Although professionals may agree on the triggers of the flare ups, this still does not explain why some people can eat the same foods, sit in the sun, use bad products, and never get rosacea, while others can have a couple of sips of wine and immediately experience a flare up.
Though most practitioners of Western Medicine believe the cause is unknown, several of the other healing modalities in the world disagree. However, many natural and holistic healing practitioners, as well as nutritionists and skin care professionals believe that rosacea on the skin is direct evidence of inflammation inside the body, particularly the digestive tract.
Dr. Ben Johnson, an MD and skin care formulator with a holistic approach, points to the H. pylori bacterium in the stomach, as well as an overabundance of Candida (yeast) in the body as a probable cause of rosacea. He also notes that people with chronic digestive issues such as ulcerative colitis, GERD, and Crohn’s often display the classic signs of rosacea on the face*. These digestive issues are also associated with overly-acidic diets and Candida overgrowth, so it does make sense to link these disorders with rosacea.
Treatment options for rosacea
In Western Medicine, dermatologists treat rosacea symptoms with both internal and topical antibiotics and steroids. Lasers and IPL (intense pulsed light) therapy are also used to eradicate the visible capillaries to reduce their appearance. I am not a doctor, but I do not agree with this type of treatment.
First of all, these doctors already admit that they do not know the cause of rosacea. Why would they treat something that has an unknown cause with antibiotics and steroids? It just doesn’t make sense to me to send an antibiotic or steroid into the body with no identified target. Furthermore, antibiotics and steroids kill all of the good bacteria in the body, which leads to Candida overgrowth…which ultimately manifests in some way on the skin. It is a never-ending cycle.
Lasers and IPL can improve the appearance and even reduce the visible capillaries on the face, but new ones will eventually surface. Regular repeat treatments are needed, which becomes quite expensive. Additionally, these treatments can exacerbate the thinning of the dermis, which lowers the circulation and immune system of the skin. The dermis is where the protein fibers of youth, collagen and elastin are formed; so thinning the dermis will also speed up the aging process of the skin*.
Article comments
1 - NW
I suffered from Rosacea for years without knowing that's what it was. It took me a long time to figure out my main triggers and I still have flare-ups.
I've tried many, many Rosacea Treatments and read Rosacea Your Self-Help Guide by Dr. Brownstein which you link to on Amazon. It's a great book and has terrific information about diet and Rosacea triggers. I recommend it. [Edited]
2 - Tobby
Thank you for this article! however over 50 million people all over the world suffer from rosacea, and this's really a problem..
3 - Rachael Pontillo
It certainly is a widespread problem...people who have it need to educate themselves on all of the different treatment options and work on eliminating the trigger foods from their diets to help reduce the incidences of flare ups. If people are going to try to treat it with a harsh drug, they need to understand the long term consequences of doing so...often these drugs make the problem worse and cause other problems for the skin and body in the long run.