The Rosacea Doctor of the Future

Thomas Edison once expressed the view that in the future, a physician would not merely prescribe medicine but would engage his patients in healthy choices in the physical care of their body, proper diet choices, and ways to address the cause and prevention of illness and disease.

We of Bass & Boney Pharmaceutical, Inc. note to the reader that there is a direct correlation with the above statement by Thomas Edison and the treatment of rosacea. A well-known rosacea sufferer, J.P. Morgan, financed the inventor, Thomas Edison and most of his experiments and inventions including the electric light bulb. Later the success of the experiments, patenting of the invention, and the application of J.P. Morgan’s home and the lower section of Manhattan, N.Y. through J.P. Morgan’s new company named General Electric Co. along with many other businesses.

The Relationship with J.P. Morgan and the grotesque as a financier often made Thomas Edison think of the futuristic methods of treatment of illnesses.  J. P. Morgan had a purple nose which was the result of a chronic skin disease called rosacea. His nose became grotesquely deformed caused by a disease called rhinophyma which is a sub-type of rosacea. As the conditions progresses, one may experience pitting of the skin, nodules under the skin, fissures, and abnormal tissue growth which contort the shape of the nose.

Through Thomas Edison’s friendship and business relationship with J.P. Morgan he was inspired to think beyond medical treatment based on prescribed pills and potions to realize that health cannot be purchased with money but must sometimes be learned as a health choice.

Can rosacea be cured? We believe that you can control the factors that create rosacea, but at the same time, rosacea patients are obviously human also, and given the right conditions, we will occasionally slide back into the old habits or ‘triggers’ that cause our skin to react with redness, rosacea papules, acne pimples and seborrheic dermatitis. Can rosacea be cured? It’s a philosophical question; how strong is your will and determination to live a healthier and happier life? The prevention of rosacea or rosacea remission can definitely be an attainable goal. “Never say never or it never will”.

In the treatment of rosacea, many things come to mind:

Dermatologists that are in too much of a hurry to spend the time to answer questions or explain the possible effects – good and bad – of the prescription you’ve just been handed.

Conflicting reports of the value of one rosacea medication over another.

Frustration at not having your symptoms taken seriously.

Confusion when a rosacea product that appears to work well for everyone else fails to improve your rosacea and may have even made it worse

In desperation, many turn to skin care specialist, friends or rosacea support groups. This can often lead to more confusion as we read one week of “product A” that’s a miracle cure improving everyone’s rosacea only to read a week later on the same support group that “product A” doesn’t work for anyone, and “product B” is the answer.

All this leaves many of us wondering, when did skin care become so complicated? How did my skin ever get so bad? Maybe like so many things today, the answer is to return to the basics of skin care and treatment:

Avoid the things that cause you irritation.

“New and improved” often makes the skin burn, causing redness, and itching reactions.

Add water to your skin, and to your body. Water is an essential component of life.

Clean the skin with a cleanser that doesn’t promise to do anything but cleanse the skin: if it’s moisturizing, it’s not cleansing it’s applying a film; if it’s removing wrinkles, it’s not cleansing it’s exfoliating the skin with an ingredient strong or harsh enough to remove skin; if it’s a deodorant soap, it’s not cleansing, it’s applying a chemical to mask odor.

Releasing tension and relaxation are a more potent skin care medication than any prescription rosacea treatment you can purchase.

The foods we eat have a direct impact on our skin. Medications can affect how we react to food; our present skin condition will have an impact on our reactions. Those with just flushing may find that certain foods trigger a flush, while those who suffer with acne also may find other foods trigger a reaction, some of us have seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea or eczema and rosacea and each change in the skin condition causes a change in triggers. Add to that, the rosacea, acne or eczema treatment you last used, and how much of it you applied and how recently you applied it will affect your skin’s reaction to a food trigger.

The symptoms of rosacea can be caused by many factors:

Prescription and over the counter medications used to treat rosacea or other medical conditions can cause symptoms of rosacea as a side effect of treatment. Look at the warnings on the label, and note if the medication warns it can cause itching, a skin rash or redness of the skin. It is thought that possible benefit of the medications outweighs the ‘inconvenience ‘of these symptoms.

We are told that genetics plays a role in the formation of rosacea. Thus is someone in your family has or had rosacea, you will develop rosacea.  The more likely reality is that we learn habits from those we live around – some good habits, some bad. We can control our own future and make the changes needed to limit or control rosacea.

Often if we see an improvement with a treatment, in our rush and desire to cure the problem, we increase the dose or application. We believe that if a little helped, more will do more good, sadly that is often not the case, if more would have been better, the treatment would have contained a higher percentage of the active ingredient.  Follow the instructions for best results.

In the face of these factors, it seems that the mainstream medical community has made very little progress towards a solution.

Dermatologists often state that they do not understand rosacea. Why then, do they treat rosacea?

The statement has been made that rosacea is an enigma and others state that they are baffled by rosacea. Often patients migrate from one dermatologist to another dermatologist trying to find an answer to their skin care issues.

You know your skin best, you know best how and what your rosacea reacts to. You are more familiar with your skin than any dermatologist who has only seen your skin for 15 minutes