My Rosacea Healing Story

I’ve had rosacea for 20 years. Dermatologists have prescribed multiple rosacea treatments and medications over the years, none of which have helped. Most rosacea medications are not meant to “cure” rosacea anyway, they are meant to keep it at bay.

I was always told rosacea was not curable.

My rosacea was slowly worsening and had gone from a general redness (Subtype I) to papules and pustules (Subtype II). Every day I would wake up and look in the mirror, not knowing what to expect. Most days it looked terrible and I had to wear foundation to cover it up, which would leave it dry and flaking by the end of the day. My cheeks started to feel like sandpaper and my temples had enlarged pores which would become very sore and then peel. What was worse was that I’d have to use cleanser at night to remove the foundation, which would set me up for a worse day the next day. I started to develop perioral dermatitis (thanks to a prescribed steroid cream which I later learned was not supposed to be applied to your face.) I was even starting to notice seborrheic dermatitis. The more prescriptions I used, the worse things got. I started to think my face had a life all its own.

The breaking point came when I walked up to the reception area at my office, with a waiting room full of patients. One of the secretaries looked at me and barked in a very loud voice, “Doctor, what’s wrong with your FACE?” I was mortified. I ran to the bathroom and my already red puffy face was covered with darker red marks, almost like little bites. There was no rhyme or reason to when this would occur. Something clearly had to be done.

After that, I was determined to find a cure. Not a treatment, but a cure. I am a chiropractor and my background is in nutrition and holistic healing.

I was taught to find the cause, not treat the symptoms.

I know this. I know this with every fiber of my being. So it was time to dig deep, and once and for all figure out what was causing my rosacea.

After all, rosacea is NOT a skin condition. It is a systemic inflammatory condition that can present in many ways; for me, it presented on my face, as rosacea.

The dermatology community was only offering medications that did not work. If I really wanted my skin to be healthy again, I would have to figure it out for myself, by addressing the underlying causes.

After being rosacea free since February of 2020, I must share what I’ve learned to help others to heal.

The information contained in this website and the resources available through this website are not intended as, and shall not be construed as, medical advice. The information contained in this website is not a substitute for medical or health advice from your personal medical provider who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation.

Photo Journal

Here I am on the first day I started my official treatment. Note the bumpy texture of my cheeks and multiple red marks. I documented my journey with pictures while testing out various treatments, until my skin finally healed. These pictures were taken from November 2019 to March 2020 and clearly document my journey to clear skin. These pictures are not touched up and I am not wearing any foundation in any picture, just eye makeup and lipstick.

The Journey Begins

Since rosacea is usually treated as a skin infection, treatments are often focused on steroid creams and antibiotics.  These medications rarely work because they were only meant to be used short term. After the course of medication has ended, the condition has not been healed, and symptoms usually worsen.

Most of my patients with rosacea will often present with other issues: IBS, constipation, thyroid conditions, perioral dermatitis, weight gain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, eczema, asthma, allergies, hormonal changes, H. pylori, constipation, just to name a few. This should be an indicator that rosacea is not just a random skin rash, like poison ivy. Your rosacea has been developing for a long time, likely years, and is finally just appearing now. A growing number of experts are now focusing more on a gut connection. When you heal your gut, your overall inflammation goes down, and your body can begin to heal.

GUT HEALTH/CLEAN EATING

ELIMINATING  & ADDING FOODS

Gut healing really involves eliminating certain damaging, inflammatory foods and replacing those with healing foods. Unfortunately there is so much misinformation out there, it’s hard to know exactly what the problem foods are these days. Foods such as eggs, dairy and bread, once a staple to the American diet have become taboo. It’s easy to get confused about certain diets such as paleo or vegan which, on the surface, seem extremely healthy, but realistically are not the best options for those with rosacea. Even certain gut healing foods like fermented foods are often very problematic to those with rosacea. Knowing which foods to eliminate and which foods to add daily will take the guesswork out of trying to heal your rosacea.

 

PROBIOTICS

Aside from eliminating certain inflammatory foods, the next best thing (and necessary thing) you can do for your gut is to introduce good bacteria. Recently, probiotics have become quite popular and the probiotic aisle in grocery stores and vitamin stores is overflowing with pretty colors and flashy labels. Unfortunately most of these probiotics are completely ineffective. Either they are using the wrong strain to help with rosacea, or the beneficial bacteria will be completely useless by the time you try to use it. (Most probiotics are sensitive to light and heat. The shipping and storage processes pretty much ensure there is no live bacteria in your product by the time you actually use it.) Most patients tell me they are taking probiotics because they think they are a good idea, but they’ve never actually seen a positive change from taking them. Other patients have been eating an abundance of dairy products to add probiotic strains, but dairy itself can be a problem for rosacea patients. There are in fact a few high quality probiotics which can be shipped directly from the manufacturers and are specifically designed to help people suffering from gut issues such as SIBO, leaky gut, antibiotic overuse, etc. Knowing the correct probiotic to take for your specific condition will help tremendously with the gut healing process. 

 

SUPPLEMENTS

I see a lot of people taking all sorts of supplements. I get it, because that was me. I tried anything and everything. Magnesium, Omega 3, primrose oil, zinc, collagen, B vitamins, etc. Here’s the problem. No amount of supplements can make up for a poor diet, or a compromised gut. I was taking Standard Process, the gold standard for whole food supplementation, for years and never once saw any change in my skin. In my case, the supplements simply weren’t getting absorbed. Sticking with the same diet you’ve always eaten and adding in one or two (or three) supplements is much like throwing a bucket of water on a forest fire. In order to really heal your skin, you’ve got to start from the beginning. Your gut and your liver are the CORNERSTONES of your health. These two organs work tirelessly to break down food and toxins, process them, absorb what’s needed, and throw the rest away. Once I really understood this, the healing began. 

CLEANSES

TOXINS

Toxins are a huge problem for people suffering from rosacea. In fact I haven’t met a patient yet who doesn’t have an underlying toxicity issue. The liver is the body’s filtration and detoxification center. It processes everything synthetic: medications, chemicals, preservatives, air freshener, plastic, nitrates, pesticides, dyes, fragrance, alcohol, and many other substances. In the last century we have encountered more “man-made” substances than ever before. While our liver is capable of processing many of these toxins in small amounts, it wasn’t meant to do this for large amounts of substances, long term. The key to healing is twofold: limiting the exposure, and clearing out what is already stagnant in the liver. When I began systematic detoxes, I was astounded to see my silver jewelry turn black every three days. This was from toxins coming out through my skin, tarnishing the jewelry. I’ve since witnessed this happen to dozens of my patients. Despite hearing certain doctors say “detoxing” the liver isn’t possible, we are living proof that detoxing works, and can actually lead to clear skin.

If you do not do a specific liver detox following your weeks/months/years of healthy eating and weight loss, you will continue to have the same symptoms until the liver is cleared.

HEAVY METALS

Rosacea happens in different individuals for different reasons. Many people have had toxic exposures, antibiotic overuse, or a diet heavy in dairy and gluten, but never develop rosacea. This is because part of rosacea has to do with your unique genetic makeup, combined with a trigger. Now the trigger is different for everyone. For me, I believe there were multiple factors which eventually led to my rosacea diagnosis. It started with a childhood diet of dairy and gluten, an undiagnosed gluten sensitivity, antibiotic overuse due to chronic ear infections, which caused my gut issues. Growing up, we drank unpurified water from a well and ate lots of food out of cans, cooked in aluminum pans. By the time I was 16 I had 8 amalgam fillings. Clearly a history of heavy metal exposure, which only increases as you age. So I already had the gut issues and heavy metal toxicity; the straw that broke the camel’s back was toxic exposures. When I was 24 I worked in a dry cleaning store, a smoke-filled bar, and a cadaver lab in medical school. This is when my rosacea first appeared. Had it not been for the heavy metal exposure or poor gut health, the toxic exposure alone may not have been enough to cause rosacea. I also believe my English and Irish heritage predisposed me to a disease such as rosacea. 

 

DORMANT VIRUSES

Some research leads us to believe that rosacea is a disease of the immune system. It often happens to those who are immunosuppressed. A person would be immunosuppressed if they have one or more dormant viruses present, and this is yet another underlying cause of rosacea. These are viruses such as Epstein Barr, strep throat, mono, herpes, varicella, etc., which we’ve encountered throughout our lives but which never actually left the body. Viruses such as these go dormant and live within our joints, liver, thyroid, and brain. They feed on dairy, gluten, sugar, and heavy metals, and when we start to get a cold or flu virus, they begin to gain strength because our body is busy fighting something else. (This is why people often develop a cold sore when they are getting sick- the cold sore is a dormant herpes virus, getting stronger.) When you are no longer sick, your body can go back to fighting the dormant viruses. Here’s the problem: your body never stops working, and if it is constantly occupied keeping all the dormant viruses at bay, rosacea can easily develop. Rosacea is also an inflammatory disease, and the more viruses your body has to deal with, the more inflammation, the more rosacea.

 

HORMONES

The liver detoxifies more than chemicals and pollutants. It also detoxifies our own hormones, including excess estrogen. Not surprisingly, when liver function is impaired, excess estrogen may not be adequately bound and excreted. Signs of excess estrogen in women can include PMS, fibrocystic breasts, moodiness, weight gain, menstrual disturbances, fibroids and more. Hormonal imbalances can often be addressed naturally by making changes to your diet, stress levels, toxic exposure, medication usage, and addressing any dormant viruses which can wreak havoc on your endocrine system. 

EMOTIONS

I have yet to meet a patient who healed their rosacea 100% by nutritional changes alone. There is a very real emotional component to rosacea, and addressing that is the key for many people. Looking back at my own healing journey, it’s now clear to me that a significant mental shift took place in the midst of my progress. As I watched my gut, thyroid, and asthma heal unexpectedly, I became thankful for what rosacea had done for me. Rosacea made me acutely aware of my own health and how the poor dietary choices I’d made had drastically impacted my body. It also made me consider my thought patterns and certain criticisms I often felt towards others, and myself. 

 

Rosacea forced me to re-evaluate my diet, my relationships, my life, and the way I view the world. For that, I am forever thankful.

 

GETTING STARTED

Rosacea is extremely complex and usually involves several different underlying causes. Overnight healing simply doesn’t happen. Healing over several months is entirely possible, when you address the underlying causes. I have mentioned just a few of the potential underlying causes of rosacea. I understand that addressing each possible cause may seem daunting and overly time consuming. Often the best approach is to do a 30 DAY CLEANSE where multiple causes are addressed simultaneously. Many of these underlying causes are symbiotic; liver healing creates adequate bile which helps gut healing, and gut healing aides in liver detoxification. Addressing heavy metal toxicity can weaken dormant viruses which can help thyroid conditions, thereby regulating hormones, which can directly address skin conditions. 

If you’ve already done some research on rosacea and want to dig a but deeper, my rosacea healing COURSE may be the best place to start. It dives deep into the underlying causes and allows you to begin healing at your own pace.

You may need a more targeted approach if you’ve already been to multiple doctors and tried numerous diets and supplements without success. In this case you may prefer to book a one-on-one CONSULTATION with me for a specific healing plan.