DR MARTIN SCURR: The medicines that really can calm spotty skin and how your mood may make it worse By Dr Martin Scurr Published: 06:46 EDT, 10 June 2024 | Updated: 06:46 EDT, 10 June 2024 e-mail View comments I suffer from severe rosacea which has got worse since it started about two years ago. Rozex has had limited effect. The symptoms come and go in severity but recently I’ve also been getting really large spots combined with the smaller bumps and pustules.
I’m probably being paranoid, but I don’t want to run into people who know how I used to look. C.H, by email.
Rosacea is an inflammatory condition that causes facial flushing and redness, pustules and irritation around the eyes Dr Martin Scurr replies: Thank you for your question, which highlights the too often ignored but profound psychological effect that a chronic facial eruption can have. Rosacea is an inflammatory condition that causes facial flushing and redness, pustules and irritation around the eyes. It can also thicken and distort the skin, commonly around the nose.
The cause is not clear. As you’re well aware, there are times when the symptoms will flare: these include extreme temperatures, sun exposure, spicy foods and hot drinks. Anger, frustration, embarrassment and other changes of mood can also worsen the skin’s appearance — possibly to do with changes in the nervous system (the rush of adrenaline and so on raising blood pressure, heart rate and ‘blushing’ — which make the rosacea appear.
