Rosacea Awareness Month Focuses on Management Options

April marks Rosacea Awareness Month, and the National Rosacea Society is continuing to spread awareness and educate the public on the current understanding of the complex skin condition.¹

Rosacea is a chronic disorder of the facial skin, often characterized by flare-ups and remissions. The standard classification of rosacea by phenotypes includes the presence of persistent facial erythema, also known as redness, or phymatous changes where the facial skin thickens. Other major signs include bumps, pimples, flushing, telangiectasia, and certain ocular manifestations. Secondary signs range from burning of the skin to dry appearance.^1,2

Julie Harper, MD, clinical associate professor of dermatology at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, said new advances in medical therapy have made it possible for rosacea patients to achieve clear skin.¹ Therapies for rosacea depend on an individual’s condition subtype, and may include oral and topical treatments, including oral antibiotics; surgical options, such as radiofrequency ablation; and laser or intense light treatments. For mild to moderate ocular rosacea, artificial tears, and oral antibiotics are therapies.²

However, an obstacle that still exists is getting rosacea sufferers to actually get help and come in for treatment, according to Harper, in a prepared statement.¹

Recent rosacea studies have found that the condition can profoundly impact quality of life; an NRS survey of 1675 patients showed that 90% reported lowered self-confidence and self-esteem, while 52% said they had avoided face-to-face contact because of the disorder.¹

A separate survey showed that 51% of those with severe symptoms said they had missed work due to the effects of the condition.¹

An NRS survey reported that after successful treatments, 76% of 1044 rosacea patients have seen some improvement in their skin after receiving treatment. Among those patients, 40% said that treatment had improved their psychological well-being, 35% said their social well-being had improved, and 31% saw improvement in their occupational well-being.¹

Eighty-one percent of those who had achieved clear or almost clear skin said their psychological well-being had improved, while 71% said it had also improved their social lives and 62% reported improvement in their occupational well-being.¹

“We are at the beginning of a new decade, and it’s clear we have made significant strides in improving the quality of life for our rosacea patients,” Harper said. “With greater awareness and the availability of advanced therapies to address rosacea’s most troubling signs and symptoms, we are optimistic that increasingly more patients will see dramatic improvements in the years ahead.”¹

For more information and patient materials, Individuals can visit the National Rosacea Society website. The site features multiple booklets to help patients understand and manage their condition. An example is the booklet, “Recognizing Redness,” that includes a redness register to allow patients to gauge relative redness before and after flare-ups or treatment.¹

REFERENCE

• Rosacea Awareness Month to focus on new management options [news release]. Barrington, Illinois; National Rosacea Society: February 19, 2020. https://www.rosacea.org/press/2020/february/rosacea-awareness-month-to-focus-on-new-management-options. Accessed March 31, 2020.
• National Rosacea Society. Medical Therapy For Rosacea. NRS website. https://www.rosacea.org/patients/management-options/medical-therapy-for-rosacea Accessed March 31, 2020.