persistent red marks on face

[cheloise]

Hope you can help.



For the past six months, I (35 yo male) have sported two reddish small patches to either side on my upper cheek right under the eyes. These red marks 'wing out' from the bridge of my of my nose and are about 3-4cm long and 2cm maybe wide. They are not very red, never itch and they never use to sting. Plus I don't have any other distinguishing red marks anywhere on the face



I went to my local doctor who had a cursory look and said possibly rosacea but wasn't sure and in fact was quite dismissive (I actually was there for him to treat another complaint). Anyway he prescribed me some rosex (metrogel) which i have used on the blotches for two weeks. It stings a touch while the redness still seems to be there.



Doing some research on the ailment, I now question whether this is rosacea as I have never ever flushed or blushed or even had a red face, let alone rosy cheeks in my life. Not to mention not having acne when I was young. In fact, my face is flawless apart from these two small red patches under my eyes.



If this is rosacea, will/could the red marks worsen, spread to other parts of the face and are pastules, pimples coming my way?



BTW, The red marks did disappear for a week or so but returned to more or less the same degree.



Hope you may have an idea. Ta

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Hard to say, though nothing serious comes to mind.  I agree that it takes more than a couple of intermittent red spots to diagnose rosacea.  Topical medications like metronidazole (the active ingredient in Rozex) take 4-6 weeks to work, so I would suggest continuing.  I also suggest a visit to a skin specialist for the kind of definitive diagnosis you need to have clarification, proper treatment, and reliable prognosis.



Take care.



Dr. Rockoff