My dad has just been diagnosed with it, I know I have some of the signs of it too. The medicine (topical) he was given cost 90 dollars a tube, he just retired and with his other meds that he NEEDS it is almost too costly. Is there anything OTC or herbal/vitamins, he can try? Thanks so much!

I wouldn't worry about it that much unless it is a very bad case of it... I have a mild form of it and it is activated by the amount of medicinal Rum that I prescribe to myself.... I have never heard of it being dangerous, only unsightly in the worse cases....
If your Dad does nibbly a little, play around with the amount and see if it affects it....

LOL, nibbly, is that hit the bottle? No, he rarely ever even has a beer, but he does seem to really get the red face and little bumps.

You know, you can actually use topical products to reduce the appearance of it (ok, ok... you forced my hand...)...... ok MAKE-UP... there are some sorts that are available to men and women that simply cut the apparance. During a Mary Kay thingy at my house, the Rep used a tiny couple dabs of this tube touch-up on my mom and it was AMAZING! My step-dad uses it as well.

What is the stuff that costs 90$ a bottle called?

Ami, the tube says Metrocream 0.75% cream gal. He is to apply it twice a day, he says he may only apply it once a day. LMAO @ sher, my dad would never wear make-up, he is one of those old school guys who won't even go to a hair salon to get his hair cut, it's the barber only!!

ZenMed

45gm for 64.99

You can get it at this site for .75% strength for 34$ canadapharmacy.com

some hints to keep symptoms down

From reading at a couple other links, I think that metrocreme is a topical antibiotic creme. I think you might have your father call his doctor and tell them that the expense is a bit more than expected and ask if perhaps a oral antibiotic wouldn't be more effective and cheaper... it sounds like oral antibiotics are the suggested course to be really effective.

It sounds like Rosacea is a very tough problem to solve, so I hope he has luck getting rid of it.

I was diagnosed with it a couple of years ago and used Metrogel for a while. But considering the high cost of the stuff and how little help it provided I also did some research on the internet into the causes. I have had good results and keep it under control with my own regimen which makes sense to me, at least. I use nothing but water and an exfoliant facial scrubber like "Buff Puff" or something similar. I scrub my face once or twice a day and never use soap on my face, ever!. I find that for a couple of years it has worked very well, better in fact than the metrogel, which actually is a form of flagyl. It is worth a try, it is cheap, and it works for me.

As donrent mentioned, rosecea is seldom dangerous. However, there is a form of it that affects the eyes and this can cause permanent damage if not taken care of. There is also a form of it that mostly affects men, in which the nose gets red and bulbous. It is said that W.C.Fields had this form and some say that Bill Clinton also has it. Rosecea is uncurable, but controlable. Stress, caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, extremes in temperature, are a few of the things that can aggravate it. He should not expose himself directly to the sun. Always wear a hat and sunscreen. Hopefully he will not need to use any medication with steroids in it because this will also aggravate the problem. There are lots of sites on internet dealing intensively with this problem. He definitely is not alone in this.

DD (been there)