What's the Deal with Rosacea in Midlife and Perimenopause?

Anything But Mid is hosted by Amy Edwards and Whitney Stropp. Neither host is a doctor and nothing here is medical advice. Lightly cleaned for readability.

Whitney: I'm Amy. And I'm Whitney, and this may be midlife, but you're anything but mid. It may be midlife. I don't know, it might be. So by the power of recording, it feels like we haven't skipped a beat, but it has been a while.

Amy: I know it's been a minute because you've been across the world and back and Traveling. and even

Whitney: Yes. Living life. And then I had a mid moment. Where I decided to get my eyes done.

Amy: My mid moment is the fact that you got your eyes done and I didn't even know. I was like, did I forget this? Did she tell me? Did I know?

Whitney: God knows. I thought I told you.

Amy: What? How long have you been planning this?

Whitney: Well, do you remember when I had a a rash on my eyelid?

Amy: Vaguely.

Whitney: Okay, well when I went, I couldn't get in to see my dermatologist and so I went to what I thought was an

Amy: So I went to the plastic surgeon.

Whitney: So what I went to what I thought was the ophthalmologist, because it's the TOC eye surgery center, and I had gone I had gone there before. Okay. Oh yeah, yeah. And for for what I actually ended up having done, like six years prior. And so I asked chat like, "Is this a place I could go to get this looked at? Cuz I couldn't get in to see the dermatologist." And they and it said yes, so I made the appointment. I go in, I'm talking to the nurse, I'm like, "Okay, I've got this, you know, rash or whatever, but also, I'm having trouble with my vision. I don't think the ophthal- optometrist is really getting a good view, so maybe he can check my vision and stuff while I'm here." And she was like, "Okay, great." I mean, I took like a good 5-6 minutes explaining all that to her. The doctor comes in. He talks to me about my rash and then he goes, "I know you wanted to talk about your vision, but I'm not an eye doctor." Okay. Okay. And I was like, "What?" He goes, "I'm not an eye doctor. I'm a plastic surgeon." And I was like, "You're not an ophthalmologist?"

Amy: As long as I'm here.

Whitney: And he goes, "No, but I can deal with your rash." And I go, "That is so weird." And by the way, why didn't his nurse say anything?

Amy: I don't know.

Whitney: But anyway, yeah. So then I go, "Well, since I'm here, what would you do?" And I think I did tell you, because remember I told you he he he recommended the blepha- Can never remember how to say it.

Amy: Blepharoplasty or something like that, yeah.

Whitney: Yeah, something like that. Which is just basically an upper eyelid surgery to remove loose skin.

Amy: Very common.

Whitney: And then he said, "What do you think if I also did this?" And he raised my eyebrows and I said, "Well, I think it makes me look very, very surprised." So he goes, "Okay, well then we won't do that." So, So it was kind of random. But he wanted to do a whole, I mean, you know, he I said, "What do you think about everything?" And he goes, "You're too early for everything. Like you look great." And I'm like, "Well, you know, whatever." Right. And I didn't show him my like loose skin over here, but He saw it. He said, well I wasn't smiling.

Amy: You're like, it's very obvious. You think the doctor No, not that. I don't think it's obvious.

Whitney: But I don't think you see it when I'm just But yes, I'm very animated, so he probably saw it. And he's like, "No, you're fine." But then he talked about doing the eyebrow lift. But that was like a whole put you under.

Amy: Oh, this was Wait.

Whitney: This wasn't. Oh no, dude. Oh my gosh. It was so scary. So, cut to, I go away

Amy: That just made my stomach like, "Oof, ah."

Whitney: So I scheduled the appointment, because I thought, okay, it's 2 weeks of

Amy: When was this that you even went in?

Whitney: I did it last Thursday.

Amy: Yeah, but when did you go in initially?

Whitney: Like a month before that.

Amy: A month?

Whitney: Yeah, cuz I I just had this rash.

Amy: This is very quick, okay.

Whitney: So this is crazy. So I I I go in, I have that appointment. I say, "Okay, let's do it." I think 2 weeks is what you need, right? Like you need 2 weeks to get recovered or whatever. So I'm looking at my calendar, I've got a lot of things going on, and I thought, okay, this is the only time I can really do it. I'm coming back from France and Spain on Wednesday night, Thursday morning, I have the surgery.

Amy: Okay.

Whitney: Well, I I'll go through all of it. So I show up on Thursday morning totally jet-lagged and tired. And by the way, you should like stop drinking for like 4 weeks before, but I'm on a trip.

Amy: So you did not. Got it.

Whitney: Through through Provence and wine tasting and then in Spain with their cava. And so you know I was drinking the whole damn time.

Amy: That's just for bruising anyway, I think.

Whitney: Yeah, exactly. But bruising is a big deal.

Amy: I know, but anyhow.

Whitney: So so I go in, and they've given me nothing. All they've told me is show up 15 minutes early,

Amy: See you then.

Whitney: it's going to be in the office, and someone will need to drive you home.

Amy: That's Oh, my god.

Whitney: And so I'm thinking, okay, they're going to give me like some Valium or something beforehand and then they're going to He I knew it wasn't a completely out situation. But I show up, and I bring my mom with me, who's in the corner cracking up the whole time, and they finally said to her, "You you may have to leave the room." She was being very disruptive. So, she loves to see me uncomfortable. And so what they do is there's no Valium, there's nothing. They they

Amy: What?

Whitney: put these eye drops in your eyes that kind of numb your eyeball so that you're not flinching.

Amy: Oh, my god.

Whitney: And then I lay back, and he inserts a needle into two parts of my eyelid, and both eyes, and fills it up with liquid that is the anesthesia.

Amy: I don't like this at all.

Whitney: So, my mom is sitting in the corner, and she says, "I could see all of a sudden your whole eyelid was was Big. swollen." Yeah, and purple. And meanwhile, I'm laying there, and I feel things dripping. I think it's fucking blood. And I am in a panic. I'm calm, but inside my head, I am freaking out.

Amy: Well, you have to be calm, because he's got a knife near your eyes.

Whitney: Yes, and so I I said in a little squeaky voice, "So, I feel things dripping, it's not blood?"

Amy: Holy shit.

Whitney: And he was like, "No, no. That's just the you know the anesthesia." And I was like, "Okay, great." And then and then my mom and I are kind of You know, when I'm uncomfortable, I make jokes.

Amy: Mhm.

Whitney: And I'm supposed to be calm and stay still, so they turned music on so that we wouldn't talk to each other. And it it didn't hurt.

Amy: It didn't hurt.

Whitney: But it but I had to stay out of my mind

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: because I'm like he Oh, and then they cauterize Ah. things, so they've hooked me up to so something that grounds me, which is basically putting a current through me Whoa. the whole time so that the cauterizing doesn't I don't know, I didn't understand it at all.

Amy: Shut you on fire or something? Yeah.

Whitney: Yeah, so I don't blow up.

Amy: Woah.

Whitney: The whole the whole thing was 2 hours, but the procedure itself was like 30 minutes.

Amy: 2 hours? Okay.

Whitney: But I had to wait for things to to you know,

Amy: Wow.

Whitney: take effect and then I think he was seeing another patient, so I I showed up at 8:30, and I was out of there at 10:45, I think.

Amy: That's fucking crazy. Wow, it's fucking crazy.

Whitney: And then I go home, and the swelling begins, and the bruising begins. And I did not realize this, but when you have surgery like that, you're not a He said, as I'm leaving, he goes, "You can't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for the next 10 days."

Amy: Wow.

Whitney: "And don't bend over." And I was like, "What? That's so weird." So I'm like, "Yeah, yeah." So I follow the rules the first day, but then the next morning, I had to take my trash out. So I'm like, "Eh, what's the big deal?" I bend down and pick up the trash, and it was like fire on my eyes Oh, god. because when the blood rushes in,

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: and I was like, "Ooh, I'm going to I'm going to listen to the doctor. Perhaps he knows what he's talking about." Damn. So it's day let's see, it's Day 6. Are you happy with it so far? And this is what it looks like. I'll take it off. Okay, I'll try to zoom in there. Here, I'll get in there. Yeah. It looks good. Really good. I am happy. I mean, I I'm I don't like the bruising. But as the swelling's going down, I can see

Amy: I know I didn't really know your eyelids before, so.

Whitney: I can see the difference. Yeah, well I'll show you before I'll I'll put up some before and after photos.

Amy: Were they pretty hooded or whatever?

Whitney: I mean they were Yeah, the there is Yes, I couldn't see my actual eyelid. Like on your eyes you can see your eyelid. What you see when you look at me is overhanging skin.

Amy: Okay. Okay. Doesn't insurance cover that?

Whitney: Only if you have if your vision is truly impacted.

Amy: Oh.

Whitney: And it's I couldn't wait long enough for that to happen.

Amy: How Can I ask how much it was?

Whitney: It was $3,500.

Amy: Wow, that's totally affordable. Holy shit.

Whitney: Yeah. And by the way, because then I started doing research, because I was like if I don't do the brow lift, is it even worth it? And I was going to do it anyway because it bothers me to see that hang hanging skin, even if no one else sees it. But the more research I did, they were like, "You don't need to do the brow lift. It's going to make a difference. It's going to make you look rested, because right now, it's putting weight on your eyelids, and your eyes aren't as open."

Amy: Holy shit. Yeah. Yep.

Whitney: So, I'm excited to see. I'm telling everybody like you're You know, people might not notice anything.

Amy: Me too. Ah. This is exciting.

Whitney: But But I'm

Amy: Yeah. Way to go. Way to go.

Whitney: excited, and it was all an accident.

Amy: And it was all an accident. That is so funny.

Whitney: A happy accident. Anyway,

Amy: Your subconscious was like,

Whitney: Yeah, exactly.

Amy: "Plastic surgeon."

Whitney: Exactly.

Amy: Your ChatGPT was like,

Whitney: "I'm not an ophthalmologist."

Amy: "I know exactly what she needs." So funny. Well, that was my mid moment then, not knowing that you're doing this, but what a what a cool surprise.

Whitney: Yeah, you didn't You forgot. Yes.

Amy: Like, way to go. Way to go.

Whitney: Thank you. Thank you.

Amy: I'm excited for you.

Whitney: Yes.

Amy: I have a quiz for you today.

Whitney: All right, I love quizzes.

Amy: It is. It's a time warp pop quiz.

Whitney: Oh, no. Okay. Well, you're the Mensa. I tend to

Amy: Mensa.

Whitney: freeze up.

Amy: Oh, no. This isn't that kind of quiz. It's not like a scholarly.

Whitney: Okay. Is it about me or is it about Okay.

Amy: No, it's just it's just It's fun. Okay.

Whitney: Okay, all right, let's do it.

Amy: So this is derived from an Instagram called @iamthirtyaf. Everybody follows that account. I think it's such a funny account.

Whitney: Okay. Okay, I'll have to go follow it.

Amy: Okay, so we have I think let's see, seven questions? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7, okay.

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: So here we go. Question number one: If Back to the Future were released in theaters today, what year would Marty McFly be traveling to?

Whitney: Ooh. Probably the '80s, like 1985.

Amy: I'm so sorry to tell you What? he would travel back to 1995.

Whitney: No, he would not.

Amy: And the music would be like "Wonderwall".

Whitney: No. No.

Amy: Yes, that's why we're doing this.

Whitney: That is This is just going to tear me down.

Amy: It is, it's going to get worse.

Whitney: Luckily, I just got my eyes done, so I'll still feel young.

Amy: Yes, okay. If Austin Powers were made today, what year would he have been cryogenically frozen in?

Whitney: Okay, I have to remember the

Amy: Yeah, baby. Yeah.

Whitney: It was in the '60s. Yeah, it was in the '60s. Okay, ask me the question one more time.

Amy: Okay, if Austin Powers were made today, what year would he have been cryogenically frozen in?

Whitney: I'm going to go higher than I actually believed just because I'm afraid. 2000.

Amy: Okay. Well done. 1996, actually. So his style would have been NSYNC, I'm thinking frosted tips. This is my add, not I am anything.

Whitney: Okay. Hilarious. Yeah, baby.

Amy: Like, yeah. Maybe some leather pants.

Whitney: It's a man, baby.

Amy: Yeah. It's a man, man. Okay, so next.

Whitney: It's a man, man.

Amy: If Almost Famous were made today,

Whitney: Oh, I love that show.

Amy: the 15-year-old high school journalist

Whitney: Yes.

Amy: who gets to go on tour with a rock band

Whitney: Yes.

Amy: would be a rock band from what year?

Whitney: Okay, he was in it was in the '70s. Shit, I'm terrible at math. What what what year?

Amy: Mhm.

Whitney: What rock band?

Amy: But in the in the movie, like, I think they they had been around for a while, the band that he was, yeah.

Whitney: True, true. So, is the question what year or what band?

Amy: No, it would be like a a band peaking in what year? Would be the band that he goes

Whitney: Okay. 1989.

Amy: You're you're too old there, too. It's 1999, so it would be a band like Creed or Blink-182.

Whitney: I was thinking Aerosmith.

Amy: It's too old.

Whitney: Damn it!

Amy: Okay. Okay. If the song "Summer of '69"

Whitney: Uh-huh.

Amy: by Bryan Adams

Whitney: Love that song.

Amy: came out today, what would the song title be?

Whitney: Oh, my gosh. 2009.

Amy: Close, 2010.

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: 2010, good job.

Whitney: My math was good there. I was like, that's not hard. '69, '89, that's 20 years. Okay.

Amy: 2010 20 Yeah. 2010. Okay. Okay. "Summer of 2010." All right. Next. If That '70s Show came out today with the same time gap, what year would it be set in?

Whitney: Oh, my gosh. Okay, I think that came out See, my brain gets things confused. Did that come out in the '90s? No, that came out in the 2000s.

Amy: The '90s feels like nothing ago. You know what I mean?

Whitney: Yeah. Oh, when I look at houses and it'll be like built in 1998, I'm like, "Ah, that's not bad." It's recent. And then I go, "Wait a minute." I like my math better.

Amy: I do too. I do too.

Whitney: Let's say 2015.

Amy: Oh, no. 1999.

Whitney: Oh, okay. Wow.

Amy: Yeah. You gave it a good shot though.

Whitney: Oh, shit. Okay.

Amy: Now, do you remember the movie Pleasantville?

Whitney: Yes.

Amy: With Reese Witherspoon and Tobey Maguire? Okay.

Whitney: Yes. Yes.

Amy: If it were made today, the fictional TV world that they transport back to would be a sitcom from what year?

Whitney: 1988?

Amy: Very good. 1986.

Whitney: Oh, that was so close.

Amy: Very good, which is that's fucked up, isn't it?

Whitney: It is so fucked up.

Amy: Okay, this is our last one. Are you ready? If the nostalgic throwback movie The Wedding Singer came out today,

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: what year would it be set in?

Whitney: Oh, that was such a good movie. All right, well it was set in the '80s. But it came out I'm not going to tell you when it came out because I want to make it hard. All right, let's say it would be in 2000?

Amy: It would be set in 2013.

Whitney: No. No.

Amy: And instead of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me", it would be songs like "Royals",

Whitney: You can call me Queen Bee.

Amy: "Blurred Lines", "Roar", and "Radioactive".

Whitney: Oh, my gosh. All great songs. All great songs.

Amy: I looked those up. I looked those up.

Whitney: Are they wedding songs? I don't know.

Amy: No, but, you know, neither was "Total Eclipse".

Whitney: That is so funny.

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: Yeah, it's Time time makes no sense. I don't know if you've seen these reels that are going around now where it's like age in your like in your 60s, I feel 25 when I'm riding in a car and a convertible. I feel, you know, 40 when I'm with my parents. I feel 30, you know, when I'm with my it it but it just shows you that depending on what you're doing or who you're with, your age changes in your mind. You know, you feel 80 when you wake up in the morning.

Amy: Mhm. No, I haven't seen that. How old? Wow.

Whitney: You know?

Amy: Wow. No, I haven't seen that.

Whitney: So it was really interesting. Yeah, we should do it.

Amy: I'll look for that. Yeah, we should. Okay, we'll put the we'll write that down.

Whitney: We'll write that down.

Amy: We'll jot that down. Everybody, take some notes. Okay, so today I'm going to cover rosacea, because apparently I have rosacea now suddenly.

Whitney: Yeah, what were we talking about today? Okay, you didn't know. You didn't know.

Amy: Well you know, I've been thinking my face was breaking out.

Whitney: Yes, breaking out. Okay.

Amy: Apparently, it's rosacea.

Whitney: Well, I'm happy to hear about it because my sister has severe rosacea, severe

Amy: Rosacea.

Whitney: Whatever, what did I say? Ro-acea?

Amy: Ro-acea. Like Croatia.

Whitney: She got it in Croatia, and we're really trying to work it out. Rosacea, and it's to the point where like she's I I actually just bought her a Jordan, my youngest, I bought her a cold face mask to put in the freezer. I'm going to send it to her.

Amy: Oh, wow. Which sister is this? Okay. Is it helping?

Whitney: I haven't sent I just got it cuz I've been wearing one for my eyes during the surgery and it just made me think, oh, this might work for

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: for her.

Amy: I wonder if hers is hormonal. You know?

Whitney: I do think that it is. She is I can't remember how old she is. She's 8 years younger than me, so 55 minus 8.

Amy: So, is it sudden, like

Whitney: It's been over the last several years.

Amy: She's 47. Okay.

Whitney: Like I think it's like the last 5 years.

Amy: Well, you know, she had kids late. Yeah, it's perimenopause, so we're going to talk about this because

Whitney: Her kids are 6, yeah. Okay, let's get into it.

Amy: finally, an aesthetician was like, "You have I think you have rosacea." And I was like, "Oh my god, do I?" And I kind of rejected it at first, but then as I looked into it, I was like, Well, I went to an aesthetician at the dermatologist.

Whitney: You've been going to dermatologists. Oh yeah, yeah.

Amy: And she was the one that said it, and I was like, "Maybe." And so she gave me this product, which we'll talk about, this SkinCeuticals Phyto A+ Brightening Treatment with azelaic

Whitney: Yeah, yeah, I've heard of that.

Amy: azelaic acid, and I've never used it, and

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: I'll hold it up right there.

Whitney: You haven't used it?

Amy: No, I've used it a ton. I hadn't used it before, now it's almost empty. It's doing the trick, and I'm getting better, yeah. And

Whitney: Oh, right, right. It is? Maybe I should send that to her.

Amy: Yeah, and I got a prescription for actual azelaic, like the prescription grade, so I do that a couple times a day or once a day, and I do that too as like a moisturizer or whatever. And Did she run any tests on you or anything, or she just said, "I think this is what it is, we're going to put you on this and this"?

Whitney: Interesting.

Amy: No. Yep, that's what she did.

Whitney: Because I don't want to give my sister something that might not work. I mean, that that is, you know, only for certain things.

Amy: Just Just get her this product, and see. Yeah. Or or she can listen to this episode.

Whitney: Yeah, I'm definitely going to send her this episode.

Amy: Yeah. Okay, so rosacea, let's just talk about what it is, cuz I literally didn't know anything.

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: This is brand new to me.

Whitney: Yeah. Welcome to midlife.

Amy: I've always had like fucking tough skin. My skin can handle anything that I do.

Whitney: You didn't have a lot of breakouts when you were in high school?

Amy: Not really, no. And, uh, but and I've always broken out here and there, it's depends on what I eat. But, something like this on my cheeks, never. And, like, I've always been able to do any face treatment and, like, my skin bounces back.

Whitney: Yeah. Yeah, you've been lasering it up lately, too.

Amy: Yeah, that's not been good, I don't think. I think that was the wrong direction, so I've stopped. I'll tell you what I'm going to do, okay?

Whitney: Oh, really? Okay.

Amy: Okay. So, rosacea is a common inflammatory skin condition that causes redness on your face or other parts of your body, including your eyes.

Whitney: Yes. Oh, yes.

Amy: Different Different types may cause little pimples and swelling on your skin, too, which is what I get. Literally, almost everyday I wake up and there's like these little white dots, so I'm like, fuck you.

Whitney: That's crazy. White dots?

Amy: So, uh, this is a lifelong condition without a cure. Fuck you, too. Okay, so, anyway, I'm not bitter. Okay, so how common is it?

Whitney: Yeah. We've said the F-word a lot in this episode.

Amy: Fuck yeah, we have. Okay. So, rosacea affects more than 14 million people in the US, and can affect anyone, literally anyone, but more often women, good times, and more often people with fair skin. Your sister's blonde, right?

Whitney: Yeah, she's actually her she's strawberry blonde. She's actually like an orangey red, but she colors it blonde.

Amy: Justin, my husband, also says he has it.

Whitney: Fair, very fair. Oh, yeah.

Amy: He's but I don't notice it really on him, his skin looks good. Symptoms usually arise after age 30, it can affect children and adolescents, too, but that's more rare. And you're more likely to have it if someone in your family has it. Of course, I have no clue if anyone in my family's ever had it. The cause is not fully understood, good times. Genetics, immune system problems, and environmental factors all may play a part, right? Some things that could trigger it are well, factors that cause it

Whitney: Right.

Amy: It gets triggered and blood vessels in the skin of the face dilate, meaning they enlarge and get bigger. And it's it can be due to bacteria or something in your gut, but none of that's proven. And sometimes antibiotics help, but I don't want to take antibiotics. And that's cuz they're anti-inflammatory, so I'm thinking like stick with anti-inflammatory foods and things like that. It's not contagious.

Whitney: Mhm. No. Definitely.

Amy: The other things that can trigger it include alcohol,

Whitney: Which you're not doing.

Amy: exercise,

Whitney: But you do that.

Amy: I do, well,

Whitney: Sauna?

Amy: Yeah. I haven't been sauna-ing cuz I

Whitney: But would that be bad for it?

Amy: I didn't want to fuck up my new extensions.

Whitney: Yeah, they're longer. They look good.

Amy: I know. Oh, they were even longer, I had to cut off an inch or two cuz they were like I asked for extra long and they were like extra I I was like, "I don't know if I can do this," so I cut like 2 in off. Anyway, yeah, they are longer, I like them. High and low temperatures, hot drinks, spicy foods, stress, and I think I saw caffeine, which I was like,

Whitney: I like it. Mhm. No.

Amy: So, I know. You can also have sun sensitivity, so do stay out of the sun. Okay, here's the deal, though. Changes in estrogen, progesterone, and cortisol, our not friend, increase blood flow to affected areas, making the skin more prone to redness and irritation. So, I think this is what's happening to me.

Whitney: Mhm. Yeah.

Amy: I'm experiencing hormonal changes.

Whitney: It's so crazy that they don't know for sure what's causing it. I mean, it makes sense to me that your hormones are your imbalanced, and then, obviously, like anything that's going to create blood flow up to your face.

Amy: Me, too. Mhm. Yeah.

Whitney: That's why the spicy foods and stuff.

Amy: And I'm going to get to like there's some things that estrogen was regulating that when it goes down, then it's not regulating as much. So, a women notice worsening symptom symptoms during menstrual cycles, pregnancy So, I wonder, you know how we talked about cycles, check our menopause episode and you were asking, "Do I still have a cycle?" Yes.

Whitney: Mhm. Right.

Amy: Yes, you do. So, I could still be having some sort of cycle, of course, right? So, you can get worse symptoms during cycles, pregnancy, perimenopause, or menopause, due to shifting hormone levels that dilate your blood vessels and weaken the skin barrier. Stress also raises cortisol levels, increasing inflammation, skin sensitivity, and hormonal shifts later in life often coincide with increased dryness, sensitivity, and slower healing. So, you've got those like compounding

Whitney: Mhm. Mhm.

Amy: the whole fucking fuck fucking thing. These changes may cause rosacea to feel more persistent or harder to control without professional care. So, and you know, so your skin is becoming thinner, it's becoming more reactive, it's becoming a little drier, you're not healing as fast.

Whitney: Yeah, I wanted to know I was gonna ask like explain to people what it feels like to have rosacea.

Amy: You know what? It just felt like I was having some sort of little breakout and I didn't want to mess with it, you know, like

Whitney: Yeah. For so for you, it was more a physical appearance issue. Like my sister, literally her face feels like it's on fire. Yeah, and she will be red, red, red, red.

Amy: Yeah, it doesn't hurt. Really? Yeah, I think that it can get intense like that. Oh, damn. I hate that.

Whitney: Yes. Yes. Yeah, I know.

Amy: I've heard that and I read some of that, and no, I haven't felt like that and, um, so I guess mine was milder because maybe it's new, you know, like it's been going on for like a year.

Whitney: That's good. Yeah. Well, and she does drink and she does like spicy things,

Amy: Oh. I like spicy.

Whitney: so Drinking. She should She should cut out alcohol.

Amy: Yeah.

Whitney: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think so too.

Amy: Easier said than done.

Whitney: She's right on that.

Amy: I'm sure. Anyone related to you, no, just kidding.

Whitney: No shit.

Amy: Okay. So, you know, you're this is all amplifying that rosacea, those symptoms.

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: So, what can we do? That's what I'm That's where I'm at.

Whitney: Yes, tell us what what you can do.

Amy: So, you can like think through your individual triggers, including hormonal patterns, so get your blood work checked, right? So, you can see if your estrogen is dropping and you're not able to like have as much control from your hormones on skin sensitivity and all these different things. So, then dermatologists recommend a combination of prescription topical treatments. Oral medications can also be something when they're appropriate and gentle skins skin care routines that support the skin barrier. So, for me, I've always used like really cool, good, like glycolic cleansers and stuff like that, I've had to switch to just the most basic sensitive skin Cetaphil.

Whitney: Is it the La Roche or whatever? That's what my sister Yeah, that's what that's what her dermatologist told her.

Amy: No, should I do that? Oh. I've heard actually that whole line has a good one for rosacea. There's a few different ones that I've googled, but I just went to Cetaphil, like like nothing, the most basic shit. So, that's what I'm washing my face with now, and I think it's helping. I literally, I take off my Oura Ring, I make sure there's nothing on my hands. I'm like a freak about it now. And so, cuz I'm like, could this Oura Ring cause a, you know, reaction?

Whitney: Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Sure, you know you don't know.

Amy: Yeah, we don't know. So, oh, I mentioned eyes, too, which seems to be a topic for today. It can affect your ocular health, it's ocular rosacea, which sounds fucking horrifying to me. It causes chronic inflammation along your eyelids,

Whitney: Mhm. Ooh.

Amy: I know. And can cause corneal complications if left unmanaged. I have actually had itchy eyelids and things like that. Now, I don't right now, but I have before.

Whitney: Oh.

Amy: Okay, so anyway, what can we do about this? So, I was kind of surprised to see ivermectin was a

Whitney: Interesting.

Amy: topical intervention for this, or or solution. So, you can get a topical ivermectin and that can help, which is super interesting. I don't know what rosacea's related to that helps, the ivermectin. My husband likes ivermectin, he's taken it in Africa.

Whitney: My other sister Yeah, my middle sister, I think she takes it every week. I think she takes it regularly.

Amy: Really? Yeah.

Whitney: Yeah.

Amy: Yeah, so anyway, that can help. It can help over a azelaic acid. And then, azelaic acid, a 15%, which I think is a prescription one that I have, they gave it to my daughter for breakouts, so I basically just stole some of hers. I didn't really get it.

Whitney: I don't know a lot about it, but maybe you should check it. As one does. You didn't steal it, you paid for it.

Amy: Right. It's also 2% in this in this SkinCeuticals one, and I love SkinCeuticals. So, this has been a fun one, and then I use a soothing mask sometimes, too. And like I just scratched it, it itches. If you've seen me on the show, like scratching my face, that's what it It itches, mine itches a lot.

Whitney: Yeah. Just like a hydrating Were you doing a hydrating mask? Like what kind of mask?

Amy: No, they have a Phyto Corrective, just like really gentle one that you can do after face treatments, it's green. And

Whitney: Oh. I think I've seen you on your reels like peeling off some masks.

Amy: That is the Korean shit. Go look at my reels, it's

Whitney: It'll tell you.

Amy: Yeah, it's that that one's got glutathione in it, it's my fave, it's my fave. But it might it might irritate my But I'll do it before an event or something, it doesn't seem to irritate it, so I'm like

Whitney: Oh, glutathione. Yeah, I think everybody, obviously, we're not doctors and we're just use giving our own experiences here, but everybody's skin is different and I don't think my like my sister, I don't think she should be doing any masks.

Amy: No, we're not. Yeah. But I'm a mad scientist with my masks. I mix masks all the time, so maybe there's a rosacea mask or a cooling mask you could mix with something that's going to be like the the one that I use.

Whitney: Oh. How do you mix a mask, though, if it's a mask?

Amy: Oh no, a lot of times they're just a cream or something, rub it on, you know, brush it on.

Whitney: Oh, okay. I was like, do you just double mask? Yeah, okay.

Amy: Yeah, yeah. I'm talking about that. But you could put like I wouldn't be opposed to like putting some azelaic on and then a mask over it.

Whitney: Oh, yeah. Sure.

Amy: So, like it just I don't know. I like If this works,

Whitney: You are a mad scientist.

Amy: let's try more. Oh, my god, I really am. I love mixing masks. Okay, so azelaic, and then something called metronidazole? Metronidazole. And so I don't know, I haven't heard of that one, but that one's mentioned.

Whitney: And that's prescription?

Amy: I think so, yeah. I haven't seen anything about that. So, anyway, what am I doing? So I'm doing the azelaic, and I'd use the prescription one just here, and like where I might experience it, I use it like before bed or if I'm not putting makeup on that day, I'll just put some on in the morning. And then, and then I'm using the SkinCeuticals pretty regularly. I'll let the azelaic kind of seep in, and then I'll go over my whole face with it.

Whitney: Yeah. And that's at night?

Amy: I use it both. I use it morning and night, and then I'll use a really gentle hyaluronic, it's from The Ordinary, moisturizer.

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: So I'll use that too, and uh and but I'm very careful with that, too. It has

Whitney: So you've cleared out all of your stuff, and this is you like you're not doing all of your routine. Yeah, yeah.

Amy: That's pretty much all I'm using. That's it. So the the hyaluronic uh drop has a dropper, so I'll just drop that on my face, so I feel like I'm not getting any bacteria. I'm just trying to stay really careful with the back Yeah, fuck this shit! I hate it.

Whitney: Wow, yeah, you're being very good. Yeah, fuck rosacea.

Amy: I I had I had been like doing so much to my skin for so many years, I didn't have to wear makeup. I didn't have to. And now I feel like I have to to just cover all these um little capillaries and all this redness, and so

Whitney: Well, how long until it gets under control? And if it's not ever gone, like what's your

Amy: Well, that's what I'm about to tell you here.

Whitney: Okay, good.

Amy: So, I then I talked to the girl that was did the topical biostimulant that I did not too long ago, and I go, "What are your clients doing for rosacea?" And she said, "I have people that come in every single month and do a BBL, which is a broadband light therapy." It's basically the modern version of an IPL, which I've always had good results.

Whitney: Oh, yeah, yeah. We talked about it on one of our We did a whole episode on BBL, yeah.

Amy: We did. We did. So, that can help rosacea. I think your sister maybe she could get it, too. It it targets the red and the capillary, so I have one scheduled in just a couple weeks, so I'm going to keep you posted on that.

Whitney: Interesting. That's great, but it is expensive. Like, my sister couldn't do that once a month.

Amy: Really?

Whitney: Mhm.

Amy: Well, I have a membership at this place, so it's $225 a month, and that's one of the things under the membership, so I'm like I can do that. And so, I'm committing to that for a while, and maybe I'll do it for 4 months and see what happens.

Whitney: Oh, that's good, yeah. Well, look, in our other episode about BBL, it says that's one of the only lasers that is is proven scientifically to change your cells. Like, Nice. you're gonna you're gonna benefit regardless

Amy: Yeah. Yeah. I was planning to like alternate it month to month with the topical biostimulant, but the research that I did said I don't like that's not good for rosacea. So, I'm just going to stick with the BBL for a while and see what happens.

Whitney: of your rosacea. Okay.

Amy: So, that's my plan moving forward. I did research, too, like what does Chinese medicine do? And it had a bunch of things that had crazy words that I didn't understand, so

Whitney: Chinese words.

Amy: you could consult with a Chinese medicine practitioner.

Whitney: What made you do that? Why look at Chinese medicine? Just in general like the western

Amy: I just thought it might have a whole different perspective on it, so I just kind of like googled it, and to see what it was. And a lot of dietary dialing in, like cooling foods, like a but still the same like avoiding spicy foods and that kind of thing. But then also, they did recommend facial acupuncture, which or acupuncture in general, but I've done facial acupuncture, like you look like Pinhead, it's crazy. But I did it for years until my acupuncturist had a baby and didn't do it anymore, so I stopped. And she was fabulous, and I loved it.

Whitney: Yeah. Mhm. Uh-huh. I haven't thought about it on your face. That's an interesting Just for for youthfulness anyway, I feel like it could do something It was amazing. with your skin.

Amy: I feel like I I feel like I looked so good, so that's one of those things

Whitney: You also were like 10 years younger.

Amy: I was more than that, I think I was like 39.

Whitney: Well, and of course you looked good. You still look good, but Yeah. I know, I know.

Amy: But I do feel like it did a lot. So, there's my report on rosacea. I will keep you posted on the BBL.

Whitney: All right, so how long have you been on this new protocol? Just a couple of days?

Amy: No, I would say probably at least 2 weeks.

Whitney: Okay.

Amy: Maybe Yeah, 2 weeks, but I just started really using the prescription about a week ago. And I I feel like I can already tell a difference. Like, I'm pretty happy with the results I'm seeing, I'm not seeing as much in the morning. Oh, but I'm glad you asked that. So, I do use these breathing strips at night, this Intake, it's like the one with the magnets, so you put adhesives right here on the side of your nose, and then this magnetic strip that pulls your breathing passages open.

Whitney: Okay. Yeah, yeah. Mhm. Your nostrils, yeah.

Amy: I have loved that, but I think that the adhesive from those stickers is irritating my skin, because I It doesn't happen on my nose, but right outside of it, I will have rosacea or a breakout, or whatever you want to call it, right outside of it, and so I quit using that, and so which sucks, because I can't breathe that good after my nose job like 10 years ago, so I sleep, you know, pulling my face open like this, which sucks, but whatever.

Whitney: Yeah. Yeah. Oh.

Amy: You know, it's a trade-off.

Whitney: It's a balance. Yeah, you got to choose your battles.

Amy: That's right. So, hope that helps.

Whitney: Yeah, I love it. I I'm glad that you did it. I'm going to share this with my sister and even my daughter, I mean, she's only 23, but her skin has gotten really red, but I think it's medications.

Amy: It could be.

Whitney: So that that's She has focus issues, ADHD, so she takes some medication and I think that has

Amy: Yeah. I mean, that's It's definitely dilating blood flow, too, you know?

Whitney: And so that's a balance. It's like, well. Yeah, exactly, exactly. So well, if you have thoughts, we want to hear them.

Amy: So, yeah. Please follow us on all the socials, too. We're we're we're we're constantly posting there, and little clips, and stuff like that, that you can share, and

Whitney: Yes. Yeah, we're on Facebook and Instagram.

Amy: Mhm. And

Whitney: We have a website.

Amy: You can reach out to us anytime, anythingbutmidpodcast@gmail.com, and and we have a new website. We'll talk about that more on the next episode, so yeah. Thank you so much for being here, but ultimately, remember

Whitney: All right. Thank you.

Amy: we do what we want.

Whitney: All right. Bye. Please follow and subscribe to Anything But Mid anywhere you get your podcasts. Email us your mid-moment at anythingbutmidpodcast@gmail.com, and remember, we do what we want.