Pink patches near nose

Hello,

I'm a 17 year old female with a pale complextion.
This is a skin issue that I've had for as long as I could remember.

On the area next to my nose, I have these sploches of red.
They're not like fire truck red, but it's more of pinkness.
I used to think that the skin there might be dry (when I become obessed with gettingg clearer skin a few years back) and then I started trying to put moisture there by exfoliating and putting aloe or other more natural moisturizing things on there (I don't use store bought or over the counter face wahses because I don't like putting the chemicals on my face after I got a chemical burn from one once).
The problem still won't go away.
The area isn't dry, flakey, itchy.
Someone once asked if I had rosacea.
It's not something extreamly noticable, but the discolouration bothers me.

If I mention it, most people tell me just to start wearing foundation.
Though as I said, I'm only 17.
My skin doesn't need that much colour correction that foundation provides (when it comes to colour correction and makeup, I wear only some concealer for my dark circles.) Maybe in a few years, but I'd rather not cover up my problem. My skin is pretty clear (yea a bit of acne and black heads here and there but nothing too extream), and I'd rather show it off instead of covering up my whole face to conceal 2 patches of red skin (the only time I actually wear full foundation is when I'm doing pictures for my makeup portfolio, and even then, it's not on longer then a few hours).

After years of relentless teasing about how I looked from adults and other kids, last year, I decided to start trying to better myself and stop sitting in a pity party thats just lasted way too many years. Anyone have any ideas about what this pinkness might be??

Here's a couple pics:

http://i32.tinypic.com/11m4w2e.jpg

http://i31.tinypic.com/m957dl.jpg
(The pinkness isn't really picked up too well on my camera, so I tried to show where it was on drawing).


Thank you so much for your time,
Erica♥

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For these pink patches, rosacea definitely needs to be ruled out. The other possibility is of seborrheic dermatitis. The exact cause of rosacea is not known. The basic process seems to involve dilation of the small blood vessels of the face. It can be due to genetic causes, hormonal problems, the bacteria Helicobacter pylori (that is associated with stomach ulcers), gastrointestinal disease, and medications that cause blood vessels to widen.

Treatment options vary from antibiotic creams, antihistaminics, sun screens to laser treatment. A dermatologist’s evaluation will be the best.
It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.