April's Rosacea Awareness Initiative Emphasizes Benefits of Achieving Clear Skin

The National Rosacea Society (NRS) has designated April as Rosacea Awareness Month to improve education of rosacea, a chronic disorder of the facial skin, which affects more than 16 million Americans and 415 million worldwide. The designation is also designed to raise awareness for patients who may be suffering from the condition so that they may see a dermatologist and seek appropriate therapy.

A skin condition often characterized by flare-ups and remissions, rosacea does not currently have a cure. Advances in medical therapy have made it increasingly possible for patients with the disorder to have clear skin. Meanwhile, recent surveys have demonstrated the increasing importance of this goal for patient’s physical and mental wellbeing.

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The NRS recently surveyed 1675 rosacea patients and found that approximately 90% said that the condition’s effect on personal appearance had lowered their self-esteem and self-confidence. Furthermore, 52% of those surveyed indicated that they had avoided face-to-face contact because of the disorder. In another survey, 51% of those with severe symptoms said that they had missed work due to the condition.

Linda Stein Gold, MD, director of dermatology clinical research at the Henry Ford Health System, explained that recent studies of the burden of illness in rosacea have found that the condition can profoundly impact quality of life, particularly in personal appearance. “In so many cases, all it takes is a single blemish or a single comment about having a red face to ruin someone’s day.”

Treatment success for rosacea is often defined as reaching a score of 1 (“almost clear”) or 0 (“clear”) on the 5-point Investigator Global Assessment (IGA) scale used by clinical researchers to gauge the effectiveness of medical therapies. In the recent clinical study, 49% of rosacea patients indicated that the condition had no impact on their quality of life, compared with the 30% of the respondents who had reached “almost clear.” The difference in respondence specifies the impact that the condition has on patients in their daily lives, as patients with a score of 0 reported less need to modify their daily lives and had fewer annual doctor visits.

During the Rosacea Awareness Month and spanning throughout the year, the NRS will conduct public education activities to raise awareness for the millions of individuals with rosacea who may not realize that they have a medical condition that can be treated, while also emphasizing the warning signs. Those interested in awareness efforts during April and beyond are encouraged to visit the official Rosacea Awareness Month website at rosacea.org/ram for educational materials, ways to help, and more.

During April and throughout the year, individuals may also call the National Rosacea Society’s toll-free telephone number at 1-888-NO-BLUSH for information. The NRS offers Rosacea Review, a newsletter for Rosacea patients; a 'Rosacea Diary' to help patients identify and avoid lifestyle factors that may trigger flare-ups in their individual cases; and other booklets to help patients understand, manage, and cope with their condition.

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Reference

Rosacea Awareness Month to Emphasize Benefits of Achieving Clear Skin [news release]. Barrington, Illinois. Published Februrary 11, 2019. National Rosacea Society website. https://www.rosacea.org/press/2019/february/rosacea-awareness-month-to-emphasize-benefits-achieving-clear-skin. Accessed March 28. 2019.