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Announcement
"Patients' Choice Award" by Vitals.com
Dr. Sam Naficy has been awarded the "Patients' Choice Award" by Vitals.com - a website dedicated to rating the quality of physicians across the country. Out of 720,000 physicians, only 5% received this honor.
Rosacea
Rosacea is a very common skin condition that mostly affects Caucasians of northwestern European descent. Symptoms usually start with flushing and redness to the central face and across the cheeks, nose, or forehead. It can also affect the neck, chest, ears, and scalp. The flushing that causes the redness may cause small blood vessels in the face to dilate and become more visible through the skin, appearing like tiny red lines, otherwise known as telangiectasias. Recurrent episodes of flushing may promote inflammation, which lead to the formation of red bumps that resemble acne lesions. Often times, rosacea can be mistaken for common acne, and therefore is also referred to as acne rosacea. Rarely rosacea of the nose can result in significant enlargement of the skin of the nose, a condition known as rhinophyma.
Causes of Rosacea
Although the exact cause of rosacea is unclear, it is known that there are a variety of triggers that cause rosacea to flare. Emotional factors, such as stress or embarrassment, may aggravate rosacea. Exercise, alcohol consumption, and spicy foods also may aggravate rosacea.
Types of Rosacea
There are a few common types of Rosacea:
- Erythematotelangiectatic rosacea results in permanent redness with a tendency to flush and blush easily. Telangiectasias are present.
- Papulopustular rosacea is accompanied with some red raised lesions with some pus-filled lesions that typically last 1-4 days.
- Phymatous rosacea is most commonly associated with an enlargement of the nose (rhinophyma), though may also affect the chin (gnatophyma), forehead (metophyma), and eyes (blepharophyma). Symptoms include thickened skin, enlargement of the area, and nodularities.
- Ocular rosacea results in dry, red, and irritated eyes and eyelids.
Treatment of Rosacea
Treatment varies depending on severity and type of rosacea. For mild cases of rosacea, often times by avoiding triggers, this can help to reduce the onset of symptoms. Protection from sun exposure is important and daily use of a sunscreen is highly recommended. Topical antibiotics, such as metronidazole, and oral antibiotics, such as tetracyclines, are often recommended to reduce inflammation, papules, pustules, and some redness. Intense pulse light (IPL) treatments such as Fotofacial offer very good results to minimize redness of the skin. Treatment of phytous rosacea (such as rhinophyma) may require surgery or laser resurfacing.
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