Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Ole' Irish green is good for a red face!

Hope your St. Patrick's Day was much more fun than mine! I guess that I'm actually still in elementary school according to most of my co-workers, yeah, I work with a bunch "of sticks in the mud"..... (where did that little ditty come from? I betcha it evolved from someone who actually put "sticks in the mud" to hide them and the intended victum went squishing around with their bare feet while playing, OUCH..it wouldn't be pleasant!..thus "sticks in the mud". ( I am showing my age)


I work in a medical Dermatology office; I pinched each patient that came in that wasn't wearing green, I greeted every one of the patients with "Happy St. Patrick's Day" and was head to toe wearing green! I couldn't find my Irish Snoopy scrub top so I sufficed with my blue fish tank looking scrub top with green plants and colorful salt water fish; and of course green scrub pants, green shoes. All of the Irish last names were pronounced with a little brogue added in.. birthdates near March 17th were remarked upon and everyone under the age of 12 was asked about leprechaun pranks.......ummmmmmm..maybe I am still 7 years old. Oh well..I had fun..


Enter..green for red faces..when I talk about red faces it doesn't necessarily mean your whole face is red; just across the nose and onto the cheeks, could be just the cheeks, could be the area between your eyes and around the nose, or it COULD be the entire face, and/or include the neck.

There are topical medications that have a GREEN base added to them to cut down the REDness of the skin...these medications are usually written for a condition called ROSACEA. Prounounced "ROW ZAY SHA". To remember..ROSACEA; roses are RED and so is my skin.

Rosacea is not the name of all red skin conditions, just a facial one that is considered at times ADULT ACNE. Many times the condition consists of bumps that look and act like acne along with the redness. There are certain things that sometimes trigger the condition of ROSACEA. Temperture "hot" drinks and soups, wine, "hot showers", spicy foods, etc.

Sometimes oral antibiotics are prescribed for the condition along with or without topical medications, some having the green tint or color to them or not.


Hopefully your St Patrick's Day was fun..I used to call it St. Patty's Day but some Irish patients told me it wasn't correct..I'll have to look into that. Now that I think of it they were mostly men!

HA:)!!


Take care..KRKK