Rosacea, laser and ZZ cream

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Hi there !

New customer and new board member. Thought I'd share my story and ask for a few pieces of advice.
I've now had rosacea for four years now and only started to really treat it one year ago with laser. Now laser has been of great help because what was lobster red is now pink/red. The realy problem is that even though Metrogel helps, I cannot get rid 100% of the acne/p&ps that have been coming with rosacea for two years now. What made me thought that it could be Demodex is that some of these appear all of a sudden and are super-itchy. After half an hour, the itch goes away and leaves a tiny spot, just like in an allergy. Also, I appear to have a few white spots here and there and I've heard that they are not really common with rosacea. Finally, and that's what made me think of demodex most is that since two months now, when I go to bed, if I have my face turned agains my pillow, I always wake up at night with my eyes tearing and burning a little. When it does not happen, then it means that when I wake up, I don't have my face turned against my pillow. I thought that my bed could be a huge source of mites ( it's a rather old bed and not "mites proof" ). Ordered a new bed, new pillows. Received the pillows, my face and eyes are already doing better ( or is it luck ? ). There is also the fact that when there is dust in a room, I always end up sneezing after a while. I don't know how much this allergy could be linked to demodex but I thought that making the link with it was not THAT stupid. So I thought I'd try a ZZ treatment before going to laser for the last time ( yeah, even though I'm impressed by the results, I don't exactly love doing it as it makes me look like a monster for more two weeks ).
So here are my questions :

-Should I avoid doing that last laser treatment while I'm on ZZ or is it ok ? I guess I will wait anyway in case ZZ cures what is left of my rosacea/redness by itself but I want to know, just in case.
-Can I use ZZ along with metrogel ? Saw that you were selling metronidazole creams on the website too so I guess it's ok but don't know for sure ?
-How long after applying the ZZ cream can I moisturize my skin ?

That's all I guess. Thanks for reading this and for your answers. Will keep you updated with my ( hopefully ) results.

[DB2285]

I have been using the ZZ cream while getting laser treatments. My only thing is that Im mainly getting the skin around my eyes lasered because I have really noticable veins that I have no idea how they appeared.

You will be fine. As for the metro, Im not sure cuz I only tried Finacea and I stopped using it when I started the ZZ cream.

As of now I use Cetaphil as a cleanser, then I use Sulfacetamide and Urea face pads to inhibit bacteria and also wipe away flakes, and then I use ZZ at night. So far so good. Absolutely no breakouts whatsoever. Just inflamed skin.

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Day 3 : probably the initial breakout. Woke up with some very tiny ( 1mm diameter ) spots, rather itchy. Other than that, it seems that my skin has improved a bit as it is much clearer in the areas where I don't have these tiny spots. I know that it's really too soon to prove anything ( because it might simply be due to the fact that I'm taking care of my skin a bit more than usual these days ) but it's encouraging. Also, I have to say that ZZ has dried the few pimples I had before really fast. Pretty impressing.

I'm currently using it twice a day after moisterizing my skin with a non-greasy cream. Will probably switch to once a day the days I have to go to university and that should do it. Keepin' you updated.

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Day 4 : My skin looks pretty bad. It hasn't been that bad in months. Tiny papules all over my cheeks, my chin and forehead. Well, all over my face. Some new redness too. I think the redness might be due to the fact that my skin is really dry, despite me moisterizing it before every application of ZZ. Well, I will probably switch to only once a day because I simply cannot handle the dryness.

Gotta hold on !

[kibong]

@vladimir

what a coincidence dude
i also start using the zz cream and xfml at 18 sept '08
means now it's day 5
before i also experienced the 'allergic' reaction u mentioned,
sudden bump with super-redness and itchy skin, while half an hour later it turns into small red spot,
but these rarely happens, maybe once a month
however when i start using this zz cream and xfml, during day 2-3-4 i experience this "allergy" repeatedly
today (day 5) the symptom isnt that bad anymore although i still feel itchy somehow, and it left some small red spots on my temple and some parts of my cheek
i've gotten eczema before bcoz of the allergic reaction while using clindamycin so i know exactly that this isnt eczema
i even sent them email asking bout it, but so far they havent reply

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

It seems that it is not really an allergy but a sort of small infection, probably because of the mites dying on your skin. My main problem is that using ZZ twice a day was not such a good idea because now my skin is really dry and therefore redder than it used to be. Will only use it once a day, before going to bed from now on.

EDIT : yeah. Misunderstood what you meant by "allergy". Yeah, I used to have these from time to time too. But this is different. It's not the "same kind of itch" ( god, we've become experts in quantifying our redness and itches, it's pretty sad actually ). It does not itch as hard but it's all over the areas where I have these tiny bumps. However, they started to disappear, especially on the forehead where half of them is already gone it seems.

[kibong]

lol then you should consider using some moisturizer in the morning
my face is naturally red in the cheek and temple area(like rosacean redness, even though im only 20! ) but now its even redder,
b'coz of the xfml cream i think
now my face got a small patch of eczema-like condition, if it really turns into eczema i think i should stop using the cream
hopefully our face will be healed soon =)

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

I'm only taking a shot here but it COULD be because of the metronidazole contained in the xmfl ( if you've bought the one with metronidazole ). When I was using Metrogel, I had this additional redness wherever I applied the gel and when I stopped using it, the redness went away ( but the bumps came back ). I think there is also a part about it in the site's FAQ.

As regards my skin, it seems to be doing better now that I only apply ZZ in the evening. Bumps are going away slowly and the redness is less spread and less intense. However I still think that I might be applying too much of it as my skin burns a little when I'm getting a shower and when water goes on the treated areas, as if my skin was a bit burnt by it.

[kibong]

hmm yeah i've been thinking bout that possibility too since all of my 'allergy' seems to appear
during the afternoon, which is after i use the xfml w/ metronidazole
nothing much has changed, still flaky + red like this ->
i think i'll use the zz only for now on

as for your skin, that might be because the zz cream contains sulfur, which peel off ur skin, making it quite sensitive at the moment. When showering do not pour the water straight away into your face and when applying the cream try to dilute the cream with a bit water. Myself, my face skin got no problem during showering, must be because it's immune already since i used to spam benzoyl peroxide/salicylic/azelaic acid/clindamycin/tea tree oil and many more chemical substance on my face long long time ago.

btw, this forum seems to be dead, beside us, no1 post/reply anything

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Yeah I know. At least it seems from the older threads that most people have reached success after a while so whenever I fear that ZZ might do nothing I come back to this forum and read through it...Pretty reassuring threads here and there I must say.

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Day 07 : almost no bumps left but my skin is burnt, like a chemical peel
I'm definitely applying too much but at the same time I can hardly apply less because when I do, I can't spread it correctly as it's rather dry and I feel like I don't apply it to my entire face. I will have to anyway.

[kibong]

well for me, in the night i can vaguely see the original tone of my skin on certain small area now, dunno whether it is because of the color of the zz cream
however my cheekbone area near my nose seems to have skin rashes+small bumps and it is spreading , originally my condition is flushing, and the rash is even redder than my flushed face.

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Yeah..I had this too after two days. The rash is almost gone now but my skin still itches a bit and is still red ( not because of the rash but because my skin is burnt/really dry ). Well I guess that it's the proof that mites are dying even though it makes our skin even worse. Most threads I have read mentionned first real results coming after either two weeks or a month so I guess we'll have to wait...

[kibong]

haha yeah we've only been using these creams for 1 week, need to be more patient though
actually im not even sure whether i got those mites or not, i just use this ointment since most of the stuff i've tried before had failed to provide the cure
i also experience those peeling-like stuff in some area, yes they're flaky, but not that dry though, seems to be bcoz my skin is originally very oily

[Dr.VladimirKryptoïd]

Day 08 : my skin is slowly healing from the burn of the ZZ. Aside from what is left from my breakout ( a few bumps here and there ), I've got to say that my skin looks "softer". It might be due to the peeling effect but it's been a while since I've seen my skin like that. It's still red but nowhere near like it used to be the last four days. Let's hope that it will go on this way.