Rosacea
Rosacea is a condition of the skin that causes the patient to experience severe redness, bumps, blisters and a general roughness of the skin. Many of the visible symptoms of rosacea are related to the veins and blood vessels within the skin of the face becoming inflamed and enlarged. Patients may also experience burning, skin peeling, tightness and other symptoms during a flare up.
The condition affects about 16 million men and woman nation wide, and while not largely understood, is a somewhat common condition, particularly for people who have a lighter skin tone.
Rosacea can occur anywhere on the body, but typically appears on areas of the skin that receive the most sun exposure – namely the face, neck, and decollate.
Most people who experience rosacea begin to see the symptoms in their twenties, and as they age, the symptoms can become worse.
What Causes Rosacea?
There are many causes and triggers that can lead to a flare up of rosacea. For some people, a flare up can result from things like extremely hot or cold temperatures related to the weather or environment, or even the use of hot tubs or saunas. For others, skin and haircare products (i.e. hairspray) can be a trigger. Many patients also report that when they feel stressed out or overly tired, their rosacea symptoms will increase. And a rosacea flare up can be brough on if the patient has eaten a lot of spicy foods.
While these are common causes of rosacea flares, each patient is different and will have different causes that will exacerbate their rosacea.
BOOK A ROSACEA TREATMENT
Can Cold Laser Treatment Help Clear Rosacea?
Cold Laser therapy is a highly effective method of treating rosacea. At Vancouver Cold Laser, we use different types of lasers to treat the various symptoms and side effects of the condition.
During a laser treatment, the special light emitted by a laser will use different wavelengths to reach the inflamed blood vessels, essentially collapsing or shrinking them back to their normal size, thereby reducing the redness that occurs with rosacea.
Once the swollen blood vessels have been reduced, the other symptoms such as bumps and blisters will also abate, helping to give the skin a more normal, smooth appearance.
Are There Any Risks or Side Effects With Cold Laser Rosacea Treatment?
There are very few if any risks or side effects to having laser treatment for your rosacea. Most patients don’t feel anything during treatment other than the light pressure of the laser against their skin. However, depending on the severity of the flare up, some patients have reported a mild warmth or tingling during their treatment, which usually goes away within an hour or so of the completion of the treatment.
And lastly, some patients report a feeling of tightness or light itching post treatment. This is caused by the inflamed blood vessels shrinking and is entirely normal during this process.
In general, cold laser treatment for rosacea is highly effective and very safe. The treatment will not damage any area of your skin because it is designed to work beneath the skin to treat the underlying issues vs. the topical symptoms that you see when you look in the mirror.
How Many Treatments Will I Need?
A typical course of cold laser therapy for rosacea will consist of three to six treatments spaced out over a period of several weeks. The severity of your rosacea will influence how many treatments you’ll need.
Once your initial course of treatment has been completed, you may need follow up treatments to maintain the results. This will also depend on how you care for your skin post treatment.
When Will I Start to See Results?
Here’s the good news! Because the laser treatment immediately treats the inflamed veins and blood vessels beneath the surface of your skin, you are likely to see an improvement immediately after your first treatment! As you progress through your treatment course, the veins will eventually either shrink back to a normal size, or collapse entirely, leading to a marked reduction in the redness and other skin disruptions that you experience during a flare up.
With each additional treatment, you will notice more improvement both in how your skin looks and how it feels.
What Should I Do After Cold Laser Treatment?
Good skin care is incredibly important both during and after your laser treatments. Avoiding direct sunlight for more than a few minutes at a time will help, as will the use of a very strong sunscreen. You must be diligent about this, otherwise the treated veins can become inflamed again, or new areas of your skin could experience a new flare up of rosacea.
Along with good sun care, treat your skin with kid gloves. Because rosacea is exacerbated by the things we’ve mentioned (extreme temperatures, spicy foods, lifestyle choices), it’s important to ensure that you are getting lots of good quality sleep, eating a healthy diet, and avoiding triggers that are known to cause your skin to react.
Vancouver Cold Laser offers a line of specially formulated skin care products that can also help to take care of your skin by providing vitamins and antioxidants that will keep your skin clear, soft and supple.
Outcome of Cold Laser Treatment for Rosacea
For many rosacea sufferers, laser treatment is successful, and will lead to longer periods of time where the skin looks healthy and clear, in fact some patients have reported that they have not experienced a flare up after having their skin treated with cold lasers. The results can be long term or permanent, and much more effective than the topical products that were the only previous method of treating rosacea.
Summary
Cold Laser Treatment is highly effective in treating rosacea. If you would like to try a pain free way of treating your rosacea, we are here to help!
