Doctors of the Future

The doctor of the future will give no medicine but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.
- Thomas Edison- Inventor

We of Bass & Boney Pharmaceutical, Inc. note to the reader that there is a direct correlation with the above statement by Thomas Edison and the treatment of rosacea. A well known rosacea sufferer, J.P. Morgan, financed the inventor, Thomas Edison and most of his experiments and inventions including the electric lightbulb. Later the success of the experiments, patenting of the invention, and the application of J.P. Morgan's home and the lower section of Manhatten, N.Y. through J.P. Morgan's new company named General Electric Co. along with many other businesses.

Can rosacea be cured? We believe that you can control the factors that create rosacea, but at the same time, rosacea patients are obviously human also, and given the right conditions, we will occasionally slide back into the old habits or 'triggers' that cause our skin to react with redness, rosacea papules, acne pimples and seborrheic dermatitis. Can rosacea be cured? It's a philosophical question; how strong is your will and determination to live a healthier and happier life? The prevention of rosacea or rosacea remission can definitably be an attainable goal. "Never say never or it never will".

In the treatment of rosacea, many things come to mind:

1. Dermatologists that are in too much of a hurry to spend the time to answer questions or explain the possible effects – good and bad – of the prescription you've just been handed.
2. Conflicting reports of the value of one rosacea medication over another.
3. Frustration at not having your symptoms taken seriously.
4. Confusion when a rosacea product that appears to work well for everyone else fails to improve your rosacea and may have even made it worse.

In desperation, many turn to skin care specialist, friends or rosacea support groups. This can often lead to more confusion as we read one week of "product A" that's a miracle cure improving everyone's rosacea only to read a week later on the same support group that "product A" doesn’t work for anyone, and "product B" is the answer.

All this leaves many of us wondering, when did skin care become so complicated? How did my skin ever get so bad? Maybe like so many things today, the answer is to return to the basics of skin care and treatment:

1. Avoid the things that cause you irritation.
2. "New and improved" often makes the skin burn, causing redness, and itching reactions.
3. Add water to your skin, and to your body. Water is an essential component of life.
4. Clean the skin with a cleanser that doesn't promise to do anything but cleanse the skin: if it's moisturizing, it's not cleansing it's applying a film; if it's removing wrinkles, it's not cleansing it's exfoliating the skin with an ingredient strong or harsh enough to remove skin; if it's a deodorant soap, it's not cleansing, it's applying a chemical to mask odor.
5. Releasing tension and relaxation are a more potent skin care medication than any prescription rosacea treatment you can purchase.
6. The foods we eat have a direct impact on our skin. Medications can affect how we react to food; our present skin condition will have an impact on our reactions. Those with just flushing may find that certain foods trigger a flush, while those who suffer with acne also may find other foods trigger a reaction, some of us have seborrheic dermatitis and rosacea or eczema and rosacea and each change in the skin condition causes a change in triggers. Add to that, the rosacea, acne or eczema treatment you last used, and how much of it you applied and how recently you applied it will affect your skin's reaction to a food trigger.

The cause of rosacea can be the result of many factors:

1. The treatments used for other conditions can cause rosacea symptoms as a side effect of treatment. It's amazing how many drugs on the market today list as a side effect of the medication skin redness, rash and itching. Drug companies consider this a minor inconvenience. Or maybe a part of the overall plan to keep you coming back for more drugs to "cure" the effects of the last drug.
2. 'Genetics' or a pre-disposition for rosacea. If your parent had rosacea, you will have rosacea. Or could it be that the habits that led to our parent's rosacea were inherited or passed on to us. Must we have rosacea simply because our parents did?
3. Overkill or overly aggressive treatment. If a little dab will do you, will three dabs be three times as good? In most cases, the answer is no. One dab will help; the other two just send you two steps backwards. The end result, you are now worse than when you started treatment.

In the face of these factors, it seems that the mainstream medical community has made very little progress towards a solution.

1. Dermatologists often state that they do not understand rosacea. Why then, do they treat rosacea?
2. The statement has been made that rosacea is an enigma and others state that they are baffled by rosacea. Often patients migrate from one dermatologist to another dermatologist trying to find an answer to their skin care issues.
3. You know your skin best, you know best how and what your rosacea reacts to. You are more familiar with your skin than any dermatologist who has only seen your skin for 15 minutes every six months.