties the opportunity to grow on your makeup brushes, sponges and everything else you use to apply your makeup, they will. Spreading those critters over your face with each application will only increase the chance of irritation. I wash most of my brushes in a gentle, natural cleansing solution (I use soap nuts and water) and then rinse them after every use. That way, they’re dry and clean by the next time I need to apply makeup.
will be freezing cold, then the next day will be sunny and summery. That will be followed by another cold snap and then suddenly a rainy, damp day. Temperatures fluctuate. Humidity is up and down. The sun hides behind heavy clouds only to suddenly appear at a huge UV intensity. Not to mention the pollen! If there’s an environmental condition that can irritate my skin, the spring is likely to provide it.
Focus on sun protection – Sun exposure is one of my top rosacea triggers. That being the case, I do think of sun protection as a year-round effort. Particularly as I know that the majority of UV rays still penetrate the clouds. That said, the fact is that I naturally receive far less direct sun exposure in the winter than in the summer. Therefore, I not only need to start paying attention to protecting my skin as I always do, but I also need to keep in mind that my skin can easily go into “sun shock” from suddenly being exposed to far more sunshine than I have experienced in months. I upgrade my sunscreen and start focusing on keeping my face shaded either with large brimmed hats, parasols or staying out of the sun when I can.
Pay attention to seasonal allergies – Springtime allergies are a bit of a double-whammy for me. I have to cope with the fresh release of pollen and molds in the air outside from the damp, mild weather. However, this is also a time when a lot of winter allergies from indoor dust are at their worst because my home has been closed up for a few months. I find that a good spring cleaning, opening windows to air out my home (whenever it’s warm enough to do so) and talking to my doctor about allergy shots/antihistamine use is an important start for every spring. Allergies are a direct route to a rosacea flare-up for me, so keeping on top of them wherever possible is very important.
Focus on overall health – At the same time that I’m avoiding triggers, I also try to place an additional focus on my overall health. Springtime is a beautiful time of year to do that, too. I go for a lot of walks, enjoy some low- to mid-impact exercise and breathe the fresh air. I work on easing my stress and make meals that are packed with nutrients. This improves my overall skin health and general wellness. In this way, my skin is healthier and more resilient and the rest of my body is less prone to illness. Since having a cold or flu is a sure path to a flare-up, preventing infection is also a great way to kill two birds with one stone.
The best thing for you to do is to talk about it with your doctor. This may be your regular general practitioner or it could be a dermatologist.
At first, the odds are that you will be given a prescription and the instruction to make regular appointments for monitoring progress. If you were diagnosed by your general practitioner, this may mean that you will receive a referral to a dermatologist as well. If your physician or dermatologist does tell you to use a prescription and make certain changes to your lifestyle, it is important to follow them consistently and to the letter.
After that first few days, the redness came back with a vengeance. In fact, it worsened. Moreover, the booklet wasn’t joking when it said that a side effect was increased sun sensitivity. Yikes! I wasn’t supposed to mix the medication with my own moisturizers or sunscreens, so I found myself desperately trying to keep to the shade. I bought big hats, and stuck to shadowy areas as much as I could. I felt like a vampire and it did not make for a fun summer!
So I started learning on my own. I researched heavily. At first, I fell for “rosacea cure” scams, but I came to recognize that there wasn’t a cure out there so I should stop looking for it. Instead, I looked into any studies I could find – there weren’t that many at the time – and began thinking of my rosacea from another angle. I stopped looking for something I could simply apply to my face to correct all my symptoms. Instead, I started thinking of my skin as a reflection of everything else going on in my body.
At this point, I’d moved and was seeing a new doctor. My old doctor wasn’t always thrilled when I made any suggestions of my own, so when I saw my new doctor for the first time, I was nervous about bringing up 
At the same time, I stopped caring about my looks as a whole. I didn’t dress up anymore. I didn’t do anything with my hair. I kept myself clean and groomed, but didn’t make any real efforts. Why bother? I’m not saying that people need to wear makeup, dress up and do their hair in any special way. How you style yourself is up to you. But those were things that used to bring me a lot of joy. They were a fun part of my life. Rosacea ruined that for me for a time, and I gave up on them because I felt like I’d never again be able to get the results I wanted.
From my experience of over a decade and a half with rosacea, I hope you will allow me to share these few lessons with you. I’m not a doctor or a skin care specialist. I’m someone with the condition who went through a very long, slow learning curve. I’m hoping these lessons will help you to rocket through the process much more quickly than I did:
When I first heard of light therapy, I’d already had rosacea symptoms for 15 years. I’d tried prescription medications – lots of them – as well as a number of different drugstore products. I’d tried some natural options with limited success.
Here’s where I became very lucky. I was asked if I would be willing to test high powered LED red light on my rosacea-prone skin to see what would happen. I was sent the powerhead bulb, a clamp light and a pair of protective goggles (despite the fact that there is no evidence that this wavelength could harm eyes when used in this way, better safe than sorry, right?).
Red light therapy 
Amber light therapy 
Red and amber combined 
Blue light therapy 
Green light therapy 
Overall, light therapy for rosacea has been among the most effective treatments I’ve ever tried. I still have some redness and I do get the occasional