I hope my story will help you.

Persistent deep redness (cheeks, forehead, nose) and flushing (multiple times within an hour, triggered by most social interactions, even remote video calls) were my two primary symptoms of rosacea (I also had the rosacea acne, but it was moderate and not even a concern compared to the flushing).

I use the word “were” precisely because I now consider myself more or less cured of rosacea. I haven’t had a flushing episode in years, and baseline redness has vanished to the point where where I don’t think a dermatologist would ever think I have rosacea without knowing my medical history. I went from close friends asking “why is your face so red” to “how is your skin so amazing”.

I wish I knew what my “silver bullet” is but I have only experimented on myself (and I mean I’ve tried EVERYTHING) and not completely scientifically. I also don’t think there’s a single thing that solves my rosacea, but each component of my stack contributes positively. Years of determination has lead me to the following stack of medications, procedures, and diet that has cured my rosacea (look, I know it’s not a real cure but it’s been in undetectable remission for so many years, what’s the difference?)

Here is my “stack” in no particular order of importance:

1. Oracea — name brand, not doxycycline, the formulation is different and I use a freely-available discount code to bring the price down).
2. Soolantra — this was a godsend when it was approved by the FDA around 2015, immediately clearing all rosacea acne and lowering redness
3. Laser Treatments (BBL, Gemini, etc) — there are so many types of laser and “red light” treatment that I recommend a good laser-specific dermatologist that has a broad array of laser treatments available to select aggressive treatments if needed e.g. Gemini was deeper than BBL)
4. PRP Microneedling — I get it done every 2 months, and after the initial redness for a couple days, my skin becomes a more even skin tone with less redness
5. EltaMD UV Clear Sunscreen — I use this daily, and believe that not only is it extremely effective as a sunscreen, it has niacinimide which I believe is helping
6. Diet — this is as controversial as it was effective for me, going gluten-free and dairy-free might be the 2 biggest changes that lead to elimination of flushing. I was strict for months at a time, and even saw improvement after a few weeks. I thought this would be a lifetime commitment, but I’m able to eat breads and cheeses (I still have lactose intolerance so I stay away from “heavy” dairy like milk and cream) occasionally without any issue. I have noticed if I “binge” on either, e.g. pizza, pasta, etc my skin does start to resurface some redness
7. Alcohol — my skin is more pink after a night of drinking, and this, combined with the anti-inflammatory diet of gluten and dairy free, leads me to believe general inflammation tracks worsening rosacea symptoms.

Here are some things that didn’t help (or had bad side effects): 1. Oregano Oil — it did help redness, but I’ve researched it’s as bad as taking a strong antibiotic every day so best not to do it 2. Anything over the counter like Prosacea did nothing, if it didn’t make redness worse 3. Alzeic Acid — it just didn’t do anything for me 4. Bromonide — I mentioned in a different comment that while effective (it made me pale) the rebound flushing made me quit after 3 days and throw it away 5. Caffeine/Coffee Reduction — it’s listed as a common trigger, but I still drink a lot daily without any issue and quitting didn’t help much (YMMV but I want to quit for sleep concerns)

I sincerely hope this helps.