anyone got any good advice on rosacea?

it started when i was in my 30's and now has gotten to the point where there is permanent redness on my face and upper chest, and when i am the least bit warm, agitated, embarassed (why does spell check not let me spell that ANY way i think might be right?), stressed, or if i have a little alcohol, it flares up BIG TIME.

now, i am also starting to have tiny bumps in the red areas of my face.

i've tried clinique redness solutions products, and they have reduced the intensity of the permanent redness a bit, but i am hoping for some other ideas. i mostly use products for sensitive skin, without fragrance or artificial color.

thanks!  (getting tired of having to apply layers of make up to my face to make it look a normal color)

 kurtster wrote: 
can we send you stuff?

Ya, I get to bring my lap top.  No RP, its blocked along with lots of other things, but I can listen to the stream.  My main plan is to finish learning to mix music ala hippie.  I will have lots of time to do this without feeling like I'm neglecting other things.  Can't do anything serious except get familiar with the programs and processes.  Headphones only work to an extent.  The hardest part will be enduring the food.

 kurtster wrote: 
Wow Kurt! What do you do with yourself while being sealed of for such a long time? (Do you get sterilized Playboys?)

 kurtster wrote: 
Kurt, can I also recommend you go to Whole Foods and pick up some freeze-dried bacillus strains in capsules?  It is very effective and much better at re-introducing fauna to your guts than yogurt, though yogurt is good.  (as long as it's live)

I hope they give you lots of books and a computer in the clean room.  I will continue to keep you in my prayers.

 kurtster wrote:  You're a smart man. Just make sure the yogurt has an active bacillus culture. Not all of them do.
5-6 weeks in isolation. Ugh. WiIl they let you have a computer? I hope you like to read.

 onlylynne wrote: 
Yogurt is a regular item in the diet in an effort to keep all the good buggies going in the intestinal tract.  The transplant will be a 5 to 6 week stay in a clean room type of environment. 

 kurtster wrote:  If you're going to spend much time in the hospital, you might want to take some lactobacillus. It helps keep the normal flora alive in your intestines.
Stem cell transplants are not my area of expertise, but I don't think that will wipe out your immunity.
Interesting though, to think of it as an erasure.

 onlylynne wrote: 


Its scary.  I had 8 days of Vancomyacin IV as a preventative measure in my treatment already.  So that will probably screw me should I actually catch a real nasty bug. 

A question I was just asked yesterday really has me puzzled.  After my stem cell transplant, I will essentially have been "erased".  Does that mean I will have to get the full course of vaccinations again ?  Have all the immunities I have built up over the course of my life been erased ?  This is a question that I will pose to my Doc's on my next visit.

 phineas wrote: 


So.....that's why we only hear about "nature's broom"? 

 romeotuma wrote: 
Clostridium difficile has become a real problem in hospitals these days.
It is an opportunistic bacteria that infects people that have been on many antibiotics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_Difficile
We see a lot of it.

 romeotuma wrote: 
My niece has had a terrible problem with this. She has been on all kinds of special diets and can't shake it.

 lily34 wrote: 
I'm slowwwwww! 

 onlylynne wrote: 

Also, good bacteria actually prevent candidiasis— commonly called yeast infection or thrush— from developing in our own bodies— the bacteria prevent the candidiasis from forming...

 onlylynne wrote: 
Yep. "Nature abhors a vacuum."  Which I guess explains all the shots to the head She's made me take...

 onlylynne wrote: 
I hadn't thought about that, but it is true.  I wash my hands a lot - product of working in a care home and going on tooo many hygine courses!  Might look at less icky soap...

 onlylynne wrote: 
ok, thank you for answering me. :)

 phineas wrote: 
i love bkliban

 lily34 wrote: 
We don't want to kill all the bacteria around us. Few few types make you sick. Many bacteria are a beneficial part of our normal flora and our environment.
So if you kill all the good bugs, seems to me that you make it easier for the harmful bacteria to take over.

 onlylynne wrote: 
lynne, can you weigh in on why i should avoid antibacterial soap?