All the way back at the beginning of April I was invited to a round table on the subject of Rosacea.
I have blogged about my battle with Rosacea before and it is a condition that really affects my life.
During this round-table with fellow bloggers, including The Olivers Madhouse and Franglaise Mummy, beauty experts and the beautiful Dr Ellie Cannon we discussed the condition, its triggers, treatments we had tried and the emotional impact that it has on our lives.
Although all our symptoms varied, the common consensus was that it made us feel self-conscious and wary of going out in public, especially without a coating of make-up.
Rosacea is a chronic skin condition (this means it is ongoing), that causes some or all of these symptoms on the face:
- Persistent redness / flushing in the cheeks
- Papules and pustules on the skin
- Visible thread veins
- Thickened skin
- Eye irritation / dryness
Personally I suffer from persistent flushing across my cheeks, nose, chin and forehead, occasional papules across the cheeks, visible veins and occasionally eye irritation, especially due to a flare up and have suffered from the condition for over 10 years, although it is visibly worse now.
I have learned to live with it, but I hate going out without a coat of foundation to try and reduce the redness and have grown my fringe out so that it flops over my face, hiding my cheeks. Some days are better than others, but when I am having a flare up I am embarrassed to leave the house.
Triggers also make it worse, and are impossible to avoid.
- Exposure to sunshine
- Hot Weather
- Cold Weather
- Exercise
- Wind
- Spicy Food
- Alcohol
- Stress
- Medication
- Central Heating
- Hot Baths / Showers
- Humidity
- Make-Up
- Face Creams
Those are just a few of the most common triggers – there are many more!
*Takes deep breath and adds a photo*
When I have a trigger, no amount of make-up will cover it up and my face feels as though it is burning. It is a really horrible condition to live with and I won’t eat spicy food or drink alcohol in public (not that we get the chance to anyway). It affects me that much that I want laser surgery on it for my 40th birthday.
The reason we attended the round- table is that Galderma are launching a brand new treatment called Mirvaso that reduces the flushing on your face for up to 12 hours. You can read Dr Ellie’s article on Rosacea and reducing redness here.
Mirvaso is available on the NHS although frustratingly, as it is so new, my GP couldn’t prescribe it as it “isn’t on their system”. I have since written to them and am awaiting a reply as I would really love to attend my daughters 21st birthday and Britmums without being self-conscious.
In the meantime, if you have Rosacea or think you may be suffering from it, Galderma have launched a fab new website www.myrosacea.co.uk which is packed full of information and advice to help sufferers.
Inspired by Jaime from The Olivers Madhouse I am booking myself a make-up consultation with Bare Minerals too!
Next month the #ActOnRed campaign is being launched across the UK – make sure you join us in helping people get diagnosed correctly and gain access the correct treatment.
awww Kara this made me cry, I am so honoured we can all support each other but also as i know how much this is a debilitating condition and it affects your life everyday.
I cant wait to hear how you get on with the Bareminerals make under .. i have now got some products at home and i am due to write up my post soon on being able to achieve the cover at home.
xx
Great information about a condition I knew nothing about. Your face looks so sore in those photos, it must be so frustrating. I hope you can find something to help your symptoms.
That is a long list of triggers, many of them unavoidable, must be a constant nuisance and painful too. I hope you manage to get hold of the treatment cream x
Ohh bless you sweetie I know this can get so bad aww glad you are finding a product that does help ,x
Well done for sharing those photos! It is such a horrible thing to have as no one really knows about it unless they have suffered from it. Here’s hoping that between the lot of us we can shed a light on it and help people who are being wrongly diagnosed. Thanks for linking back to me too x
Oh gosh it does look really sore when it flares up! I do so hope your GP gets back to your with a prescription. And I can definitely recommend Bare Minerals… I am very self-conscious about actually wearing make-up, but love how light and gentle Bare Minerals are so don’t mind those at all.
It must be very hard for you when it flares up. I hope you can find some relief for it.
Oh your poor thing 🙁 I think we all know that how we look doesn’t affect how much people like us but I also know that pretty much everyone has stuff that makes them feel self conscious. FWIW I have rubbish skin and I use Bare Minerals, cost me a fortune but it lasts FOREVER and is worth every penny x
It’s so sad and frustrating when theres something that can help and it’s not available! Hope you can try it soon x x
oh bless you, your face looks like it must be so sore. Great informative post
Poor you, it looks so sore, it must be horrible. I hope your laser surgery helps you and that you find the Bare minerals effective x
So sorry, it looks like that must be really difficult for you. My skin can be tricky too, so I always wear foundation as well. I wore Bare Minerals for my wedding day and loved it.
Thank you for sharing your photos, it must be incredibly hard to be so honest but I now feel that I have a much greater understanding of what living with this condition is like. I hope that your GP is able to prescribe this new treatment and that you can gain more confidence. I will be looking out for #ActonRed x
I have a number of friends for who Rosacea is a real problem. Well done for writing this post, I will share it with anyone I know who struggles with this.
It must be really tough to deal with a condition like this. Your face looks really sore. I think you are really brave for sharing your story, I hope you can find some sort of relief for it soon x
I hope the new project will help to spread the word
I haven’t heard of this condition before but thanks for being so brave and sharing your experience.
I hope you hear from your doctors soon; that looks so sore and I can’t imagine having to live with it xx
I admit to not knowing anything about this condition. It’s bad enough though when you go flushed when embarrassed, hoping you get answers soon.
This is a very informative post. I hope the new products bring you some respite from what is obviously a debilitating condition.
I didn’t know much about this before reading your post. Thank you for sharing. It’s a shame that you have to avoid so many things because of the large amount of triggers. I hope that your GP gets his system updated soon!x
Informative post. I hope you get the relief you deserve