Causes of Rosacea - Rosacea Risk Factors

Rosacea is a very frequent skin disorder which involves inflammation and redness of nose, chin, cheeks, forehead, and eyelids. This disease is often characterized by redness and thickness of the skin, prominent blood vessels, swelling of some parts of the facial area especially nose, irritated and watery eyes, and skin eruptions quite similar to acne. This article has covered different aspects of the causes of rosacea. Although scientists could not precisely find out what are the factors playing behind the formation of rosacea; nevertheless it has been ascertained that a multifactorial etiology is most likely to be responsible for this hideous skin disorder. Over the years numerous research groups have come up with different explanations in support of an array of causal factors which mainly include proliferation of Helicobacter pylori bacteria and inflammatory bowel disease, Demodex folliculorum mites, dyspepsia with gastric hypochlorhydria, seborrhea, endocrine diseases, lack of adequate vitamins, disorder of liver, genetic inclination or heredity, or psychogenic factors.

Many doctors suspect that the proliferation of H. pylori bacteria in our gastrointestinal tract and the related infection of the gastric mucosa could be one of the causes of rosacea. A thorough study showed that the presence of H. pylori bacteria in rosacea patients was about 88% whereas in control group the prevalence of these bacteria was 65%. Another investigation revealed that about 84% of patients had positive H. pylori gastritis. Nevertheless many research groups are still doubtful about the role of this bacterium behind the formation of rosacea even though a short-term improvement has been reported after H. pylori eradication therapy. Many doctors strongly believe that genetic predisposition could be one of the prime causes of rosacea. Although no scientific study has been conducted to find the relation between rosacea and heredity; nevertheless, a survey conducted by National Rosacea Society showed that around 40% of rosacea patients could name a family member who had similar symptoms of rosacea.

Rosacea patients often experience flushing or blushing on their facial and neck area. There are numerous stimulants that are known to trigger this symptom. These causal factors include heat, cold, ultraviolet radiation, emotions, alcohol, spices, or drinks consumed in hot condition. The cause of flushing after drinking hot water or any other drink in hot condition might be attributed to the pharyngeal warming of the blood. This dysfunction eventually leads a microcirculatory disturbance causing trouble in vascular cooling system of the brain, which is responsible for the vascular pathogenesis and redness and irritation of the eyes. The vascular dysfunction could also be responsible for frequent migraine headaches in rosacea patients. Some drugs which trigger flushing or blushing in your face might flare up rosacea symptoms. Vasodilating drugs are those types of medication which induce our blood vessels to get enlarge. A few examples of this drug are amiodarone, nitroglycerine-like drugs, ACE-inhibitors, etc. might play a role in vasolidilation of blood vessels which induces flushing.