Rosacea: Your Self-Help Guide

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Summary: A Naturopathic Physician Looks at a Natural Pathology
Review: Dr. Brownstein (ably assisted by her co-authors)writes from a unique and very helpful perspective. Trained as a naturopathic physician and well acquainted with conventional and alternative medical approaches to rosacea, Dr. Brownstein herself suffers from this chronic skin condition. Writing with great depth and clarity about her own struggle with rosacea, Dr. Brownstein offers an empathetic guide to fellow sufferers, sharing with them the many insights and even "tricks" she has learned about learning to live with a condition that has afflicted everyone from W.C. Fields to Bill Clinton. Using her own skin as a laboratory of one, the author offers hope and common sense advice about coping with both the cosmetic and psychological effects of rosacea. In the last analysis, the book is triumphantly encouraging, and should not be neglected by any of the estimated 14 million Americans (and many more worldwide) who have rosacea and are looking for ways to control it medically, nutritionally and even psychologically. This is an essential book for anyone seeking guidance in the management of rosacea.

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Summary: Excellent source of support for rosaceans!
Review: Dr. Brownstein has performed an important public service for the millions of rosacea suffers with this timely, comprehensible self-help guide. Avoiding jargon or needless complexities about the skin condition, "Rosacea: Your Self-Help Guide" is full of practical --and natural--ideas on preventing rosacea outbreaks and improving the appearance of the skin of those afflicted with the "embarrassing disease." Dr. Brownstein's co-authors, Donna Shoemaker, Nutritionist, and Dr. Sean O'Laire, Psychologist contribute important chapters on the role of nutrition and on the "psychology of face," which offer,respectively, a practical guide to eating right and a sense of perspective about the cosmetic aspects of the condition. Dr. Brownstein tells us how to avoid "triggering" the condition (weather, alcohol, chocolate, etc.), but also about the latest medical breakthroughs that can treat and ameliorate the condition (laser treatment, photoderm, among others).

But perhaps the most useful advice for those who have been forced to deal with this frustrating condition is Dr. Brownstein's account of her own struggle to overcome rosacea. This is the most encouraging news of all, and we're in her debt for sharing this valuable perspective.

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Summary: Hope for Rosaceans!
Review: I have suffered for most of my life from rosacea. Told so many times that I simply would have to live with this dismaying condition, imagine my relief (joy really!) to find in one comprehensive, well-written, yet very accessible book all of the information I've ever sought. This is an extraordinarily helpful work, presented in everyday terms that any sufferer (whom the authors jocularly deem "The Rosaceans")can readily understand and immediately put to use. Everything from "trigger foods" to the effects of sun and wind, to the latest in medical and alternative treatment. Thank you for this wonderful book, Arlen Brownstein and Donna Shoemaker!"

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Summary: Quality Information
Review: I just received this book, and already I like it! It has a lot of information about rosacea, about treatment, and ways I can do something about it. Most of this is new information to me. Beginning with an exact description of my experience in being diagnosed (down to the two pamphlets and vagueness), I found a lot to think about and to be surprised and comforted by.

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Summary: This book was a Godsend!
Review: I reviewed this book and gave it a poor rating a few months ago, and now I find that the review has disappeared.

Here is the problem with this book in a nutshell: WAY too much data that is also very poorly presented, especially if you are a new sufferer of this condition. Perhaps a long-time sufferer of rosacea could pick through this helter-skelter mosaic and find some grains of wisdom, but the newbie like me will probably be overwhelmed and fall into despair. Fairly disorganized in general, there is too much anecdotal information with far too many contradictions in the medical sections (particularly the parts about acid balance in the diet). You're just dropkicked into various technical sections without any handholding and then thrown to the wolves of information overload.

When I was first diagnosed with rosacea, I needed some simple guidelines. I was depressed, felt like Mother Nature had screwed me over, and needed some positive steps to move forward immediately. Do yourself a favor and visit rosacea-dot-org or some other website that offers clearer, more direct guidelines on health, medicine, and other regimens so that your skin can start to look and feel better right away. That's what I did. It's free. After three months of treatment and some dietary adjustments, my face looks much better!

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Summary: Very informative
Review: it was great to read a book that explained in simple terms so much about this disease that makes me crazy, lots of ideas about dealing with redness, bumps, emotions.

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Summary: Dealing with Rosacea
Review: Run don"t walk to your nearest book dealer to buy this wonderful book! Although most Rosacea sufferers are familiar with some of the information in the book,there is also a wealth of information that the authors bring to light! The resources are excellent and very easy to read.For the first time the reader will feel like they are in control of this wretched disorder instead of it being in control of them!

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Summary: One of the better introductory rosacea texts
Review: This is a gentle book. It makes very gentle claims about the broad applicability of what it has to say. The book could be summarised in one sentence. "We believe that eating right, taking appropriate supplements, and optimising your digestive system can improve your rosacea, not to mention your overall health."

The book starts off talking about the author's discovery and subsequent distress at having rosacea. She went first for the traditional dermatologist directed treatment path. For a naturopath this is an honest admission - that she firstly thought that she need to consult mainstream medicine to `get rid of it'. Becoming disappointed with the results she then turned to her background.

The introduction section follows the theme of the book - lots of gently stated facts about rosacea. The treatment section mentions the regulation treatments and then talks about naturopathy and homeopathy. The much loved ZincO even gets a mention.

I'm not a fan of trying to control one's rosacea by avoiding known triggers. This comes from a desire to be rid of the disease by not giving in and changing your life dramatically. Thus, the seemingly obligatory section on triggers and stress doesn't really help. Next, is a short section on makeup and lasers.

The remainder of the book deals with nutrition for your skin. As well as dealing with supplements, the book asks us to forget the `food pyramid' and embrace the `food wheel'. The section on Fats and Oils is particularly detailed. This is the highlight of the book for me, information about for eg. borage oil and flax seed oil. These are often talked about in the Rosacea Support Group, especially in regards to ocular rosacea.

The book finishes with some discussions about the psychology of your face, asking us to remember that we are not `just our face'. This is good advice especially for us that obsess about our appearance.

Approaching the disease from the nutritional side, this book is one of the better introductory rosacea texts.

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Rating:
Summary: Superficial in places but it a worthwhile start
Review: This is perhaps a good starting point for rosacea sufferers, but does nothing for those who want to eliminate the facial flushing and redness and not have to avoid our triggers... This is what makes our disease such a nightmare on a day by day basis. There is so much research out there that is relevant to our disease and Dr. Bronstein has not even touched on it. For the most comprehensive book on rosacea which details very latest medical advances including topical flushing blockers, I can recommend the new text by Dr. Geoffrey Nase, "Beating Rosacea".