Caffeine: A Comrade or a Culprit?

[evolved]

I'm sorry, I just can't resist making fun titles.

Anyways, a few nights ago it occurred to me that caffeine might be a flushing trigger for myself. I honestly can't remember what gave me the realization... but something did. The reason I hadn't previously thought it was a trigger is because the effect is not immediate on me. In fact, I think it is delayed by about 8-10 hours.

Lately I have been flushing every single night when I come home from work... around 6 or so. I kept chalking it up to warm room syndrome... or something I ate for dinner when I got home. However, since I stopped drinking my morning cup of coffee 3 days ago, I have not had my regular late afternoon flush. Granted this has only been 3 days... but still quite a coincidence given the regularity it has been happing at.

I suppose it makes sense as the caffeine constricts your blood vessels (this is where the comrade part comes in... I know some members have said coffee clears their face, and I believe it helps mine for about an hour or so as well). But, as the caffeine wears off and your blood vessels go back to normal volume, the rebound effect kicks in. Perhaps this 8-10 hour day could help explain some other members mystifying night time flushing as well.

Searching the forum... I found that Froggirl also had this revelation:

I agree that the temperature of drinks is a bigger issue.

Caffeine also contricts blood vessels, which sounds good but unfortuenlty anything that causes contriction of blood vessels (caffeine, cold) can results in rebound dilation. Like any trigger though it won't be the same for everyone but would be something to watch out for. For caffiene this effect is delayed quite a bit, so might occur 6-8 hours after the caffeine was consusmed.

Hope this helps someone.

[sarahalberta]

I often wonder about caffeine myself... I LOVE coffee. I was a coffee addict for a few years, but when I heard it could be making me flush, I stopped. I still drink tea (but with much less caffeine).

I honestly can't really say if I've noticed a difference or not. I think I feel less red... so I continue not drinking it. I suppose I should have a big ol' cup one day and see what happens

I will say, I definitely notice the delayed flushing with alcohol. If I have a few drinks (or more ) at night, I'm always floored when I go to bed at how fine my skin looks. But the next morning, it's not pretty - patchy, flushy. All yuck.

[Brady Barrows]

Caffeine not on any rosacea trigger list:

NRS Trigger List

NRS Rosacea Triggers Survey

Rosacea 101 Trigger Factor List

Some might think that coffee is a rosacea trigger but that happens to be the only rosacea trigger that was reported in a clinical paper and found to be false. It was concluded that the caffeine wasn't the culprit. It was the thermally hot beverage. Technically drinking any hot beverage may trigger a flush.

Is Coffee a Rosacea Trigger?

As to caffeine being a rosacea trigger you would have to rule out any other possible triggers when you consume caffeine, like sugar, or any other food simultaneously digested. Maybe you will stimulate a discussion on this subject but this topic hasn't really come up as a big rosacea trigger.

[Mistica]

Caffeine must be a trigger in some people as it affects the adrenergic receptors. Those affected by the brimonidine hell will be well acquainted with this type of rebound flushing.
Of course caffeine results in a much reduced effect.

I have caffeine as it is part of my CAP treatment. Too much makes me redder. Smaller amounts reduce redness, but after the effect wears off, I am ready for another hit.

[MasK]

Be aware that caffeine shots the adrenals (as all the stimulants), I think that is a sufficient reason to avoid it totally
Decaf coffee has the same taste, and chicory is actually good for your health!

A little dance for you :

[GJ]

An interesting insight into caffeine...

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

Intriguing stuff, though his enthusiasm rather gets the better of him sometimes..

Coffee inhibits iron absorption if taken with meals, helping to prevent iron overload.

[MasK]

An interesting insight into caffeine...

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

Intriguing stuff, though his enthusiasm rather gets the better of him sometimes..

Coffee inhibits iron absorption if taken with meals, helping to prevent iron overload.

Very interesting website, thanks GJ!

[dmmmmm]

The facts are Caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, so it is unlikely to be a direct trigger. That would be similar, I think, to saying brimonidine or oxymetazoline is a trigger. The question is whether withdrawal from this causes a rebound dilatation. It certainly makes some sense. If you drink 10 cups of coffee for days, and just stop cold turkey --- I would be surprised if rosacea would not be worsened.

That being said, I drink diet cokes here and there, and haven't really noticed much of an effect. Perhaps the caffeine is too low concentrated to matter...

[Brady Barrows]

An interesting insight into caffeine...

http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/caffeine.shtml

Intriguing stuff, though his enthusiasm rather gets the better of him sometimes..

Coffee inhibits iron absorption if taken with meals, helping to prevent iron overload.

Dr. Peat wrote an article about rosacea in the Journal of the RRDi:

Rosacea, inflammation, and aging: The inefficiency of stress
by Raymond Peat, Ph.D.

Dr. Peat also serves as a volunteer on the RRDi MAC.

[Brady Barrows]

How do triggers get on a list? Basically the 'official' list began by a survey done by the NRS in 1999 of 3,151 rosacea patients. The NRS continues to survey rosacea patients to get such info. All these surveys are simply anecdotal. There are no clinical studies done on these surveys. If you surveyed the 19,650 members of this forum I imagine that there would be a certain number who would check off that caffeine triggers their rosacea. If the NRS had put caffeine on the survey I am sure there would have been some who would have checked off caffeine as well. However, apparently caffeine wasn't on the survey and has never been nor is currently on any rosacea trigger list. I have already cited the one and only clinical paper done on a rosacea trigger, coffee, which turned out to be thermally hot food. Recently there has been one more paper on a rosacea trigger which stated that Vitamin B Complex should be considered a rosacea trigger. Other than these two papers, I don't know of any other trigger ever written about in a clinical paper published at PubMed. If you know of one let me know so I can add it to the list. As to caffeine being on any 'official' rosacea trigger list, that remains to be seen and I doubt if caffeine makes it on the list since the anecdotal evidence is lacking and just because a few rosacea sufferers 'feel' that caffeine is a rosacea trigger just doesn't cut it. That is not even close to be substantial anecdotal evidence. The number of anecdotal reports needs to be substantial for caffeine to be on any rosacea trigger list.