Both a skin and eye disorder, acne rosacea is a type of acne characterized by the appearance of pustules and vascular manifestations on the affected tissues. So far, the nature and exact causes of acne rosacea is not fully explained although it is known that sun exposure will increase the risk of disease development. The pustules and the flushing of the skin usually affect the face and the chest with a deterioration of the condition after the consumption of alcohol, spicy foods or hot drinks.

It seems that acne rosacea affects more women than men, with a higher occurrence of the disease in the middle-aged group. Thus, most of the cases have been reported on people between 30 and 60, with the mention that in the case of black complexions the identification is more difficult and often delayed. Although many assumptions have been made on the preponderance of acne rosacea with fair-skinned people, the theory is not supported by clinical evidence.

The acne lesions specific to the disease are most often distributed in the nose area, on the cheeks and chin, but the central forehead doesn’t get spared either. The skin is usually very oily too, yet there are some major differences between acne rosacea and acne vulgaris. In traditional acne forms comedones have no limitation of extent, whereas with rosacea they don’t even appear in the flush areas. Moreover, acne rosacea has a hypertrophy dimension that is not found with acne vulgaris.

Unlike regular acne forms, acne rosacea is a chronic disease that evolves in time, sometimes extending over years. Corticosteroids are commonly prescribed for the alleviation of the symptoms, but they are not suitable for long-term therapy due to the tissue atrophy risk or the danger to cause permanent vaso-dilation. Most doctors will therefore go for the systemic treatment instead of the topical one.

Depending on the skin changes caused by acne rosacea, surgical intervention could become necessary but only after running medical tests and at the special recommendation of a dermatologist. Electrocautery and the tunable dye laser procedure represent the two main alternatives under the circumstances, but skin grafting, dermabrasion and other forms of excision are also possible. The treatment of acne rosacea should not be ignored or postponed even if the condition shows an improvement over some periods of time.