• Home
• Rosacea Relief Blog
• ZENMED Rosacea Treatment
• Rosacea References
• Privacy Policy

Identify Your Rosacea Triggers With This Helpful Tool

December 23rd, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

If you are like many rosacea sufferers, identifying your rosacea triggers may seem like unraveling a murder mystery. Possible catalysts for rosacea flare-ups can be very elusive and hard to pinpoint without a plan and the proper tools.

As you have probably read, there are a large number of lifestyle and environmental factors that may be responsible for triggering your flare-ups. One issue in identifying your rosacea triggers is that no individual will be affected by all of the potential triggers, but only be a few factors.

How to Identify a Rosacea Trigger

In an attempt to de-mystify the process for identifying your triggers, there is a logical and methodical process that must be followed. The key to finding out what triggers your rosacea flare-ups is to track your skin condition over a period of weeks.

This tracking process can be simplified by using a log which details the events and environment just prior to a flare-up and what action appears to relieve your symptoms. This is very important because you will begin to see a pattern over time that will make your rosacea triggers much more obvious to you.

Keep Track of Your Rosacea Flare-ups

The National Rosacea Society offers a diary checklist that assists in your documenting any exposure to various common rosacea triggers on a daily basis. These common triggers can range from weather to emotions (i.e. stress), activities (i.e. workouts) and various foods (i.e. spicy). We highly recommend that you use this rosacea diary checklist and, best of all, it is free. You can get your diary at www.rosacea.org

Avoiding Your Rosacea Triggers Is Key

Once you have identified your personal triggers, it is up to you to avoid the specific environmental factor or food that will result in a flare-up in your symptoms. There will be situations when you cannot totally avoid one of these factors, but small adjustments can make a significant difference.

If hot air is one of your triggers and you find yourself at a restaurant where the heat vent is blowing directly on you, ask for another table or change seats with your partner. It becomes very important to be fully aware of your environment and how it may affect you (if environmental factors are your triggers).

We hope that this advice will help you to identify your rosacea triggers and help you to control rosacea flare-ups in the future. Be methodical and persistent in your record keeping and you will enjoy the benefits of fewer flare-ups and a more normal lifestyle.

Enjoy Your Dining Experience By Avoiding Your Rosacea Triggers

December 8th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

It’s time for a night out and you want to dine at your favorite restaurant, but you wonder, “Is it really worth the risk of exacerbating one of my rosacea triggers?” Well, the truth is that by being careful about your food choices and dining environment, you should be able to enjoy a nice meal and have a pleasant dining experience.

With rosacea, the first step in controlling any potential flare-ups is to be prepared. What do I mean by this? You need to know your personal food triggers, and make sure to avoid these foods if you see them on the menu.

But there are additional steps that you should take to ensure a pleasant night out. These include:

Don’t be Afraid to Ask!

If you are uncertain about the ingredients of a dish, ask the server to find out the ingredients. If it contains hot spices (black pepper, wasabi, cayenne pepper, etc.), find out if the meal can be made without them. If not, move on to your next selection.

Watch Your Alcohol Consumption

If alcohol is one of your rosacea triggers, minimize your intake. Alcohol, especially red wine, is a popular trigger with over 52% of respondents on a recent survey reporting that it was a serious contributor to flare-ups.

Manners be Damned - Blow on Your Soup!

Hot beverages are a well known rosacea trigger. So, if you have a desire for a hot soup, let it cool down before consuming. Or as an alternative, try one of the cold soups.

Avoid Foods that Irritate Your Condition

If you have identified certain foods, vegetables, or fruits that trigger a flare-up in your rosacea, try to avoid any entree or appetizer that may contain these items. Common food items that fit this category include:

• tomatoes
  spinach
  chocolate
  eggplant
  citrus fruits
  chicken livers
  bananas
  yogurt
  sour cream
  figs
  avocados
  liver
  yeast extract (but bread is alright)
  nuts
  peas
  beans
  soy sauce

Choose Your Table Wisely

If you are like most diners, you want a table with a view, close to the musicians, or just a favorite spot. But don’t forget to avoid a hot location, such as, near a fireplace or heating vent. Dry heat is another common rosacea trigger and should be avoided.

As you know, rosacea can make your social life a little more challenging. But with a little thought and care, it doesn’t need to ruin your dining experience at your favorite restaurants. Just be aware of your triggers and try your best to avoid those that result in a flare-up of your condition.

Rosacea Triggers - Does Alcohol Effect Your Symptoms?

November 20th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

For many rosacea sufferers, alcohol can trigger their rosacea symptoms.  This can vary from a mild flushing in the cheeks to a full blown flareup.  So, with the holidays almost upon us and the temptation for food and drink everywhere, keep your guard up when consuming alcoholic beverages.

How Much is Too Much

In a recent study by the National Rosacea Society, they determined that certain alcoholic beverages may affect rosacea more than others.  The study results also showed that exacerbations were not caused by heavy drinking but could also be caused by only a small quantity of certain alcoholic beverages.  This certainly dispelled the common myth that rosacea flareups were limited to heavy drinkers.

In the survey,  10% said they rarely or never drank alcohol, while another 10% reported that  alcoholic beverages did not affect their rosacea.

Wine as a Rosacea Trigger

Of those surveyed who were affected by alcohol, it was red wine that caused rosacea flareups in 76% of the cases.  White wine, another culprit, aggravated their rosacea condition for 56% of the respondents.  And lastly, champagne triggered symptoms in 33% of those surveyed.

Other Alcoholic Triggers

Wine, though being the most prevalent alcoholic drink to aggravate symptoms, there were others that were nearly as bad.  Beer was next on the list with 41% responding that it caused their rosacea symptoms to flare-up.

For those who favor the hard liquors, vodka was cited as the leading rosacea trigger, affecting 33 percent of those surveyed. In descending order, the following were also noted; tequila (28%), bourbon (24%), gin (24%), rum (24%) and scotch (21%).

Overall, one of the most interesting findings in the survey was that for those who were affected by alcohol, 64% stated that it only took a single drink to cause a rosacea reaction.  So, as you head out to another holiday gathering, perhaps you should be careful about consuming that tantalizing alcoholic libation - even just one!

If Rosacea is Adversely Affecting Your Life, This Blog Can Help You!

June 6th, 2007    Subscribe To Our Feed

Welcome to the Rosacea Relief blog. The skin disorder known as rosacea (also known as acne rosacea, roscea, roseacea, rosecea), affects millions of people worldwide. Though there is no known cure at this time, taking a proactive approach with an effective rosacea treatment and avoidance of known rosacea triggers can keep the skin condition under control.

The purpose of this blog is to provide you with tips on living with rosacea and the various rosacea skin treatments that are available for controlling its symptoms.  Treatment options range from a natural rosacea cure to prescription medications.

Of course, there is no cure-all for this skin disorder and what works for one person may not work for another.   Finding the “perfect” rosacea cure for you may involve a little trial and error with different lifestyle changes and treatment approaches.    But don’t get discouraged - we are here to steer you through the process of identifying your particular rosacea triggers and making modifications that will reduce the number and severity of rosacea flare-ups.

We will also take a look at the most popular rosacea treatment products an provide an unbiased evaluation of their effectiveness and formulations.

So, why not bookmark this blog and come back often, as we will constantly be updating the blog with the latest rosacea treatments and different ways to improve your quality of life through lifestyle modification.

Note:  Because of the difficulty with the proper spelling of “rosacea”, we will occasionally be using various misspellings of the term (e.g. roseacea).  This will help those who are spelling “challenged” locate our helpful information through the search engines.

Copyright © 2007 Rosacea Treatment Alternatives