From chronic diseases to short-term infections, these are the top skin conditions — and symptoms — you should watch for.
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Can’t stop blushing? It could be rosacea, a chronic, long-lasting skin condition that affects roughly 14 million Americans, most often adults between the ages of 30 and 60, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The skin condition usually hits men harder, though women are 3 to 4 times more likely to develop rosacea than men. And it usually affects pale-skinned people, says Joyce Davis, MD, a board-certified dermatologist based in New York City.
Rosacea occurs when facial blood vessels become stimulated and dilate, Dr. Weinberg says, causing the skin to redden, blush, and flush easily. Other symptoms of rosacea include acne-like breakouts; red, thick, bumpy skin appearing on the face; and eye irritation and vision problems, according to the NIH.
While there seems to be a genetic component to rosacea, there are also some environmental factors that can trigger flare-ups, including the sun, hot weather, spicy foods, cigarette smoking, and alcohol, according to MedlinePlus.
There is no definitive test to diagnose rosacea, according to the Mayo Clinic. Your doctor will likely take all of your symptoms into account and rule out other skin conditions.
To treat it, you’ll likely need a combination of good skin-care practices and prescription drugs, such as topical drugs designed to reduce the redness, oral antibiotics to treat bumps and pimples, or an oral acne drug, according to the Mayo Clinic. Laser treatments are another option and may sometimes lessen the redness of rosacea. It’s not a dangerous skin condition, Weinberg says, “but cosmetically it can be problematic.”