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Rosacea
Rosacea is a poorly understood skin disease that is
characterized as its name implies, a red blush of the
face. It is a disorder of the superficial blood vessels
of the face. It progresses as the vessels dilate after
certain triggers such as heat, spicy food, exertion,
alcohol, etc. The vessels become damaged from the dilatation,
making it easier for the vessels to dilate again and
to stay dilated longer until there is a permanent redness.
Prolonged redness and dilatation may lead to bumps
of the skin, burning and stinging sensation, gritty
eyes, and in severe cases a large bumpy nose called
a rhinophyma.
The best treatment is Intense
Pulse Light (IPL).
The IPL uses selected wavelengths of visible light
that is absorbed by the oxyhemoglobin of the red
blood cells in the capillaries. The absorbed energy
heats the capillary, damaging its lining and obliterating
the vessel. Different filters can alter the depth
of penetration of the light and thereby treat capillaries
at different depths of the skin. Treatment typically
requires a series of three to six treatments. Larger
individual facial vessels commonly found around the
base of the nose may require treatment with the Nd:YAG
laser. In rare cases of rhinophyma, the nose
can be sculpted with the CO2
laser. We recommend
that our patients use skin care cosmeceuticals designed
for sensitive skin such as in select Biomedic
products.
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