How To Deal With The Emotional And Psychological Impact Of Rosacea
Research has shown that 75% of rosacea and acne sufferers have reported psychological effects such as lowered self-esteem and self-confidence that lead to a reduced quality of life. As a former rosacea sufferer for 27 years, I can deeply relate to this statistic which has led me to write this article from personal experience stressing the importance of seeking medical advice if you feel your are suffering from psychological effects.
My rosacea symptoms started at the beginning of the 1980’s when I was in my late teens. It began with a light redness in the cheeks that became more intense as the day progressed. At first I thought I had contracted some sort of viral infection and tried to forget about it. However, after several weeks I continued to suffer from frequent flushing, which then lead to a permanent red complexion.
At that time little was known about rosacea and the symptoms were considered to be a form of acne and were treated as such with sulphur based remedies. My doctor even recommended hot baths to relieve the symptoms; little did they know that these remedies actually made the condition worse,
After a while I became very self-conscious of my appearance and had to endure the daily jokes such as: “Don’t stand on street corners you might stop the traffic” or “Are you sun burnt again?” Even social occasions or nights down the pub with friends became a challenging event, as I continually found myself searching for the darkest corners to hide my flushed face.
Back in the 80’s there was no Internet so the only source of trying to find a suitable remedy was through books in the library, a quest that proved to be hopeless.
The years passed by and my condition neither worsened or improved, but thread like blood vessels were now visible on my cheeks - which people wrongly presumed to be a result of heavy drinking.
Then in 1999 I experienced Internet for the first time, and to my delight through AltaVista, I discovered a rosacea remedy based on vitamin k. This was apparently used by plastic surgeons to quicken the healing process of plastic surgery. I eagerly applied the cr
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