<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I'm behind on my mail, and I missed much of the discussion on rosacea. I'm
now suspecting that this is what popped up on my face just months after all
the other symptoms that led my GI doc to pose the possibility of CD (which
I still have not tested for, and am just now doing the wheat challenge).

I found notes on rosacea (at the bottom) from the Merck Manual
(http://www.merck.com/), but I wonder about the comment, "diet probably
plays no role." Before reading this, I was sure that the "rash" on my face
must have something to do with a candida yeast problem... the typical
treatment using metronidazole or even permethrin (as has been studied
recently) seemed to strengthen this guess, which would mean that my diet
must have SOME impact...??

Now I've found an Italian study that suggests a relationship with H.
pylori: "In rosacea, histology of the stomach mucosa revealed that 84% of
31 patients were H. pylori positive. ...The consistency between clinical
success with metronidazole and abatement of H. pylori isolates and serology
after treatment was an additional evidence suggesting an etiologic
relationship between rosacea and H. pylori infection. Rosacea has often
been linked with gastrointestinal disturbances. H. pylori, therefore, may
link them to the well-known beneficial activity of metronidazole on rosacea
lesions. The role of H. pylori is more probable in erythrotic rosacea than
in its papulopustular and granulomatous stages." (Rebora A; Drago F; Parodi
A; Department of Dermatology, University of Genoa, Italy; Dermatology,
1995, 191:1, 6-8; ISSN 1018-8665)

I thought the comment,"rosacea has often been linked with gastrointestinal
disturbances," might be especially interesting to people on this list...
rw

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ROSACEA

A chronic inflammatory disorder, usually beginning in middle age or later,
and characterized by telangiectasia, erythema, papules, and pustules
appearing especially in the central areas of the face. Tissue hypertrophy,
particularly of the nose (rhinophyma), may result. Occasionally, rosacea
occurs on the trunk and extremities.

The cause is unknown, but the disease is most common in persons with a fair
complexion. Diet probably plays no role in the pathogenesis. Rosacea may
resemble acne, but comedones are never present; differential diagnosis also
includes drug eruptions (particularly from iodides and bromides),
granulomas of the skin, cutaneous LE, and perioral dermatitis.

Treatment

Topical metronidazole gel or broad-spectrum oral antibiotics are usually
effective. Tetracycline is the antibiotic preferred because it is most
effective and side effects with long-term use are few. A starting dose of
250 mg qid (between meals) should be reduced once a beneficial response is
achieved. Often only 250 mg/day or every other day will control the
disease. Recalcitrant cases often respond to oral isotretinoin as in acne
(see above). Topical fluorinated corticosteroids aggravate rosacea and are
contraindicated. Surgical correction may be required for rhinophyma (a
bulbous red nose resulting from neglected rosacea).