From: "Linda Sy MD"
Date: Tue Mar 30, 1999 9:20 am
Subject: [rosacea] Re: Dr. Sy
>Dr. Sy,
>The dermatologist that I saw a while back said that the tetracyclines
>were the most effective antibiotics for rosacea. Do you agree with this?
Yes, I do. Tetracyclines are lipophilic (tends to go to the oil glands),
have little side effects and are quite effective.
>It seems as if some people in the group have had success with other
>antibiotics like Zithromax, Vantin, Cipro, and Cefadroxil. Why would it
>make a difference in what antibiotic you take?
It makes a difference in that, if you develop an infection, say pneumonia or
other kinds of infections, tetracycline is not the med of choice but the
others may be useful. You don't want to develop resistance to these
important antibiotics by taking them for rosacea if you respond to simple
tetracyclines.
>I also have read that the
>antibiotics are really only for the bumps and pimples not the redness
>and flushing. If this is true than why would a dermatologist prescribe
>one if you didn't have alot of bumps or pimples? At the time the derm
>gave me a prescription for Keflex, which I haven't taken yet. Do you
>think that this might help the rosacea? I don't want to take antibiotics
>unless they are going to help because they really upset my stomach.
If you don't have acne bumps, there is no need to take oral antibiotics.
>Also, there has been some discussion about enlargement of the nose from
>the rosacea. How do you know if this is happening to you? My nose gets
>red, but I don't know if this means that it is enlarging. This part of
>rosacea scares me alot. Do you know how you can prevent this from
>happening? Sorry to bombard you with so many questions.
The nose gets permanent swelling if one has long-term uncontrolled rosacea.
I suspect that this swelling could be from chronic flushing and increased
blood flow. Therefore it is impt. to find our what your triggers are and to
avoid them thus preventing more swelling. If the swelling does not subside
and return to normal size (of your nose) then, you can tell that you are
getting rhynophyma. Fortunately, this is rare in women.
Linda Sy MD
http://www.lindasy.com