Rosacea Triggers

The goal of any rosacea therapy or treatment regimen is to keep the skin disorder in remission. Besides maintaining a consistent medication therapy, rosacea sufferers can dramatically improve their chances of maintaining remission by identifying and avoiding rosacea triggers.  

What are “triggers”?  

Rosacea triggers are environmental and lifestyle factors, or events that may trigger flare-ups or aggravate the condition of the skin disorder. That said, identifying these factors is an important part of your treatment plan. Generally speaking, each individual will have a somewhat unique set of triggers because what evokes a rosacea flare-up for one individual may have no effect on another. 

An example of common rosacea trigger factors is listed below. These are based on a patient survey conducted by the National Rosacea Society. Obviously, with the great variability in triggering factors on an individual basis, a comprehensive list would be almost endless. Taking this all into consideration, the National Rosacea Society survey identified the most common triggers amongst its sample database. This list should be used to help identify your own personal rosacea trigger factors.  

A great way to start the process is to keep a diary of daily activities or events. Be keenly aware of any activity that took place just prior to a rosacea flare-up and enter it into your diary. After a few weeks, a pattern should start to emerge and the pieces of the puzzle should start to fall together for you. 

The listed rosacea triggers are not all-encompassing, but do cover a majority of the most common environmental and lifestyle factors affecting today’s rosacea patients.  For a more detailed look at these common triggers, visit Rosacea Triggers - Getting More Specific.