Any Advise, pic showing flushing

[MissM]

Yes just to echo this - I just saw a derm who sees lots of patients for neurogenic rosacea/flushing. I asked him if laser would be a possibility for me, and perhaps since he knows so many derms he could recommend a laser practitioner for me ... and he said that 50% of his patients he sees have been DUE TO laser damage ... eek

Hi Lizzy,

Ugh, that's a horrible statistic! Does your derm then advise against laser work if one has the nuerogenic type of rosacea?

[laser_cat]

****. Fifty percent? That is awfully high. I'm glad I'm being super careful, then. I'll be driving two hours to see my V-Beam doctor. I was going to just do IPL here in my hometown, but the place I went to was a Med Spa, and the more I thought about it, the more it started to sound like a bad idea.

The guy claimed to have lots of experience treating vascular rosacea with IPL, but he's not a dermatologist, and something about it just didn't feel right to me. So I'll be driving two hours out of town to see a guy who is both a board certified dermatologist and with years and years of experience (and proof) of successfully using V-Beam on rosacea. Am I pleased about the drive? No, and the cost will be greater than if I'd just done IPL. But I have done research and I have found WAY more reports of serious adverse reactions with IPL than with V-Beam.

In short...be very careful who you choose to do your laser treatment. We're riding a very fine line here between helping and hurting ourselves. Trust me, I'm scared out of my mind. But it's something I want to try, so I'm going to, albeit very, VERY carefully.

Lasercat, do you think you will consider trying a laser treatment in the future? What else did your derm say about lasers? Anything noteworthy?

Well, one thing to keep in mind I suppose is that I know this derm only sees referrals/difficult cases, so the 50% is going to reflect that. I know he has patients fly in to see him. He said sometimes patients get worse with the first laser tx, while others do ok until the settings are turned up too much for them.... That's all I know from him. I don't think it is the norm to have laser damage.

I'm not going to consider laser right now I think. However, I have read many ppl on this forum who finally get relief from the right laser/the right practitioner. And a couple ppl with facial erythromelalgia (sort of like very painful rosacea) who say vbeam helps somewhat ... So, it's tempting, but perhaps down the line when there are absolutely no more meds for me to try! (Just starting plaquenil, eg.)

Probably wise not to go with the med spa! Do keep us updated. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you

[laser_cat]

Hi Lizzy,

Ugh, that's a horrible statistic! Does your derm then advise against laser work if one has the nuerogenic type of rosacea?

MissM -

Lol I was shocked too. My derm didn't specifically advise against laser for neurogenic rosacea ... just relayed that fact. See my post above

//Lizzy

[Gil1978]

I am worried about the laser i just dont know what else i can do for this flushing/red face.

[nat007]

Yes just to echo this - I just saw a derm who sees lots of patients for neurogenic rosacea/flushing. I asked him if laser would be a possibility for me, and perhaps since he knows so many derms he could recommend a laser practitioner for me ... and he said that 50% of his patients he sees have been DUE TO laser damage ... eek

That is a gob-smacking statistic for sure... My derm also isn't very enthusiastic about laser or IPL for subtype 1 rosacea, especially when it is advanced and the skin is hyper reactive. I had IPL with someone called Mervyn Patterson in the UK, who had what seemed to be a good reputation back in 2005 (with an older Quantum machine - test patches I asked for were not necessary he said; it either worked or it did nothing, never made worse). But his IPL treatment made my rosacea MUCH much worse, and I suffer from it til this day. Test patch always!! As many as you need to be convinced that the machine, the settings and the filters and energy used are right for your skin

[litenerik]

Gil1978, read this

Hi all, this is actually my first time here at the forum.(and sorry if my English is not that good, Im from the Nordic countries haha) Let me tell briefly how my flushing got started and how I cured it, I would be glad if these tips helped someone else as well.

So, the first time I noticed red spots on my cheeks was about 5 years ago. They were constantly red throughout the day, but in addition I had these very embarrassing episodes of redness that occurred for no specific reason randomly at some points of the day. Even people at my workplace noticed it, but they were sort of ignoring it. But I was a shy guy back then, and when the flushing started I felt like **** as I thought that shyness increases when you are having red cheeks. I had no self esteem basically.

I struggled from the red spots for 4 years, until I met a girl who was working as a cosmetologist(?). We started dating, and at some point I told her that the past years have been awful as I've suffered from red cheeks all the time. I asked her if there is anything I can do to cover the redness so that I could feel more confident. I had previously tried different kinds of lotions, and spent a heck a lot of money on all kinds of stuff. ( e.g. green tinted rosacea lotions and other stuff)

Here comes the interesting part:

This may sound ridiculous at first but trust me, it was a life changer for me. With the help of my girlfriend, we bought a make up lotion. Yes, at first I was like oh how am I supposed to wear this as I'm a man, and make up is for women, etc. Surprisingly, when I tried the make up cream, the colour of my skin became normal instantly. We only used a small amount of it. And even the burning feeling on my cheeks disappeared as I covered the red spots with that cream. Then became the big day for me: I applied the cream for the first time before work. And I was surprised that my cheeks looked completely normal throughout the day, I was feeling extremely confident, I chatted with my colleagues like never before, and when I went to the toilet to see if the cream was visible, the cream blended so well to the tone of my skin that it took me a while to understand I had really found a solution to my problem. Now I've been using the cream for 1 year now, I apply it in the morning after shower, and I put a normal moisturising lotion before I tap in the make up cream. It last the whole day and completely vanishes my blushing and red spots. I've even heard comments from friends that my cheeks are not red anymore. And the cream has not affected my manliness at all, as one can not notice Im wearing a covering make up cream. You have to look very closely if you can tell that Im using a make up product.

The make up cream I've been using is Lumene CC cream, here in the Nordics it comes in 3 different tones, I think. And this post is not an advertisement haha.

Some other methods I've noticed that have helped reducing the redness:
- Cutting off coffee completely, and replacing it with tea
- No red wine
- Avoiding spicy foods
-Drinking a decent amount of water

I really hope this post helps someone who is struggling with the condition I'm having ( or actually I would say I had, as my cheeks are normal colour so I even forget that Im having the condition)

If you have any questions, I'd be happy to help you.