Help for rosacea/hypersensitivity skin brought on by irritation

[gerree]

A few months ago I used a product that brought on a skin irritation which has persisted in various forms. It seems have developed into some form of rosacea, but I didn't really have a lot of blushing/flushing problems until the irritation occured. I was prescribed Elidel (by a derm) at one point, which made it evem worse. I went from having pink and irritated skin to out-and-out flushing episodes which finally subsided after a couple of months. Recently these seem to have started back up again. I've tried many different products for rosacea but so far nothing seems to help for very long.

To make matters worse, I am also having on and off scalp irritations, as well as around the back of neck and ears. My skin is often so irritated now, everything bothers it...eating, chemicals in the air, heat, cold, and of course, topicals. My other problem is that my skin is incredibly dry. I have to use petroleum jelly in the winter, because no cream or lotion, no matter how intense, seems to help this. It would be nice if I could use nothing on my skin for awhile, but after a day or two my skin is so dry, flakey, and painful it is intolerable.

I feel like I need to find a product that will help soothe/heal the irritation, but also perhaps a barrier cream of some sort that will protect my skin from the environment in the process. It would also be nice to find something moisturizing enough that I could go without the Vaseline, but at this point it seems like a tall order. I have already tried a myriad of products, and I know there are many more out there, but my pocket book is getting low, and I can tell you nothing is worse than buying something you can't return and finding you have a reaction to it.

I don't trust Metrogel or the typical prescriptions, especially after my reaction to the Elidel. I belong to a rosacea support forum and most of the members have really had little or no long term success with Metrogel or Noritate except for with acne, which I don't have much of.

I am at my wits in with the flushing, burning, and irritation. I can't sleep at night, and my skin is so hypersensitive I can't even wear makeup to cover the problem (I have even tried mineral makeup w/only four ingredients...this too was irritating after awhile). I just turned thirty years old, and suddenly I feel like I'm going on sixty. I always had skin that was on the dry, sensitive side, but this far beyond anything I ever expected. I never had much of a problem with flushing or blushing, and up until now hot/spicey foods, heat, cold, etc. never bothered me much. The only thing that really made me pink at all would be hot showers if I put my face directly in the stream.

I have been to a couple of derms and an M.D. and so far I haven't had much luck getting help. I don't feel like I am being taken seriously...they treat this problem as minor, that it will just go away if I wait it out. After 4 months I'm convinced it's not going away on its own. HELP ME, PLEASE!

[mojo1345]

A related discussion, skin irritation was started.

[gerree]

What a waste of $19. And you are supposed to be an expert? Thanks for nothing.

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I would love to offer help, but I really don't know how.  In your list of complaints, you include the face, the scalp, the ears, the neck, and describe sensistivity to antibiotics, nonsteroid eczema creams, and products of every sort, including moisturizers.  I just don't know of any medical condition which explains this constellation of symptoms.  Certainly rosacea--which affects just the middle third of the face--doesn't fit it.

Flushing, by the way, doesn't go away when rosacea is treated--only the pimples do, and perhaps a little of the redness.

I advise you to wash with nothing but Cetaphil lotion and use the same brand of moisturizer.  That's the least irritating product I know of.  And if you still feel sensitive, you may just have to live with the sensation.  Perhaps your body and mind will get used to it and permit you to ignore it.  I don't know of any product or regimen, cheap or costly, which will totally solve the mix of symptoms you have listed.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff