Persistent redness most bothersome sign of rosacea
Most rosacea patients report persistent racial redness as being the most irritating and bothersome symptom of their condition, according to a survey conducted by the National Rosacea Society.
“This survey demonstrated how our patients are psychologically affected by their rosacea in general and their central facial redness in particular,” Hilary Baldwin, MD, associate professor of dermatology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, told Healio.
Affecting nearly 16 million people in the United States, rosacea is a common disorder with many phenotypes including erythema (redness), thickened skin, papules and pustules, telangiectasia and ocular manifestations, as well as burning, stinging, swelling and dryness, according to a press release from the National Rosacea Society.
This survey includes 986 individuals with rosacea, of which 77% reported having persistent redness, 61% said they had bumps and pimples and 53% reported visible blood vessels on the face. Burning, stinging and itching was present in 46%, while 43% had symptoms of ocular rosacea and 27% had a red, swollen nose or phymatous changes to the skin.
“We have recently started describing rosacea based on the phenotypic description rather than the old subtype definition and we recognize that most rosacea patients have combination rosacea,” Baldwin said. “Combination rosacea requires combination therapy, because unfortunately at the present time we don’t have a single medication that treats the bumps, the redness, the telangiectasia, the symptoms of stinging, burning and itching. Each of these requires a different therapeutic modality.”
Persistent redness was reported to be the most bothersome symptom for 60% of survey respondents, while 38% reported bumps and pimples to be the most bothersome.
Redness from their condition made 59% of participants feel self-conscious, while 57% said they were frustrated or annoyed with their appearance and 40% said they limited outdoor activity due to the redness.
“The importance of this study for physicians is to recognize that multiple different symptoms require multiple different medications and they only way to know what you need to treat is to ask the patient,” Baldwin said. “Rosacea is complicated. It’s not easy. There are so many different aspects of the disease, each one of which requires its own treatment plan. It’s important to discuss each aspect with the patient and get their buy-in and commitment to the process. Make sure they recognize this is a chronic disorder that is going to need long-term therapy.”