Rosacea is a complex condition that can cause a wide variety of skin complaints. If you have rosacea, your set of symptoms may be entirely different from those experienced by another rosacea sufferer. However, some symptoms are more common than others, and many people who live with rosacea have to deal with an excessively oily nose.
Nose skin that produces too much oil (more properly known as sebum) isn't just embarrassing and unsightly. If the cause of the excessive oil production is not treated, the nose skin can become permanently damaged, leading to more serious problems. Fortunately, your dermatologist can offer a range of treatments that will help keep your oily nose skin under control.
Why Does Rosacea Make My Nose Skin Oily?
The skin on your face is dotted with thousands of tiny pores, which contain glands that produce sebum. This oily substance is created to protect your skin against friction, sun damage, and bacterial infections. Unfortunately, many people who suffer from rosacea have overactive sebum glands, which leads to excessively oily skin.
The skin on your nose has more pores than other parts of your face, so when rosacea causes excessive sebum production, your nose is likely to become especially oily. This overproduction of oil can cause the pores to become clogged, causing pimples and pustules to form. Oil overproduction and clogging can also stretch the affected pores, leaving you with large, visible pores on your nose.
In more serious cases of rosacea, the overproduction of sebum gets so bad that the skin around the affected pores is permanently damaged. This creates scar tissue, which can make the skin on your nose become thicker, bumpier, and discolored. This thickening of the nose skin is known as rhinophyma and may leave your nose noticeably disfigured if the underlying problems are not addressed.
How Can My Dermatologist Treat My Oily Nose?
Rosacea symptoms, such as an oily nose, tend to come and go and are at their worst when your rosacea is triggered by spicy foods, stress, cold weather, or other environmental triggers. However, rosacea does not go away by itself, and your oily nose problem will get progressively worse if you don't seek professional treatment from a dermatologist.
If your dermatologist determines that your oily nose is being caused by rosacea, they can offer effective treatments that will minimize oil production.
Prescription antibiotics are a common and highly effective treatment. Your dermatologist may prescribe you oral antibiotics, or topical antibiotic gels or creams to be applied topically. When used regularly, these antibiotics prevent the triggers that cause your sebum glands to overproduce oil, making your nose less oily and minimizing pore damage.
Your dermatologist may also prescribe you other topical treatments to keep your pores clear and unclogged. Azelaic acid is very effective. This unique acid stimulates the skin to replace skin cells more quickly and causes the pores on your nose to flush out dead skin cells and excess sebum before they can clog up your pores.
If your oily nose has stretched, visible pores, or the skin on your nose has started to thicken, your dermatologist can use chemical peels and laser light therapy to contract the pores and break up scar tissue. These therapies may need to be performed on an ongoing basis if your rosacea is severe, but they are the most effective way to prevent disfiguring rhinophyma.
Check out websites like https://eastcarolinadermatology.com to learn more about rosacea treatments.
