Physical appearance is by no means the most important aspect of a person, but having a healthy self-esteem is crucial to living a happy life.
Unfortunately, Imgur user, pyschedelephant, says she was sad when she looked in the mirror and saw this reflection staring back at her:
She claims to have a chronic skin disorder:
“I’ve been dealing with extremely painful, severe rosacea that began suddenly about 2 years ago,” she explains.
According to the National Rosacea Society, rosacea typically begins after age 30 and primarily affects facial skin. Redness on the cheeks, nose, chin or forehead have been most commonly seen during “flare ups.”
The American Academy of Dermatology claims 14 million Americans suffer from the skin disorder, to which there is no known cause or cure.
However, there are treatments to help ease the following common symptoms:
- Flushing
- Persistent redness
- Bumps and pimples
- Visible blood vessels
After the Imgur user says “nothing helped,” she tried a healing ointment that has been known to help heal tattoos and sooth sensitive skin — Aquaphor.
She slathered the lotion all over her face before she went to bed and within the first week, she recalls her bumps diminishing, but the redness of her skin getting much worse:
But by weeks 2 and 3, her redness began to fade…
In month’s time, she says she could finally look in the mirror again “without getting sad.”
Aquaphor isn’t the only treatment for those living with rosacea.
Here are a few other remedies recommended by Mayo Clinic:
- Antibiotics with anti-inflammation effects. They might come in creams, gels or lotions or in pill form.
- If antibiotics don’t work, acne drugs might help. Mayo Clinic suggests talking to your doctor about isotretinoin. The drug is reportedly the most commonly used for severe acne, but will also help with “acne-like lesions” of rosacea.
- In some cases with more permanent enlarged blood vessels, surgery might be required.
Since rosacea typically affects those with fair skin, the National Rosacea Society claims avoiding situations that will trigger an outbreak, such as exposure to the sun, emotional stress and hot weather.
After years of being sad over the way she looked, hopefully she sees what many likely saw the entire time — the woman behind the bumps.
