I have rosacea. As a pharmacist, I have endlessly researched what works and what doesn't work. Don't spend your money on books that claim to have a cure...I'll share what I've learned for free.
I had the typical redness and bumpiness on my chin and along my nose and between my brows starting in college, but I didn’t know I had it then. My dermatologist at the time called it “perioral dermatitis” and prescribed topical antibiotics like erythromycin for it. That worked great, and whenever it came back, I used the antibiotics again.
Ten years later when I complained to a co-worker about a little pimple outbreak on my chin, she said, "Maybe it's rosacea." The horror! I said, very quickly, “No, I don't--I have perioral dermatitis.” In my mind, my coworker might as well have said I had cancer!
All my dermatologists along the way just nodded when I said I had “perioral dermatitis.” They kept prescribing the topical antibiotics for me. One told me to stop using fluoride toothpaste, another said to stop using all makeup but another one said makeup didn't matter at all. Then finally one of them let me in on the secret--perioral dermatitis was just another name for rosacea. I almost cried. I had an incurable skin condition? No!!
Since this disorder doesn't kill you, I gradually came to terms with it, and I have tried a variety of things over the years to keep it under control.
Go here to see my top 3 recommendations to prevent flare ups once and for all.
At the root of it, rosacea is an inflammatory condition of the skin. Even though the cause is not known, there are simple things you can do to treat the inflammation. I believe that rosacea is an external manifestation of too much inflammation in the body, so I think it's important to take a more comprehensive route to treatment.
You can certainly go the prescription drug route--I used Metrogel for years, and it worked for me as long as I used it every day. I've also used Retin-A to clear up the bumpiness, and that worked, too. A friend did laser treatments, which worked beautifully at great expense, and I don't know if it turned out to be permanent. But I prefer to treat the underlying inflammation and be healthier in general than treat just my skin.
Welcome to my website! I hope you learn something useful. Feel free to contact me with what works for you, too.