In honor of April’s Rosacea Awareness Month, Dr. Michael Gold, board certified dermatologist/dermasurgeon, shares some expert tips on how to best care for this condition that affects over 14 million people.

• People with rosacea need to be aware of and avoid the known triggers – alcohol, caffeine, spicy food, chocolates, as well as being careful in the sun.
• Patients needing medical therapy have several options including the newer anti-inflammatory pill called Oracea – it is theoretically not an antibiotic because of its dosage and is the only FDA approved pill for rosacea. Other tetracycline medications, including minocycline (Soladyn, Minocin), work well as does the doxycycline medicines (Doryx, Monodox, Adoxa). Topically, prescription strength Metrogel and Finacea (azaleic acid) are the most common topically prescribed medicines.
• In addition to medicines – various lasers and light sources can be used to treat the red of rosacea. Intense Pulsed Light (IPL) devices can be used to treat the blood vessels – as can the pulsed
  dye lasers.