Retin A works wonders

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Originally posted by Tanya

Retin A has totally helped my keratosis pilaris rubra faceii on my face. I've been using it for four months and the redness is just about gone. I would definately recommend it, just remember don't go out in the sun for long when using it. I really love it makes the skin underneath feel really cold and you can feel it working.. it's great.

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Originally posted by Rick

Hi Tanya - that's wonderful news. I also have KP Rubra Faceii and have had lots of laser treatment without much success.

I have a question for you. When you say it has reduced the redness, do you mean you have little bumps on your face which were red, or do you mean the bright red cheeks?

If you mean it has reduced the colour of your cheeks, that really is terrific. What about flushing in warm rooms?

Rick

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Originally posted by Tanya

I have or had redness above my jaw line on each side of my face that was rough there were no definite bumps in my face, maybe they were too small to see. The redness is fading as long as i keep putting on the retin a product. I deal with heated rooms by turning my thermastat to about 21 degrees in the winter or less which really drives my parents crazy. I bought a heat mist humidifier a long while ago but now i'm thinking of buying a cool mist humidifier because i think heat is bad for the skin even if the heat does provide moisture. i take baths instead of showers to avoid getting water on my face and i apply moisturizers to my face. I avoid restaurants that have fire places because the heat from the fire is bad for my skin. I never go out in the sun because that will make the redness more significant. I always wear spf 60 when i go out even though i'm only going from the car to the door of wherever i'm going. I always turn down invitation to go to a relatives cottage for the day. I think a portable cool mist humidifer would be great i just have to find one. I'm also thinking of getting a moisturizer that has lactic acid in it because winter is coming up and i don't think lubriderm is going to cut it. That's all the advice i can give.. if you have any advice on what works for you please tell me.

[Archive]

Originally posted by Tanya

I have or had redness above my jaw line on each side of my face that was rough there were no definite bumps in my face, maybe they were too small to see. The redness is fading as long as i keep putting on the retin a product. I deal with heated rooms by turning my thermastat to about 21 degrees in the winter or less which really drives my parents crazy. I bought a heat mist humidifier a long while ago but now i'm thinking of buying a cool mist humidifier because i think heat is bad for the skin even if the heat does provide moisture. i take baths instead of showers to avoid getting water on my face and i apply moisturizers to my face. I avoid restaurants that have fire places because the heat from the fire is bad for my skin. I never go out in the sun because that will make the redness more significant. I always wear spf 60 when i go out even though i'm only going from the car to the door of wherever i'm going. I always turn down invitation to go to a relatives cottage for the day. I think a portable cool mist humidifer would be great i just have to find one. I'm also thinking of getting a moisturizer that has lactic acid in it because winter is coming up and i don't think lubriderm is going to cut it. That's all the advice i can give.. if you have any advice on what works for you please tell me.

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Originally posted by Rick

Hi Tanya,

Thanks for the info. It sounds as if you definitely have some KP above your jawline but that's not quite the same as KP Rubra Faceii.

The facial skin of people with Rubra Faceii is often perfectly smooth and "normal" withouy any bumps, however the common factor is the very red cheeks which flush very easily (particularly from heat and stress.) Here is a good picture:

<a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepage/2693.htm">http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/imagepage/2693.htm</a>

Does that look like you? It doesn't sound as if that's exactly what you have. The redness and flushing of Rubra Faceii is extremely hard to treat which was why I was hopeful that Retin-A might work on this type of flushing redness but perhaps it just works on the irritation redness.

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Originally posted by Tanya

That looked like my face before i started the Retin a. I think you have more rosacea than keratosis pilaris. Because rosacea is centred in the middle of the face the nose and the cheeks and keratosis pilaris as in the picture you showed me is more around just above the jaw line off to the side which is like me. Maybe you have both. My derm told me i had both.

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Originally posted by tanya

Also i do not have bumps my keratosis pilaris rubra faceii on my face is red and it's very well above my jaw line not just a little bit above. But there is no redness on my nose or on my cheeks from my nose but on both sides of my face(i'm talking pre retin a product) The picture shows redness above the jawline and not in the centre. Pictures of people with rosecea show redness in the centre of the face the nose and the cheeks. I do have bumps on my upper arms which is keratosis pilaris and does not looks anything like the red rash on my face above the jaw line. My advice to you would be to treat the rosacea would be go to a derm who will prescribe you the antibiotic noritate which is an anti redness antibiotic.

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Originally posted by Rick

I think the redness of rosacea is more on the central areas of the face - nose and cheeks and often the forehead and chin. The redness and flushing of KP rubra faceii is usually cheeks and ears.

You said that the picture looked a lot like your face before you started using Retin-A which gives me a lot of hope. There is so little information available about keratosis pilaris rubra faceii - just the same photos keep coming up if you do a search on the net. My understanding is that it involves KP simplex (KP pimples on arms or legs) and a red face with a strong flushing tendency. I'm sure a lot of people are wrongly diagnosed with rosacea since doctors are so unfamiliar with it and wouldn't think to check for KP during an examination. Can you tell me if the Retin-A has reduced your flushing in warm rooms or is it still the same?

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Originally posted by tanya

I don't know if retin-a has reduced my flushing because i started using retin-a in june and therefore haven't been in any heated rooms only air conditioned room. I hope that when winter comes the flushing wont be back but who knows maybe it will. Have you taken steps to avoid being in heated rooms? You could try buying a cool mist humidifier. Is your redness on your inner cheeks or on the outer parts of the checks. My redness spanned just above the jawline upwards on the outer part of the check near the hairline but my face is pale in the centre. Sometimes when i get nervous i flush but maybe thats just blushing. I remember one time i was in a restaurant seating right under an air vent that just blew heat down on my face in big spurs and than shut of for a while, that made my face really flush and i felt it go very red, i had to leave and get some fresh cold air and than it went back to normal colour.. strange.. i was with my parents who thought i was having an allergic reaction to something that i ate.. they don't understand that forced heat does that to my skin. I agree that there isn't much information on keratosis pilaris rubra or pictures of it on the net. There are only three pictures that i have found and every site links back up to them. Maybe because this condition is rare or people are reluctant to have their picture taken of it.

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Originally posted by Todd

could you please post a link to retin-A?

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Originally posted by Rick

Tanya - my redness looks a lot like the picture on the link. I do have redness in the central cheek area but it is more pronounced at the sides. It is the areas which have some permanent redness which flush the most. I'd like to know which kind of Retin-A you're using. I know there are many different kinds - gels and creams and different strengths so it would be interesting to know which kind is working for you.

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Originally posted by Rick

Tanya - my redness looks a lot like the picture on the link. I do have redness in the central cheek area but it is more pronounced at the sides. It is the areas which have some permanent redness which flush the most. I'd like to know which kind of Retin-A you're using. I know there are many different kinds - gels and creams and different strengths so it would be interesting to know which kind is working for you.

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Originally posted by Tanya

I was prescribe retisol a cream 0.025% it also says tretinion on the tube it has a sunscreen in it too. I also use cellex-c for sensitive skin in the morning on my face which is sort of like a rejuevenation type product which i think makes my skin better and less prone to flushes. Have you been to a dermatologist yet?