We’re going to answer the question we pose in the title of the blog straight away — yes, hot weather is a known trigger for rosacea. With that out of the way, what do the more than 14 million people who are living with rosacea in the United States do when the temps soar?
There are several ways in which you can better manage rosacea, no matter the weather, and board-certified dermatologist Dr. Bruce Saal and our team here at Los Gatos Dermatology are going to cover a few of them here.
One of the most important points to consider when you have rosacea is that this common skin condition isn’t curable, which means living with it comes down to good management.
If you have moderate to severe rosacea, enlist the services of an experienced skin care expert, such as our own Dr. Saal. A dermatologist understands better than most how rosacea behaves, what works and what doesn’t, and how to keep the skin condition under control.
At our practice, Dr. Saal has a number of different tools in our rosacea arsenal, including prescription medications, as well as advanced laser treatments, including intense-pulsed light (IPL) therapy.
To give you an idea about how effective IPL is, one study followed patients with severe rosacea over two years. Some of this group received IPL treatments and some didn’t. The group that received the therapy reported a total efficacy rate of more than 95% (total efficacy meant that 90% or more of the symptoms were cleared up).
Better still, the rates of recurrence were extremely low among those who had IPL treatments — slightly more than 8% compared to more than 48% among those who didn’t receive IPL.
So, whatever the weather, we have the tools you need to fight back against rosacea.
If heat is a trigger for your rosacea, we want to provide you with a few tips you can practice outside of your rosacea treatments with us, starting with sun protection.
It’s sunny all year here in California, so it’s imperative to protect your skin anytime you head outdoors. Start with a broad spectrum sunscreen of at least 30 SPF and choose one that doesn't have a lot of extra ingredients, like fragrances.
While sunscreen is good, it’s even better to go a step further with a hat that shields your sensitive skin. The hat should feature a wide brim that provides ample shade.
Better still is avoiding the trigger altogether by staying indoors when the temps soar and the sun is high.
To avoid overheating, we recommend that you always have a bottle of cold water on hand that you can sip throughout the day. You also shouldn’t engage in activities that are going to make you sweat profusely, which can really make rosacea flare.
At home, taking lukewarm baths and showers is much better than hot ones, which can aggravate your rosacea.
Lastly, ditch that hot cup of joe in favor of an iced coffee in the mornings.
Between our treatments and your preventive steps, you should be able to keep your rosacea flare-ups to minimum, even in hot weather.
For expert oversight of your rosacea, please contact our office in Los Gatos, California, to schedule an appointment.
