Red Face

[mike jones]

When i began to get moderate acne a year ago, my face gradually started to get redder and redder as time went by....My entire face is constantly a tint of red, its annoying.........Recently(the past few months) my acne is slowly getting better.  I was on Minocycline during when i had acne. But now i only take it on occasion.  My doctor told me to slow down taking it then stop, then he told me to put Differin(adapalene .1%), on my face every night, He said this would help the redness left over to go away...........Well he said to take it a month, but its near a month, and the redness has calmed down some, as well as the little red dots from old acne.........The gel has also slowed oil production a little...My question is, is there any other method of getting rid of redness(entire face redness), how should i wash? how many times a day? with what? I currently use Cetaphil gentle cleanser.........please help, thank you.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Mike:

The good news is that redness from acne pimples goes away.  The bad newsd is that it takes months, and there's no real way to speed it up, beyond stopping new ones from coming and not picking or squeezing.

If your whole face is red and ruddy, there is little you can do besides usong makeup.  Of course, in our culture men do not wear makeup, so that is not practical.  Laser treatments for redness may help, but in my expereince often leave blotchyresults which loom worse than doing nothing.  You might look into this, but I am afraid that overall redness is something you will just have to learn to live with.

Best.  

Dr. R

[Ebru]

Could this be Rosacea (entire face redness). I know many with an Irish heritage develop a ruddy looking face but isn't this always Rosacea or an actual complexion change?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Some call it rosacea, but I don't, because it doesn't respond to roscaea treatment.

Dr. R

[Damien]

I am having the same problem and have came off minocyline at the start of the year and my face has cooled down a bit but is still very red.  In the info with minocyline it does mention it may cause redness in a few people.  however i see this problem coming up again and again.  The problems of ance are not solved by replacing it with redness.  I am trying to cool it down more if anyone knows of any good products avaliable in the UK could you tell me

[mike jones]

Damien, whats your email address, i want to ask you a few questions if you dont mind, thank you, Mike

[Damien]

dee_man42***@****

[marie]

It would be wise for those with red and/or ruddy faces to be checked for "tumor on adrenal gland".

I was checked twice, doctors thought this might be the cause
of the red flushing I had. Tests were o.k. both times. I have now been diagnosed with Rosacea/Telaniectasia.

Please do not overlook the possiblity of the adrenal gland test
being needed to rule out that as a cause.

Marie

[bill]

I have a similar problem, I'm 17 now and ever since the age of about 12 the redness in my face has been getting gradually more worse. I have read about a woman in a similar case, and it carried on getting worse in her for many years until she ended up collapsed and in hospital due to it. needless to say this is worrying, and also the asthetic aspect is not good. But the thing is nothing helps, cold makes it much worse, heat is awful, a normal temperature is just about ok, but any sort of excercise and it feels burning hot and can sometimes take till the next morning to be settled down again. I don't get any other symptoms like the hives or anything, but the right side of my face is slightly more red than the left. anyway, i'm fed up with it and need to know if there is a way, any way to get it sorted out, or at least reduce the redness a bit, just anything really!

thanks.

[Herb]

I too have the red face and needless to say it is a pain in the ***!  Bill I have the exact thing you describe.  If I find anything I'll be sure to post it here.

[nancy]

I have been red all the time for the last few years and I am older, oily skin, no acne. My dermatologist just diagnosed Rosacea. I have Metrogel and hav seen quite an improvement in almost 2 weeks. She wants me on it for 2 months and then she'll check. Hope this helps.

[Red]

On some occasions, and I dont know what causes it, when I drink (and it seems particularly with wine) I get a deep red face and a red rash on my upper chest area (actually mor the neck area and into the chest)
I go years without this happening...then it suddenly seems to happen.
I am a heavy drinker too...maybe an alcoholic, I dont know...I can give it up for lent or whenever I start a good long term relationship.  Thats not what I want to address here, but I wanted to give you all the info I could
Thanks!

[kim]

i'm a 16 year old girl and i also have a blotchy red tint to my face...and i would have to agree it is a pain in the arse...it stops me from doing the simplest things in life like swimming in summer because i am so self consious of it...i have been to skin specialists but they said there is nothing they can do about it except offer laser treatment but this is often risky and expensive...if anyone finds any thing that can be done about because i really hate wearing make-up and i am sick of trying to tan it out...please email me= xlr8_kim***@****
thankx very much its most appreciated:)

[darce]

I have been on a battle with my red face for years now. Im 21, had rosy cheeks since i was tiny! It is to the point where it is taking over my life ~ and Its probablly not even as bad as i think.  There are lots of things that cause the flare ups, but I have been diagnosed once with having rosacea and once with not having it.  I've been using certain makeup that helps ease my mind a bit, but there are certain things i cant avoid ~ like cold or hot weather especially.  If anyone has any input or advice, or tricks, Id love to hear! ***@****

[jack48]

A related discussion, red cheeks, HELP was started.

[blobs]

A related discussion, red blister typ face was started.