Rosacea is a widespread skin condition triggered by stress, heat, certain foods, and sunlight. It causes facial redness and sometimes swollen acne-like pimples during flare-ups. There’s a noticeable outbreak of blood vessels in the face, and the symptoms tend to clear after one week or two. Rosacea can be mistaken for other skin-related diseases like acne, but each one has distinctive signs and symptoms.
One of them is that rosacea can be triggered by sunlight exposure. But why is that?
Why does the sun trigger rosacea?
Those bright, lively beams from the sun are frequently recorded as triggers of rosacea, too. Actually, rosacea is much more common on extreme sun weather and in areas of uncovered skin. It is also more prominent in fair-skinned people, who are more susceptible to the effects of the UV rays on the skin.
The reason is simple. UV radiation causes heat and promotes circulation in the skin. The blood vessels in the face and other parts of the skin become more noticeable. As a result of this effect, we can experience significant redness and acne-like outbursts on the face.
The high energy and shorter-frequency UV beams are mostly to blame for sunburns, DNA harm in the skin, and reduced skin elasticity. It also causes photo aging, wrinkling, age spots and photosensitivity, just to name a few. Clearly, ongoing exposure to the sunlight causes significant changes in the skin, and mostly harmful effects.
In rosacea, at least two of such changes can cause a flare-up:
- UVB rays increase skin heat and expand the blood vessels. This causes red lines in the skin (telangiectasia) and facial flush.
- Sunlight exposure induces the expression of substances in the skin. Some of them are beneficial, but others like the LL-37 peptide trigger rosacea.
Am I likely to be affected by sunlight exposure?
As much as 80% of patients with rosacea are likely to be affected by sunlight exposure. But it highly depends on the type of rosacea and your skin susceptibility.
An examination made in Korea included 170 plus rosacea patients, and found that sunlight caused more blood vessels , redness, and flushing. Nonetheless, it didn’t influence patients with rosacea subtypes 2, 3 and 4 rosacea.
As the temperature becomes extreme, it worsens rosacea. So, heat, UV rays or a combination of both can be responsible for the worsening your case of rosacea.
Thus, sunlight protection is essential to prevent rosacea. If you have this condition, apply sunscreen, wear a cap, and avoid sunlight exposure as much as possible. Doing this will protect your skin from the damaging effects of direct and prolonged sunlight exposure. This recommendation is not only for people with rosacea. It is also suitable for anyone who wants to slow down the aging process.
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