Treatment for Mild Rosacea

by Vicky

I have been diagnosed with mild rosacea on my nose about 4 weeks ago and am currently on antibiotics for it which i understand will have to be on for about 3 months to get the condition under control cos i understand it can't be cured. The doctor has said what happens is after so much treatment the condition will go into submission does this mean that normal coloured skin will return in this area? And he said it will return again but some people might go for years or a few months before it returns.I have 2 bumps that have developed since taking the antibiotics i'm concerned why these would come when on antibiotics will these clear up with the antibiotics? I have been told this is not rhinophyma which i was very scared about and although i have been told these bumps will heal along with the other symptoms worried cos although i can see a improvement in the overall look of it these bumps don't seem to be getting better? Thanks for taking the time to read this and answer me. Is it normal for some days for the rosacea to look worse then others? Cos i thought it would look better as more antibiotics where taken?

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Our reply

Hi Vicky, thank you for your message and for sharing your experience with your rosacea treatment. I understand how upsetting it must be to see new bumps when you are hoping that the treatment will help to reduce the rosacea!

I am unfamiliar with the effect that antibiotic treatment has on rosacea, but I do know that our skin, like our bodies, goes through changes every day. When you are in a healing process, the progress is often gradual, with ups and downs where some days it looks better, some days it looks not so great!

I encourage you to be in contact with your doctor again if you are concerned about the bumps. This will help you to feel better about what is happening, and more comfortable with the ups and downs you may be experiencing.

Another thing you may want to consider is to support your body's friendly bacteria during this time when you are taking antibiotics. Antibiotics are amazing drugs which can be very helpful at the right time, but they also affect our whole bodies.

Antibiotics eliminate not only the bacteria that may be causing your skin problems, but they also will kill the friendly bacteria in our colon and digestive system. These friendly bacteria help our bodies to remain healthy and strengthen our immune system, and to reduce allergies and inflammation.

For this reason, you may want to consider finding a way to supplement your diet with friendly bacteria, which are called probiotics. Each of our bodies is unique and so you may need to experiment to find the right foods or supplements that work best for you.

Some of the foods that contain probiotics are:

• Yogurt (dairy product)
  
• Tempeh (fermented soy)
  
• Kefir (dairy product)
  
• Miso (fermented soy)
  
• Sauerkraut (fermented cabbage)
  

There are some foods that encourage the friendly bacteria to grow in your body. These are called prebiotics, and some of these foods are:

• Fruits
  
• Tomatoes
  
• Sprouted wheat
  
• Raw apple cider vinegar

You can also use probiotics supplements which are especially helpful when you are taking antibiotics because supplements provide a larger amount of the friendly bacteria than may be possible to get from the food.

While you are in this treatment period for your rosacea, I encourage you to do whatever you can to support your overall health, which will increase the success of your treatments. There are many things that you can do for rosacea to reduce the symptoms, and there is a lot of information on our site here in our Rosacea section which has links to other articles such as Foods to Eat for Rosacea and Rosacea Diet.

I encourage you to make changes to your diet and skincare routine gradually if possible, which helps to avoid cleansing and detoxification symptoms. I hope this is helpful for you Vicky and I wish you much success with your treatment!