ROSACEA SUBTYPES

Contemporary medicine has defined four rosacea subtypes:

Subtype 1

The patients have persistent redness, and their skin feels itchy and irritated. People diagnosed with Subtype 1 tend to flush and blush easily, which aggravates the condition. Over the time, facial blood vessels become visible and gradually progress into spider veins - red clusters of blood vessels - on the cheeks and around the nose. Avoiding triggers to prevent flushing and blushing is one of the methods to keep the disorder under control.

Subtype 2

The nose is the most frequent location of this disorder. The symptoms include redness, skin thickening, and enlargement; the nose appears bulbous and swollen from excess tissue. More rarely, this subtype affects the cheeks, ears, eyelids, forehead, and chin.

Subtype 3

The face is covered with permanent redness, red bumps, and/or pus-filled pimples. Very often, with only professional consultation, patients can distinguish Subtype 3 from acne. Whiteheads and blackheads, common for acne, are not typical for rosacea. Still, the latter is often called "acne rosacea" due to general similarity in pimples and pustules.

Subtype 4

In many cases, the patients also complain of increased light sensitivity, foreign body sensation, or blurred vision. Unfortunately, this disorder may lead to conjunctivitis and vision loss, so do not delay visiting an ophtalmologist or your physican for proper treatment if your have the described symptoms.

Besides acne, rosacea may be confused with seborrhea. In fact, seborrhea is caused by the malfunction of sebaceous glands and occurs not only on the face, but scalp, chest and upper back as well. While the redness is common for both disorders, seborrhea makes the skin look oily with grayish, white, or yellow flakes, which is not typical for rosacea. Contact your dermatologist if you suspect that you have any of the mentioned diseases, and she will help your with the right diagnose.