One great thing about passing through the teen years is leaving behind blackheads, zits, and pimples. Although the hormonal years between childhood and adulthood can be facially troublesome and can seem endless during the transitional phase, most individuals only deal with acne on a short term basis and then have relatively clear complexions.
Some people, however, revisit the days of bad skin further down the path of life. It can happen rather suddenly or creep up quite unexpectedly. One glimpse in the mirror says it all—adult acne. Ugh. Adults have enough to deal with without having to start thinking about ways to clear a pimple before the next day in the office or before carting the kids to ball practice or before stopping off to pick up bread and bologna at the grocery.
Before running out and stocking up on teen complexion products during the shopping run, it’s important to know that pimples (and other related skin eruptions) experienced in the later years are not the same as those fought during adolescence and that the treatment is an entirely different ball (or lotion and pill) game. In fact, the term adult acne, though still commonly used, is outdated and does not reflect the unique adult skin conditions that may look similar to skin problems of the young but are unique to the adult skin world. If you’re an adult and having facial skin problems, then you’re almost certainly dealing not with acne but with rosacea.
Adult Acne (Rosacea)
With the longer life span and more adults experiencing rosacea, the disease has come to be accepted as one of many diseases which may impact during the middle to later years. The average sufferer of rosacea is between ages 30 and 50 though a very few teens have been diagnosed with the condition and some elderly patients present with the disease. Approximately 14 million individuals are thought to be suffering with rosacea.
Rosacea is a condition found almost exclusively in the fair skinned populations. A few documented cases from populations with more skin pigmentation have been noted, but such occurrences are rare. As a rule, individuals of northern and eastern European descent (Celtic, English, and Scottish) are especially susceptible to the condition. The disease does seem to run in familiar reflecting, most probably, some genetic tendency to inherit skin or underlying problems which cause the skin to malfunction later in life.
With speculation that Princess Diana of England suffered from the condition (prior to her untimely death), awareness increased and media attention concerning the condition increased. This means that today, the condition is more easily recognized and acknowledged though little is still known or has been adequately tested about rosacea and the community of sufferers.