Could it be Rosacea?

How you guys doing? Well I'm a 23 year old male and suffered from real bad acne at the age of 15 to the point where I had to take Accutane to get rid of the problem. I took Accutane for 6 months when I was about 16 and after I stopped taking it I was left with some scarring on both my cheeks. The problem is that  after I stopped taking Accutane, both my cheeks remained a real pink color as well as my nose! Dermatologists told me that it was because of the scarring and will fade away within time! Well I'm going on 7 years now with the same problem and my cheeks and nose still remain a real pinkish color with no sign of improvement but not getting worse either. Sometimes even my ears and palms of my hands get really red for some reason but then it goes away! From what I heard Rosecea is mostly an adults' condition that starts at age 30 and up with the exception of a few cases. Could it be that I have Rosacea? Ain't I too young to have it? This problem of my cheeks and nose being pink started when I was 17 and has remained steady pink 24/7 for 7 years but within that time I've never had a breakout of any sort. I mean if it is Rosacea that I have how come my condition has been steadily the same for 7 years instead of getting worse? Doesn't Rosacea get worse within time? I'm confused. Could it be Rosacea or could it be some dreadful side effect of Accutane or something else? thanx!!!

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

No, it's not a side-effect of Accutane.  The red marks left over from pimples go away in 6 months or so, but what seems to have happened here is that getting rid of your pimples helped uncover a naturally ruddy complexion, one prone to flushing with heat or other stimuli.  People with that kind of skin sometimes develop rosacea, but just having redness doesn't mean rosacea, and rosacea treatments don't help.  Women who are redder than they want to be use makeup.  Most men don't do anything, but there are laser procedures which can safely blunt the redness if it makes you self-conscious, so you can look into that if you want.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff