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[ariadne]

A couple of months ago I began getting really flushed cheeks near my nose every day. Hot flushes and sweats all done and dusted a couple of years ago so I don't think it's related to that.

I feel quite embarrassed as it looks like I'm blushing all the time. I am fair skinned so it shows up easily.

But now, as well as the cheeks, my eyes are more bloodshot, watery and sore than usual. I do have dry eyes anyway so am used to them feeling a little uncomfortable but never this red and sore. It feels like someone is blowing a hot fan in my eyes all the time.

I've been reading about rosacea but it mentions spots and lumps with the cheek redness which I don't have (yet!).

My question is, does this sound like rosacea to anyone who has experience of it and if yes, should I visit my doctor or my optician?

Thanks
Ariadne xx

[CLKD]

It's awful to keep having new symptoms  .  My eyes itch and feel dry almost all day now and when I wake, it's often because I am rubbing them.  How about popping to the Pharmacist for a private chat?

 

[ariadne]

I was going to say thanks for the two replies to my post but now theres only one I could have sworn there was another one - anyway thank you.

I guess its the doctor first but knowing me I will put it off for another week or so

Ariadne xx

[CLKD]

I was first to reply and haven't been back to the thread since earlier 

Let us know how you get on!

[lily]

I was told by the dr about 10 years ago that I have mild rosacea and given cream to use, but I did not find it much help so never went back for more.  Being in peri-menopause has made my skin look much worse, so I went back and was given oxytetracycline antibiotics but again not much help.  My skin is so sensitive that when I try creams that offer to do miracles, it just makes it worse so I'm sort of putting up with it all and using foundation and powder to disguise it as much as I can.  I don't think my eyes have been affected, they get a bit dry but I wear contact lenses so I've just blamed them.

[Meeka]

A couple of months ago I began getting really flushed cheeks near my nose every day. Hot flushes and sweats all done and dusted a couple of years ago so I don't think it's related to that.

I feel quite embarrassed as it looks like I'm blushing all the time. I am fair skinned so it shows up easily.

But now, as well as the cheeks, my eyes are more bloodshot, watery and sore than usual. I do have dry eyes anyway so am used to them feeling a little uncomfortable but never this red and sore. It feels like someone is blowing a hot fan in my eyes all the time.

I've been reading about rosacea but it mentions spots and lumps with the cheek redness which I don't have (yet!).

My question is, does this sound like rosacea to anyone who has experience of it and if yes, should I visit my doctor or my optician?

Thanks
Ariadne xx

Hi Ariadne,

It does sound a bit like Rosacea, it can affect the eyes. Its called ocular rosacea I think.    There are a few forums for rosacea sufferers and you can learn a lot of them.    It often has triggers, like heat, alcohol, exercise, stress or spicy foods.  I think it would be worth visiting your GP to see if he thinks he has something that may help.  I think there are some creams or antibiotics are sometimes used.

I have very fair skin and its prone to rosacea.....stress, heat and wine are my triggers.   

[Eddie]

It would be worth a trip to optician too, we have a scheme where eye problems are dealt with by optom rather than g.p. Check if you have similiar? An optom can write a letter to gp for better drops than they would normally prescribe. I have dry eyes and now they are red most of the time with the heating being on, but our optom can check how quick the eyes are drying. I do also on occasion have really flushed cheeks and nose, but have been putting it down to sinusitis. Eddie. x

[ariadne]

Thanks for replies. I think my triggers are heat and anything that gets me even slightly out of my comfort zone. The office I work in is air conditioned but because some of the ladies think it's too chilly, they have fan heaters under their desks. I sit next to such a lady and I don't think that type of heat does me any good. I can feel my face getting hotter and hotter.

If I get a bit flustered over something it seems to happen too. I often use viscotears eye gel but had run out so bought some yesterday and have made an effort to keep my eyes more lubricated today and it has helped a bit. However, I do always look like I'm on the verge of tears with red cheeks and eyes to match 

Ariadne xx

[CLKD]

I suspect that the drying atmosphere in your office won't help either    ........ we get a similar effect with the car air-con on ........

[meno lesley]

I has rosacea in my 30s for many years. I saw a skin specialist who said in her opinion it is hormone related and I had low dose antibiotics for a long while. It appeared all across my chin then spread to my nose and cheeks. Eventually it went in my forties and then started the madness in my fifties. The power of hormones eh!

Lesley x

[ariadne]

Thanks Kat's claws I thought I was having a meno moment . Heater lady is off work this afternoon so I'm going to see if it makes any difference to my cheeks and eyes.

Ariadne xx

[Taz2]

Hi Ladies - I know this is an old topic but I seem to have developed this over the past few months and wondered whether anyone has anymore advice. I have the telltale red patches on one cheek (face!) and red little lumps on the bridge of my nose. A delightful look I must say!  I'm seeing my doc on the 28th about various things so will mention it then. I see that stress can be a trigger and it did start around the time I went back to work after my hyster. Lots of other stresses going on. Exposure to sun isn't really a problem for me as I hate the sun and summer months but I do like a glass of wine each evening which I don't really want to give up but will if it helps with the skin. I wondered whether HRT can make it worse?

Taz x 

[Morwenna]

Yes Taz, sounds very much like Rosacea. I developed it three years ago, one year after starting HRT and it's still there unfortunately. My GP prescribed antibiotics - Limecycline - but they gave me an irritable bladder so I had to abandon them. I've resorted to covering it with make up and that camouflages the worst of it. Do you wear make up? It's horrible having a red spotty face. Some days it's worse than others but I haven't been able to put my finger on what causes it to flare. Stress may be a factor - I'm always stressed!  My HRT was changed from Prempak to Femoston 18 months ago but that didn't make much difference. I'm hoping it'll just disappear once (if) my hormones settle down. Alcohol is a trigger for some people but doesn't appear to be for me so you may be okay with your daily glass of wine!

[Hurdity]

Oh dear Taz!

I don't know about rosacea but if it's the same thing that some call "menopausal acne" I had something similar before I started HRT. It was odd as my friend 2 years older had it and called it that and I was amazed that such a thing could occur. Mine consisted of red patches or blotches mainly on my cheeks which sometimes became sort of heat lumps without a head - so not really acne. They would itch sometimes and were definitely aggravated by alcohol and heat. As soon as I went onto HRT they disappeared - never to re-appear. Well actually when I stopped HRT completely for 3 months in early 2011 these patches begun to reappear but disappeared again when I went back onto the same dose.

Maybe your skin - like mine - reacts to low oestrogen levels in this way - and perhaps because you are now on 25 mcg (are you still?) the permanent decrease may have brought it on. Did you get anything like this before you went onto HRT or when you stopped for a long time?  You could be right about stress aggravating it too.

Sorry there is nothing I can suggest other than HRT or make-up - I had forgotten about this so probably something else to look forward to when I eventually stop HRT whenever that may be....

Good luck with the doc appointment and hope you don't have to give up the wine!

Hurdity x

[Taz2]

Thanks ladies.

Morwenna - yes I do wear make up - just light foundation though - and it tends to dry my skin out since this started. The red areas are quite sore and feel very tight and first of all I thought I was reacting to the moisturiser I was using.

Hurdity - I didn't really get this before HRT although did begin to get some spider veins on my face. I started HRT, though, at 53 when I was still getting periods so the level might not have dropped enough. Funnily enough I hadn't remembered that I am now on a low dose HRT until I read your post - thank you!! The flushes are back a few times a day now and lack of energy etc. is definitely back. I will ask doc for a return to full dose when I see her on the 28th. I hope my case may be helped by a letter she will have received from the Pelvic Floor specialist nurse who has advised that due to my "atrophied tissue both internally and externally this lady would benefit from full strength oestrogen". She's a star!

Taz x