My Constant Companion-Rosacea

I have been afflicted with this annoying disorder since I was about 30-31. For years, I just put it off as having been in the cold too long or my cheeks were chapped. After viewing a commercial about rosacea, I wondered if this was what was wrong with my cheeks. I consulted a family doctor and was prescribed metrogel. Well, everytime I am diagnosed with something I have to research it. I can't explain why, but I have to find every bit of information I can find on whatever is ailing me, be it my anxiety issues, tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, etc. In my research, I discovered that I am one of 14 million Americans that is plagued by this problem that has no known cure. I found at the rosacea site many interesting things about this disorder. I fall under the Subtype 1 (erythematotelangiectatic rosacea) with the characteristics of the flushing and persistent redness along with visible blood vessels. Every once in awhile I will break out with small bumps. This falls under the Subtype 2 (papulopustular rosacea). Although the metrogel works with where I work it is almost impossible to avoid the triggers that cause my flareups. My work is stressful for me plus it is a cold environment. Extreme cold/heat, hot foods are a few of my triggers. Caffeine is another trigger, and I eat a lot of chocolate due to stress so it is kind of hard for me to keep my flareups under control. From what photos I have seen, I don't feel that my rosacea is as bad as others. Any which way, I don't let it keep me from going out in public. I have a hard enough time dealing with people anyway to let my red face interefere and make things harder. Besides, my coworkers have been very good and haven't made fun of me or made jokes about my condition. They are curious, and I don't mind someone asking me questions about it. There are times though(like when I dress up to go out)that I wish I didn't have this problem. Normally I don't wear makeup because of my sensitive skin, but I do wear it on occasion. The makeup that I have though doesn't hide it completely. You can still see my red cheeks and it looks as though I don't know how to apply my blush. This is why I have been online looking for some possible solutions to my makeup problem where I can apply it and it will hide the redness. My redness covers practically my whole face. I have what they call the butterfly pattern where I am red on my cheeks and across my nose. I also have red patches on my forehead and chin, and sometimes, if the flareup is really bad, it will go all the way down my neck. I get quite a few stares when I'm having a flareup. It's really annoying, but I can understand why people look. My face can turn as bright red as a stop sign. I mean it really looks like blood will pour from my cheeks at any moment. Hopefully researches will be able to find a cure in my lifetime, until then I guess this is what I have to look forward to in growing older. Later