Wheat intolerance or rosacea?

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Elise4270
Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
edited August 2016 in Food and Nutrition
Obviously I'm having an issue with a facial rash. Burning, stinging, red and if I touch it it aggravates it. Its like whelps, then flakes. Horrible.

A few years ago I asked a family doctor about it. At a quick glance he said it was rosacea and prescribed an antibiotic ointment. It does not help. In fact it burns.

I change my diet, eliminated soy, wheat, some dairy, nitrates and nuts. No face rash unless I had pizza. Or maybe it was coincidence and it really is rosacea.

I had surgery 9 weeks ago, diet went to crap, rash has been an issue the whole 9 weeks with the exception of 10 days on a medrol pack, methyl prednisolone.

So I'm back 2 days gluten/wheat free to try to figure out if this is food or rosacea.

I can't find anything out online. Does rosacea respond to steroids? Internet says no, but...? IRL?

Food intolerances seem like it'd respond to steroids. No luck on internet searches.

Anyone have any experience? In a few weeks I'll have my answer. I just hate waiting, but I do need to get back off the wheat regardless.
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Replies

  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    I'm trying laser for mine. Got a great Groupon deal.
  • littlechiaseed
    littlechiaseed Posts: 489 Member
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    See a dermatologist to be sure and get the best treatment. I have seborrhic dermatitis. No diet changes helped it. Just use steroid cream and green primer.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    I'm trying laser for mine. Got a great Groupon deal.

    Laser for which condition? And your particular condition- do steroids help or aggravate it?
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    If it is itching, get a skin biopsy. It might be Dermatitis Herpetiformis. This is Celiac and treated by avoiding all wheat gluten and wheat products.
    https://celiac.org/celiac-disease/understanding-celiac-disease-2/dermatitis-herpetiformis/
    https://www.csaceliacs.org/treatment_of_dermatitis_herpetiformis.jsp
  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Elise4270 wrote: »
    I'm trying laser for mine. Got a great Groupon deal.

    Laser for which condition? And your particular condition- do steroids help or aggravate it?

    I'm getting laser for my rosacea. These are IPL treatments and basically cauterize broken capillaries that cause blood to pool at the skin's surface, if my capillaries are small enough. If they aren't there are two more levels of procedures that they can perform. The third level is a saline treatment and is used on spider veins on the legs (which luckily I don't have). Meaning I'm confident that they can get rid of these one way or another. My mother used to have them on her cheeks and they didn't look bad at all, she never had to wear blush. But mine are just beside my nose, yuck.

    ETA: our problems don't sound identical. I DO get dry red patches too, but these are temporary and steroids do help.


  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
    edited August 2016
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    Thanks @goldthistime . I made an appointment with the dermatologist. I fear it's early stage rosacea, but really wish it were food since that'll be so much easier to control.

    @RodaRose I'm aware of the DH and don't have it. But I also don't have the characteristic visible blood vessels with rosacea. Seems like the symptoms of both are so similar, that I won't be able to figure this out on my own.

    Maybe it's neither and just sensitive skin syndrome.

    I am continuing to improve on the gluten free diet. But I'm also more diligent about moisturizing cream and using metrogel (rosacea).
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    Here is today. Which isn't bad and is seemingly starting to heal.

    Just hoping someone recognises something similar so I can plan accordingly until my appointment 2+weeks out.

    Thanks again all

    20160826_100109_zpsjqtbifq2.jpg
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    It doesn't look like the rosacea I know - flushed skin, red pimples clustered together, dry skin. If it went away with removing certain food-types from your diet, I say keep with the elimination. Do go to the dermatologist just to be sure though.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    It doesn't look like the rosacea I know - flushed skin, red pimples clustered together, dry skin. If it went away with removing certain food-types from your diet, I say keep with the elimination. Do go to the dermatologist just to be sure though.

    Thanks!
  • memickee
    memickee Posts: 250 Member
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    Looks like perioral dermatitis. I am getting over the same thing;just finishing my oral antibiotics. I was given some topical skin cream as well and it burned for several applications. I also used lotrimin; do not put a steroid on it because it'll make it better for a bit then get much worse. There are certain foods you should avoid according to my research. I recommend you google it to see if this fits what you have.
  • CatFan1019
    CatFan1019 Posts: 37 Member
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    Have you tried not eating sugar? That seemed to help my rosacea.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    CatFan1019 wrote: »
    Have you tried not eating sugar? That seemed to help my rosacea.

    I don't eat much sugar. Only fruit. I have cut that back because I realized it could be related.

    It started after surgery. So idk if it's related.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    memickee wrote: »
    Looks like perioral dermatitis. I am getting over the same thing;just finishing my oral antibiotics. I was given some topical skin cream as well and it burned for several applications. I also used lotrimin; do not put a steroid on it because it'll make it better for a bit then get much worse. There are certain foods you should avoid according to my research. I recommend you google it to see if this fits what you have.

    Looks like a no go. :frowning:
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Dermatologist misdiagnosed me with rosacea (even though I had clear, pale, healthy skin). It was bizarre. But, I didn't know, so I trusted her because she is a doctor. She prescribed a topical vasoconstrictor. But, I actually had a very slight neurological injury. It stopped blood flow to the nerves in my face for 48 hours. I developed a severe rebound pain disorder. I lost my job. Was barely able to eat and sleep. I was completely debilitated for over 6 months. It's been a year. I have recovered a lot, but still dealing with it. I actually had a malabsorption disorder from antibiotics and the skin reactions were from food. I had to stop eating grains. Also starches and fodmaps (should be temporary). That's just my experience. You can get an opinion from a derm. They only look at skin. They don't know anything about the facial nerves or internal health issues. So you might need blood tests and a different doctor. If you do have rosacea you shouldn't use steroids it makes it worse. You can join a rosacea forum like Rosacea Group Forum to read real life experiences with treatment options. Drugs.com has reviews as well, and up to date fda info, doctors use it as their resource on meds as well.
  • bumpbreakcar
    bumpbreakcar Posts: 191 Member
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    OMG I had the same issue! Creams and crap galore didn't help... Eliminated wheat cut back on dairy ... Best skin ever. Stick to that.. Check out the book wheat belly you know the right thing to do all along keep it up, it makes all the difference
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    I made an appt with a dermatologist for something else, and she first pointed out that I had a small case of rosecea.
    It does not itch or annoy me. I have "rosie" cheeks. People who do not know better, point them out to me like it is a good thing.
    For one colleague, I told him to look up rosecea (He is stupid and rude so he deserved it.)
    Some folks are just weird and annoying and can't help themselves.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    RodaRose wrote: »
    I made an appt with a dermatologist for something else, and she first pointed out that I had a small case of rosecea.
    It does not itch or annoy me. I have "rosie" cheeks. People who do not know better, point them out to me like it is a good thing.
    For one colleague, I told him to look up rosecea (He is stupid and rude so he deserved it.)
    Some folks are just weird and annoying and can't help themselves.

    Yup, stupid can't help it! Haha!

    I spent all day outside and my face isn't more irritated, in fact it seems like it's still getting better. So, think I'm going with food allergies. Unless its rosacea that just happens to be clearing up :confused:
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    I hope it does clear up for you.
  • amyk0202
    amyk0202 Posts: 667 Member
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    I have rosacea. My face will look lightly flushed like your picture when it is in it's "neutral" phase--without any breakouts. I don't get frequent breakouts, but I do generally have some level of flushing. I'm not always as good about using my gel as I should be. Mine gets worse, it gets better--I don't know why. It does seem to flare up more when I'm stressed.

    So, you should probably still see a MD about it if it worries you. I just use my metronizadole gel when it's bad & otherwise use a tinted moisturizer to even everything out when I need to. The gel has never felt like it was burning. That would be concerning.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
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    Oh yeah, I use finacea (that's 15% azelaic acid) to prevent blemishes. It's also used to treat rosacea. And I use a serum by Paula's Choice called Resist Ultra-light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum (it's for normal to oily skin). It has antioxidants such as niacinamide, resveratrol, quercetin, and hyaluronic acid and glycerin. It's helpful for skin problems like Rosacea or acne and repairs the moisture barrier of the skin.

    If you get flushing from histamine in food some natural antihistamines are the antioxidants: Quercetin and Vitamin C.

    A lot of people say taking MSM helped them.

    For me niacinamide reduced the flushing and nerve pain from the rebound disorder. My neurologist said I might have Neurogenic Rosacea. But, predominantly I have an unknown nerve pain disorder in the trigeminal nerves in my face.