The Remedy Depends on the Cause

Rosacea is a skin disorder, plain and simple. Your face is red, bumpy, and sometimes it iches. I have it and have dealt with it now for about 8 years. There was no apparent cause for me at the beginning. I tried topical ointments from Retin-A to Metronidazole, along with different medicinal prescriptions in the forms of pills. For the longest time, nothing worked. Eventually, I found that my particular case of Rosacea seems to be influenced by hormones. I noticed that I would break out in a significantly worse way during my mentstrual cycle. When I became pregnant with my son, my Rosacea got even worse.

On top of knowing what I looked like, I got comments from people like "so, been out in the sun a lot lately?" or "that looks like a pretty bad sunburn." It was so humiliating. I remember even once, going to a McDonald's to get a burger and the guy behind the counter said to me "you should really put some aloe or something on your face to help those little sun-blisters." I took my food, went to my car and I cried for what felt like an eternity. I felt so low, ugly, unattractive, and completely out of control of my face. At the time, I was applying Retin-A to no avail. My face was still so red and had so many pustules and bumps. I hated the way I looked.

Then in September that year, my husband and I went to the coast for his birthday because he had never been. We were in the waves along the coast of S. Padre Island when he got something in his eyes, so we left and went back to the room. Shock of shocks, when we got back, I was in front of the mirror and my face was CLEAR as CLEAR could be! I hadn't seen my skin so smooth in such a long time, I could not believe it! I was so excited, but had no idea why my face was suddenly clear because that morning, it was as red as it had ever been - pustules and all. I actually had my husband take a picture of me just to prove I wasn't dreaming. Unfortunately, after I took a shower and washed my face, the redness started coming back and my skin started to appear agitated with little bumps surfacing slowly throughout that evening. It was so depressing!

After we got back home a few days later, I did a lot of research to find out what was in the sea water. What I found was that sulphur, a mineral found in sea water, used to be a common remedy to Rosacea back in the day. After that, I was off, searching for something that had sulphur (and didn't smell like sulphur) that I could apply topically to my face. I finally found two products that worked for me. One was a tablet that was composed of Sulphur and other sea minerals that you rubbed all over your face. The only problem with this one for me was that it left my face dry, but the product manufacturers suggested jojoba oil to moisturize to counteract the dryness. Even though this one worked like a charm, I wasn't crazy about the smell. It wasn't a sulphur smell, but more like a salty smell. Either way, it was the first thing I found that worked for me, so I used it on a daily basis. Then I found what I use now, which is a topical homeopathic gel that contains sulphur. I LOVE it! That was my remedy to Rosacea. I haven't had any anti-biotics for over a year now, and as long as I keep up with applications (twice a day: am and pm), my face has been clear.

In short, I found what worked for me and I ran with it. Other people may have other influences that trigger their Rosacea flare-ups like caffeine or spicy foods, in which case it is really more of a diet modification that may improve their Rosacea. Even though Rosacea is not life-threatening or contagious, it does take its toll on the people that have it through blows to self-esteem or confidence. Believe me, I know, and even though its not much, I offer my sympathy to every Rosacea-sufferer.