Rosacea

What is Rosacea?

Rosacea is a long-term skin condition that mainly affects the face. It's more common in women and people with lighter skin, but symptoms can be worse in men. Treatment can help with symptoms.

The first signs of rosacea include:

• redness across your nose, cheeks, forehead, chin, neck and chest that comes and goes, usually lasting for a few minutes each time – your face may also feel warm, hot or painful
• a burning or stinging feeling when using water or skincare products

The redness may be harder to see on brown or black skin.

Other symptoms can include:

• dry skin
• swelling, especially around the eyes
• yellow-orange patches on the skin
• sore eyelids or crusts around roots of eyelashes – this could be blepharitis
• thickened skin, mainly on the nose (usually appears after many years)

Triggers

It's not known what causes rosacea, but some things can make symptoms worse.

Common triggers for rosacea include:

• alcohol
• spicy foods
• hot drinks
• sunlight
• hot or cold temperatures
• aerobic exercise, like running
• being stressed