This is directed toward MrsZ or anyone else who has or has dealt with steroid induced rosacea. Last July I ignorantly put a steroid cream on my face (mometasome furoate) in hopes that it would clear my skin, I was entirely uneducated as to what it was and an equally uneducated friend of mine gave it to me saying that they use it to spot treat. Well it did indeed clear the pimples and I got carried away and applied it all over my face. I eventually went on line to read what this "miracle" cream was and was horrified to see the side effects, so I discontinued use. Sense then in addition to moderate persistent acne I now have a permanently red face, that of which I have no idea what to do about. Will this ever go away? Supposively steroid rosacea is curable but my face has been extremely red for 9+ months now. This post will be deleted as soon as I get a reply from MrsZ, thanks.
This is directed toward MrsZ or anyone else who has or has dealt with steroid induced rosacea. Last July I ignorantly put a steroid cream on my face (mometasome furoate) in hopes that it would clear my skin, I was entirely uneducated as to what it was and an equally uneducated friend of mine gave it to me saying that they use it to spot treat. Well it did indeed clear the pimples and I got carried away and applied it all over my face. I eventually went on line to read what this "miracle" cream was and was horrified to see the side effects, so I discontinued use. Sense then in addition to moderate persistent acne I now have a permanently red face, that of which I have no idea what to do about. Will this ever go away? Supposively steroid rosacea is curable but my face has been extremely red for 9+ months now. This post will be deleted as soon as I get a reply from MrsZ, thanks.
Why delete this post when you receive a response? The question and responses might be very helpful to others who might find themselves in a similar situation AND may help warn others who are tempted to do the same.
Treatments for steroid induced rosacea include:
Oral antibiotics (a derm can prescribe those after examining you in person).
Daily moisturizing with petrolatum jelly or other similar soothing product.
Gentle cleansing with mild, non medicated cleanser (Cetaphil, purpose, etc).
Never using a topical steroid on your skin again!
Avoiding rosacea triggers as well if those tend to increase your redness (caffeine, etc).
Something is telling me that you are not giving us all of the details here.
Did you stop the steriods nine months ago?
Are you using other things on your skin?
Rosacea is marked by flares and remissions, not by constant redness. Constant redness is usually due to irritation.
You mentioned in your PM that you were going to go on Accutane - but chickened out. This would mean that you have a dermatologist. Dermatologists generally only recommend Accutane as a very last resort for acne and rosacea and usually only after antibiotics have been tried and failed. What does your dermatologist say about your condition and what else have you been given?
My recommendation for anyone with steriod induced rosacea is this: high dose treatment of antibiotics for 3 - 4 months, no topicals - except for maybe a metrogel - gentle cleansing with a fragrance free cleanser, lots of moisturizing and application of vaseline petroleum jelly every night at bedtime and during the day if you are not going out in public. If you take antibiotics make sure you are not doing anything to ruin their effectiveness (taking vitamins, taking with milk or with food etc.)
Something is telling me that you are not giving us all of the details here.
Well I didn't want to type a novel, lol.
Did you stop the steriods nine months ago?
I stopped using them back in July of 2008 I used the cream for a little over 6 weeks in total give or take, full face coverage. I had/have moderate acne in the first place which was what got me into this mess, but my skin was always normal toned before, and if it was ever red it was only around breakouts etc. but now it's litteraly mask like most of the time, ranging in color from dark pink to dark red if triggered.
Are you using other things on your skin?
At the moment I am using Arbonne acne kit thing, yes, I know it's likely not the smartest thing but of everything its the only thing thats had slight improvement on the redness, although I think it was a placebo effect as its now red again but I continue use because it does help somewhat w/ the acne side of things.
Rosacea is marked by flares and remissions, not by constant redness. Constant redness is usually due to irritation.
It does get much redder when I eat, am in sun, hot, etc, and when I get out of the shower my face can be tomatoe like, but it is always constant medium to dark pink, but does get much much darker whenever I am stressed, hot, etc. etc.
You mentioned in your PM that you were going to go on Accutane - but chickened out. This would mean that you have a dermatologist. Dermatologists generally only recommend Accutane as a very last resort for acne and rosacea and usually only after antibiotics have been tried and failed. What does your dermatologist say about your condition and what else have you been given?
We haven't really discussed much of the rocasea side of things yet actually, but my apointment is today, yet far for the most part he seems to focus on strictly the acne. So far I've been on birth control, spiro, finacea, short run of antibiotics, doxycycline to be specific, the majority of topicals I can't use because my skin's too sensetive due to this so I can't attempt them. But yes I did indeed chicken out of the high dose full course accutane, I was scared it would make the redness etc. worse as I've never seen anything mentioned about steroid rocasea and high dose accutane being a treatment aside from your post.
My recommendation for anyone with steriod induced rosacea is this: high dose treatment of antibiotics for 3 - 4 months, no topicals - except for maybe a metrogel - gentle cleansing with a fragrance free cleanser, lots of moisturizing and application of vaseline petroleum jelly every night at bedtime and during the day if you are not going out in public. If you take antibiotics make sure you are not doing anything to ruin their effectiveness (taking vitamins, taking with milk or with food etc.)
What would you consider to be a high dose of antibiotics? Also, will this ever go away or is it always going to be like this? This has taken an extreme toll on my life and sanity level as is so I'm just hoping and praying that this will heal eventually. As to the vaseline is this pore clogging?? I have extremley clogged pores as is so anything that would make that situation worse makes me a little scared.
Thank you for replying though I cannot begin to tell you how much I appretiate it! There is so little info on this, exp. real life experiences. I'll come back later today and let you know what goes on with my dermatologist. I'll also try and post a picture.
All of that information helps.
Six weeks of that particular extremely potent steroid cream is certainly enough to screw up your skin. But to suffer with red skin for nine months following? My experience was different - I had violent flareups where my skin turned dark red and was covered in pimples that itched horribly - it looked like I had the chicken pox or measles. It was so bad people at work asked me what was wrong. What I just described is classic steriod induced rosacea.
High dose of Doxy? 150mg a day. How long ago was it that you used it? If it was within a year or two, I would say never mind - because you may have built up a tolerance. But I do think that sulfa antibiotics can also be used, but don't quote me on that. The beauty of Doryx is that it will get rid of the acne and the general redness.
Interesting that your derm has not diagonosed you with rosacea. When I went through this same nightmare - I was told by several derms that they couldn't tell if I had irrtation (from Retin-A which I had used for a long time successfully and then started getting moderate acne again because my skin became too thin over the years) or rosacea. They all seemed to figure it was irritation and gave me steriod creams and then a lighter topical (Differin, Financea all that crap), so they must have been convinced enough that it was not rosacea or they wouldn't have prescribed steriods (at least one would assume). The steriod creams worked, but as soon as I applied the Differin or Finacea or whatever they gave me - my skin turned red again. WHY? Because it was too freaking thinned out and sensitive. Eventually, I was given a skin biopsy when I was in the middle of a major steriod induced flare. Because of the level of demodex mite on my skin - I was diagonosed with rosacea. By this time I had used steriod creams for months and was screwed. This is when I was given antibiotics. Problem was, that I was stupid and drank a my daily low calorie energy drink each morning with the antibiotics - basically cancelling out its effectiveness. WHY? Because it has high doses of B vitamins and other vitamins.
So I went Accutane. I was on a high dose of Accutane because my derm believed it worked better, faster and my skin was bad enough to warrant a high dosage. She said people with rosacea who go on low doses do so because that is all they need.
Did it work? It stopped the acne, it stopped rosacea. Yes it worked. And for the first several months after the Accutane I had clear skin. But, I got into trouble again because the derm suggested that I go on a topical to maintain the results. This starting the whole flipping red skin cycle all over again and I thought I had rosacea. WHY? Because 1) I should have learned earlier, but my skin just cannot tolerate topicals and 2) because Accutane thins the skin, makes it dry and difficult to maintain a proper lipid barrier, and can cause flushing - adding a topical to this makes it worse.
It took me about two years after the Accutane to figure out - that I cannot use topicals. And believe me - the derm gave me every topical to try - what really did me in was Finacea. Also - stay away from Elidel, that is a whole other thread - just don't use it.
I finally tried an experiment. I stopped topicals for two weeks and my skin started to clear up immediately. I applied Differin and the next day my skin was broken out in pimples. I only applied it for one day only and stopped. But by day three I had a full blown rosacea flare. I stopped the topical for another week, applied it again and same thing. I tried this four times. The final time I stopped it for three weeks - unbelievably the overall redness was gone, my skin tone was normal. My skin did not flush when I drank or worked out. Each day it got better. The ultimate test - floursecent light - and my skin looked clearer and more normal day with each passing week. However, since I was still having some minor acne, and I was terrified of going through what I went throught before, I asked for antibiotics. My skin is finally back to normal.
I have been clear for awile now and I don't flare. Now, I use nothing on my skin and it is back to normal. No one in my family has rosacea, so my conclusion is that this is caused by prescription topicals which are just too harsh for me. My skin used to tolerate them,, but after years of use and getting older - no more.
So listen, I don't have answers for you - but I can tell you what I did wrong and what the consequences where. And I can tell you one other thing I did wrong. I was on the quest for perfect skin and I believed perfect skin was only attainable through special potions and special pills. Ironically, there was a period about five years ago when I didn't use anything on my skin and I remember getting several compliments about how flawless my skin was. In hindsight, I think because my skin was horrible in high school I could never objectively see my skin for what it was. I think a lot of us are like that. And I think most of the people in this particular area of the this forum are definately guilty of that.
I hope you got the help you were looking for from me.
Hi again... thank you once again for taking out the time to offer me so much advice!!
So, I went to my appointment today, my dermatologist told me that I am indeed dealing with steroid rosacea, oh and yes he did diagnose me with rosacea before but never said steroid etc. Like I said he has always seemed to mainly focus on the acne. Also he said that I was most likely going to get rosacea down the road in life ( I'm 18) so am therefor predisposed which is what caused my skin to be so reactive to the steroids. I really don't know about that, but w/e, no one in my family has rosacea that I know of but I let him blow his horn.
I asked him about the antibiotics and he said that wouldn't have much effect on the redness. He basically told me the rosacea will never fully go away and I have just exaggerated and severed a problem that would surface later in life. Teary eyed I asked if my face will always be red like this, he said no, he wants to start on accutane 20-40mg dose and then eventually do lasers. What is your opinion on this? I'm for it in the aspect that I'd also really like to clear my skin, but at the same time I'm dreading any additional redness, even if it will potentially go away with vbeam or IPL etc. I guess I would rather have clear skin and a red face then the combo but I don't know. For now I'm supposed to be taking solodyn 40 mgs until I start my course next month, but no topicals, I am also way too sensitive for them and have only become more so over time.
I am very much with you on the topicals though, I used the fiancea after this first developed back in september-january and I too think it actually made things much worse. A Lot more red and flushing darker etc. I only took the doxy for a few months btw.
Do you think had you not used the topicals after you're course the rosacea would of stayed away? I don't want to make things worse, that is the main thing.
Here is the picture as promised. This is taken during a mild to moderate flush. I took it of the chin and neck to show the tone contrast.
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=u3ps5&s=5
I hope it gives you a better idea to have a picture and be able to visualize. And again, I really cannot tell you how much I appreciate the help!
These are such informant posts! Thank you to everybody!
Ive also got rosacea but retinoid induced (Differin). As well as bad acne, scarres and cystic acne, the whole lot 
I have found a descent derm that got me on antibiotics, now for 1 month.
My quick question is this: I read above that I shouldnt be taking vitamins now. Oops, I really didnt know that. I'll stop the B6 Im taking in the mornings (500mg), but should I also stop the tissue salts, Vit C and Zinc Im taking? Im also taking 3000mg Flax Seed Oil for my extreme dry eye problem from the Accutane I took last year, should I also stop this?
My short history: 34 years old, always had a good skin. Been on the Mirena for 8 years (two of them, 5 and 3 years) Then two years ago started with cystic acne, one every month or so, then more. Then last year it got a bit worse and in Aug went to a derm, he put me on a very light accutane, but after 2 weeks my right eye got extremely bad and I was marked as one of the people that cannot use accutane. So I stopped. Then went on Differin, for just over 5 months, this caused the redness, first just cheeks then whole face about, and I didnt realize its wrong until it was to late, sigh. Then I thought cystic = hormonal and then dr got me to take the Mirena out. Am on Diane 35 now for just over 2 months. For the past month I am on Purbac antibiotics and also only using Dermalogica products, no oil based or alcohol based products. Ive been for one IPL session, but I still look like I looked a month ago, red face bumpy acne all over face, cystic acne bumps still under skin, scarres.
How will I get the skin back I was used to until 2 years ago? How can one persons skin deteriorate so badly so fast? Sigh... This is not doing me good, Im a bit depressed and Im loosing weight... (not good though, I weigh 47.5kg now and Im 1.68m tall)
I am seeing a physician next week who will be doing blood work on me, the first dr who will try to determine whats wrong with me and my hormones and not try just the norm on me....
Hate&Love - I didn't know that you were only 18. I am so sorry that you have to go through this at such a young age.
After seeing your picture - your skin is in turmoil - go on the Accutane - it will get you clear the fastest. Accutane did kick rosacea's butt for me and calmed my skin down. It will get worse before it gets better, but it will get better.
Will you have red flushing and a permanent redness from it? You don't know that. If you do, your derm can perform IPL which has helped people. I know that there are a few people on this forum who are having horrible redness reactions from Accutane - but they are only a handful of people compared to all of the people who have come and gone on this board and have been helped by Accutane.
What your derm said about having rosacea in the future is horrible. Is he right? Maybe. Maybe he is wrong. Rosacea is not a well understood disease, and it is misdiagnosed a lot. If he is right, he has done you a favor - because you can control rosacea and you won't be blindsided by it. If he is right, by the time it comes back, there will be new treatments out there. When I was 18 there was no Differin, Accutane none of that. He can also be very, very wrong. Doctors can be wrong, and dermatologists can be real jerks.
You will be ok and I wish you the best.
BOKKIE: with tetracyclines (there are different types of these, doxy is one type) you are not supposed to take vitamins, minerals, calcium products, or dairy products within two hours of taking the antibiotics. These can block the absorption of the antibiotic into your bloodstream. After two hours you can take the vitamins. You are supposed to take it on an empty stomach as well. That is for tetracyclines specifically, I do not know about other antibiotics. Flax seed is an omega fat correct? I don't think that would hurt.
I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I've run into a similar situation with my skin which I have been absolutely baffled and need help in putting together a theory. If Mrs.Z or any of the wise posters can help with this, it would greatly be appreciated as I'm at my rope's end.
Back in December I started getting a small patch of what appeared to be atopic dermatitis/ a rashy spot on my left cheek after washing my face. Since the weather had been really cold I thought that was the culprit. I tried applying Aquaphor at night, but noticed some flakiness in the morning, which I thought was odd...I went to a dermatologist and was prescribed a light steroid cream to use for a week. But the condition seemed to come right back after getting off the topical.
I sought a different derm for a 2nd opinion and was told it was an allergic reaction and was given another light/mild steroid cream to use from 3-4 weeks. Which was great, but after I got off, the rash slowly came back.
Taking matters into my own hands, I thought maybe it could be a fungus infection because sometimes I get seborrheic dermatitis, though never on my cheek. I applied an anti-fungal cream to the area. Oddly, it made my skin more red and actually seemed to spread the redness throughout my entire left cheek! From that point on, I started noticing that after showering, my entire left cheek would flush red but later subside to a certain degree, but always having a sort of pinkish red /rashy texture.
Then I went to another derm because I wasn't satisfied with the other diagnosises. I was told it was eczema but they had no idea why it was only on my left cheek. Again I was given a different light steroid to be applied for only 2 weeks. Again, it improved the situation but after stopping, the rash came back! Went back to the derm and they agreed using steroids was not good so they put me on a moisturizing serum called EpiCeram. It seemed to improve the condition, BUT it only served as damage control -- while it improved the rashiness, my skin still flushed after showering and if I didn't apply the cream, the entire left cheek would feel really dry as if it was chronically afflicted with an ability to retain moisture...After a few more back and fourth visits, my derm finally prescribed a non-steroid cream called Atopiclair which is supposed to work similar to a topical steroid but without the side effects.
All of this is great, but obviously not a long term solution nor does it address the root problem. Also after drinking, the rashiness/redness gets worse...
From my observations, the skin on my left cheek seemed to have become "impaired" or is afflicted with "something"...Something that is causing it to be dry/rashy/red/flushy....Could it indeed be some sort of fungal manifestation that could be causing the skin to remain moisture deprived? I thought maybe it could be rosacea, but nobody in my family has that. and it seemed to come on so suddenly as a result of the rash...Maybe the steroids contributed? I really don't know...
Any ideas or suggestions?!
p.s. I've been using only cetaphil or water to cleanse my face and I even wash my face in the sink instead of in the shower, to minimal results. And I've been on 200mg of doxycycline for about two months. Which has helped my mild acne, but not really fixed the rash problem.
Keep on with treating your skin gently, using the prescribed cream (just looked it up, it sounds really interesting with a good combo of ingredients).
You're on the doxy so that should take care of the antibiotic bit.
Unfortunately if you do have steroid induced rosacea, it will take time to go away. It will not be immediate. The whole thing may have begun with a simple patch of dermatitis, but the flushing now seems to signify rosacea. It doesn't matter that no one else in your family has had rosacea; if they'd used steroids for weeks and weeks, they'd likely have steroid induced rosacea, too.
so my doctor prescribed me desonate (a steroid gel for eczema) and i put it on my left cheek for a little bit because a red flaky patch and it seemed to work. the red patch subsided but a few weeks later came back so i reapplied the gel and put some on my right cheek because there was a little redness there too. the next thing i know i my whole face is red. man this sucks. i dont know what to do. i cant see a derm. for at least a week and a half because im at college and who knows if she will have any time for me (she usually doesn't). i really dont know what to do.
What does it mean, when I put aquaphor on my rash/red area and it seems to aggravate it? Shouldn't it help with eczema? Could it be some type of fungus/yeast? But I tried putting an anti-fungal on an area to test, and it seemed to irritate even more!! Anybody have any ideas?
What does it mean, when I put aquaphor on my rash/red area and it seems to aggravate it? Shouldn't it help with eczema? Could it be some type of fungus/yeast? But I tried putting an anti-fungal on an area to test, and it seemed to irritate even more!! Anybody have any ideas?
I am not sure what you mean by aggravating it.
If you have steriod induced rosacea, than applying aquaphor (which is petroleum jelly with mineral oil) can cause your skin to turn beat red. Although this may look unattractive, it is not a sign of damage. It is a sign that your skin has become too thin.
Aquaphor or plain petroleum jelly are good to use daily for conditions such as yours, because they act as a barrier to outside irritants. Those with rosacea and eczema have skin that over reacts to the slightest perceived irritant, be it wind, sun, or any applied topical. And speaking of the wind, I grew up in Chicago, we lived near the Lakefront, and I experienced horrible wind and freeze burned skin during the winter. Vaseline and a ski mask became my best friends. You should also use the barrier repair creams your derm prescribed, they will help protect and repair your skin.
If you experience itching, than an antihistamine will help a lot. Claritin, although a bit pricey, will not make you drowsy. If you have insurance, than ask your derm or GP for a presciption antihistamine - I like Xyzal.
STOP putting anti-fungal topicals on your face! It is quite possible that there are ingredients in the topical that can cause further irritation such as propyl glycol or alchohol.
Steriod induced rosacea takes time to heal. During this time you need to be patient, keep your regimen simple, and learn what your triggers are and then avoid them at all cost. For example, if your skin flares after a glass of wine, than you would be best to stop drinking wine until you have recovered. The 200mg doxy takes time to work as well. 3-4 months is the typical prescription period, although some go on it for longer.
Hey guys I wanted to share that I also have a weird case of rosacea. I can't find anyone else that has a similar face like mine so I'm really baffled into what I should do. Basically I have a pinkish hue on my inner cheek near the eyes and my nose. My forehead is clear but a small section of my chin is not.
When i look in the mirror really close it looks like theres tiny little popped blood vessels on the front of my nose, you cant see them unless your up really close but theres also tons of white regular skin tone white spots with blackheads, thats why im so baffled. Also the ball of my nose is completely clear with no popped blood vessels or redness. I don't have any popped blood vessels on my inner cheek though its just red again with splotchy areas of my regular skin tone as well as my chin.
I believe that it is rosacea but it seems like a mild form of it or something. I went to a derm last year and she couldn't tell if I had it or not. My acne is pretty light so Im not too worried about that but when I drink my nose and inner cheek/chin get mega red.
Any thoughts on what might be good to use? Ive been reading a lot in the nutrition section thinking about this one persons regimen in which he uses an anti parasite and anti yeast/fungal cleanse for 2 months along with b-50 complex vitamins and a healthy diet
Thanks for taking the time to read. Ill try to get a picture up when i go home for the summer and I start that regimen
Mrs. Z,
I wrote you a followup/thank you message but discovered you've already
disabled your messaging.
Thanks again for your generous time, promptness, and effort.
I am truly indebted.
Thank you, that means a lot to me.
Here is something I can across, it touches on a few things I mentioned.
http://www.drugs.com/nda/epiceram_050926.html
The impaired barrier function: this is what I was talking about when 1) I mentioned the benefit of applying petroleum jelly - it acts as a barrier to outside allergens, and 2) I mentioned looking for a moisturizer that contains ceramides which aid in repairing the skin's lipid barrier.
Also I think that this article brings up a good point about steriods and how they maybe causing your rash to come back.
Finally, regarding the harshness of Cetaphil and Purpose - this is due to the ingredient Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Google it and you will see it an inexpensive ingredient used in home and personal care products that is very harsh on both the skin and hair.
Mrs. Z,
Interesting information, thanks again.
I think my eczema might involve a little bit of rosacea because it still gets red after showering with lukewarm water and I noticed it turning red when I apply the Epiceram as well...I think I'm going to try applying a non-steroid cream called Atopiclair to see if that combo will speed up the healing process..and I still have these odd rashes appearing on other parts of my face...could be some allergic reaction...I'm def. going to stop using Cetaphil and go with something organic or one of your recommendations.
Anyway, thanks again!
Hey ms.z
My dermalogica ultra calming cleanser has Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate as one of the incredients but not Sodium Lauryl Sulfate,is there a difference?
And for steroid induced rosacea there is not much you can do
my sister had it
all you can really do is go on something like doxycycline for a while and find out what cleansers work for you,her rosacea is barely noticeable since doxy,but shes been on it for a while.
Hi halfpipe101!
No those ingredients are not the same thing. Here is a great website, type in the ingredient and read all about it:
http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/faq.php
Here is a great article on organic skin care products:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/01/fashion/...mp;pagewanted=2