2006 Q&A - Interview with Dr Crouch

[redhotoz]

Dr Crouch has contacted me and agreed to do a Q&A within his field of expertise - Laser Specialist.

Please, please, please (did I say please?) could we stick to just questions in this thread. Otherwise it will make my job much harder to put the questions together for submission to Dr Crouch.

I will leave this thread as a Sticky for about 2 weeks and then submit the questions to Dr Crouch.

Ok, away we go. Who has a question?

Jen

[ADS6]

Dr. Couch -

First of all thanks for answering all the questions I'm sure you'll get.

I know in a previous interview you stated that IPL on the ears was pretty much a no-no unless there was a serious problem there.

My ears are indeed my most serious problem. They are a constant pink to scarlet and can feel like they're on fire a great deal of the time. The rest of my face isn't all that bad. The burning and such has been reduced with all (all means quite a bit of things) I've been doing. I have no P&Ps and just a bit of a pinkish tone to my cheeks and nose from time to time. So anyway are ears still a no-no? If I could get them calmed I could get on with life a lot better.

Thanks,

Alan

[Twickle Purple]

Dear Dr. Crouch,

Thank you so much for answering our questions.

I am very fair and have used med-high potency steroid ointments on my face for 40+ years and have telangiectasia over almost every millimetre. I have rosacea on my face, neck and ears. It is not just 'steroid' rosacea, (I get rosacea flares from Tacrolimus and Elidel as well) I have severe Rosacea due to hereditary factors. Do you recommend lasers for my skintype and if so which kind?

Thank you very much.
Twickle Purple

[alecashley]

hello dr if ipl and yag fail to decrease redness do you still use pulse dye laser. and must you have the settings on bruse mode to halt redness. thank you.

[Twickle Purple]

Dear Dr. Crouch,

What do you recommend for ears and eyelids?

Thank you,
Twickle Purple

[Miki]

im 24 and i have been flushing since i was a child. i was told by my dermatologist that he could not do anything about it and that laser would not help. he told me that laser does not work for my specific subtype and that it only addresses visibly broken blood vessels. is there any truth to that?

thank you.

[cheesy]

Dear Dr. Crouch, thank you for your time


Its a year since your last interview on this forum, has anything arisen in terms of protocols or new technologies, that allows a greater level of treatment success for rosaceans.

Are there any new treatments that have caught your eye or future treatments, either laser or other, that have caught your eye as potential effective treatments.

A number of people have suggested that their laser treatments have worsened their condition (not done by you), can you offer any explanation as to why laser treatment can be a negative tool for some people.

your technique of blood mapping appears an are of intrigue, how have you found this as a tool to follow treatment progression.

Regards

[alecashley]

IPL IS NOT REALLY HELPING ME WITH MY BACKROUND REDNESS. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS DO YOU STILL TURN TO THE PDL. IF YES, COULD YOU ELABORATE. DO YOU FEAL THAT AT SOME POINT VESSELS COULD BECOME IMUNE TO LASER LIGHT . I KEEP HEARING THAT PEOPLE GET TREATMENT BUT AFTER TIME, IT DOES NOT HELP ANYMORE. THANK YOU.

[shaun]

Dr Crouch,
Thank you for your time ,i haunwant to ask you about my nose it is very swollen mostly at the tip which is very hard could you help in reducing the swelling & burning that i get when i am hot?
My family as an history of Rhinomypia i am looking like it as been passed on to me
Regards S

[lafittevillage]

Thanks for answering our questions!

I have a few, some of which might have been answered before.

1 - How do you feel about a multipronged approach to rosacea? For example, aside from seeking out IPL/laser treatments, how do you feel about rosacea diets (and do you feel food is a huge rosacea culprit) or medication such as beta blockers and accutane?

2 - Which IPL/laser machines do you trust the most and which machines do you use for which symptom--flushing/blushing/p&p.

3 - Should IPL/laser settings be different for everyone?

4 - When seeking out an IPL/laser/dermatologist/other form of doctor that can help treat rosacea, what should a patient focus on? Should a doctor know anything in particular?

5 - What do you tell a patient that has been unresponsive to IPL/laser? Moreover, what do you tell a patient that has responded negatively to IPL/laser?

6 - Finally, how is your rosacea? : )

I think that's it for now! Sorry if you have given responses to these questions before!