What causes rosacea?

What causes rosacea?

Rebecca Fitzgerald (Dermatologist) gives expert video advice on: What can I do to help prevent rosacea?; What are some of the common rosacea triggers? and more...

Rosacea isn't caused by outside factors; rosacea is a genetic thing. You're born with a certain skin type that makes you vulnerable to rosacea. So, there are not causes, but triggers for rosacea. Most of these triggers are things that cause the blood vessels to expand in your skin; things like spicy food and alcohol, and pretty much anything that you might want have at a party. In addition to that rosacea can be caused by stress, lack of sleep, and changes in temperature; a lot of these things aren't always within our control. So, from time to time, your rosacea will flare. For that reason we use certain medications to help control it.