General information:  Rosacea is a very common skin disease. If you have it, you live with good company.  Many well-known people that you may know live with rosacea throughout their lives:  our former president Bill Clinton, the British royal family including Prince Charles, Princess Diana, and their children, to name a few.   Dr. Liana Abramova and her staff specialize in the diagnosis of rosacea and will help you understand and manage the condition effectively.  Call Dermatology of Virginia in Fairfax at (703) 828-7128 and schedule your appointment today.

What are the Signs and Symptoms?   It often starts with a tendency to blush easily around the nose, cheeks and slowly spread to the forehead, chin, ears, and even upper body like chest and back.  It can also present with acne-like breakouts, visible blood vessels, skin thickening, bumps, or eye redness and irritation.  Rosacea has 4 subtypes, including Erythematotelangiectatic (redness with visible blood vessels), papulopustular (redness with acne-like pimples), phymatous (thick and bumpy skin), and ocular (redness and irritation of eyes and eyelids).  Rosacea is a chronic condition without a known cure.  Flare-ups can occur even with treatments.  Like acne, rosacea can leave a lasting emotional, social, and psychological impact on affected people if not understood or managed appropriately.

What causes Rosacea?  Millions of Americans are living with rosacea.  Most are fair-skinned, from Celtic or Scandinavian ancestry, in family with rosacea/acne.  No one knows for certain the true causes of rosacea  but scientists have postulated many theories which range from inheriting genes for rosacea, having overreacted immune system, having a mite living on the skin or a bug infecting the intestines, to abnormal involvement of a protein in the skin.

General info on Rosacea Treatment: Rosacea can be correctly diagnosed by examining the skin and eyes.  Different forms of rosacea need different types of treatment.  There are many ways to keep rosacea under control but none to cure it completely.  Treatment options range from topical creams and medicated wipes for mild cases to photodynamic therapy or laser for more severe cases.