Hello Group,

Very intriguing subject. Yes, fluorescent lighting is a very common
trigger for rosacea flares. However, if you ask a dermatologist or
rosacea specialist about this trigger, they will say they never
heard of it and dismiss it off the cuff. The derms just don’t
understand triggers like these. During my doctoral work my lab and
office was stacked with fluorescent lighting. After complaining
about this trigger to 25 to 30 dermatologists and getting the blow
off, I finally did some research and found out that the best doctor
to talk to was a highly specialized eye doctor called a neuro-
opthalmologist,

I set up a time to interview the doctor and he immediately knew what
I was talking about. Fluorescent lighting has some properties in it
that when it penetrates the eye and is transduced back through the
optic nerve, it excites the visual cortex of the brain (normal
action), but also alters the production of two chemicals in the
anterior hypothalamus – norepinephrine and gabba (not normal).

These chemicals then stimulate dilatory nerve fibers to the face
and also releases cortisol, a dilatory hormone; hence rosacea
flushing. In the normal population fluorescent lighting is a common
trigger for migraines and cluster headaches because of the changes
caused to norepinephrine and gabba (blood brain vessels dilate, but
they don’t flush because they don’t have rosacea). So, fluorescent
lighting does not induce a rosacea trigger via direct interaction
with facial skin, but is in fact a visual cortex processing affect.

During my doctoral work, studying in the lab 10 to 12 hours a day
was killing my rosacea. So, I have some suggestions that worked
quite well for me during that time period:

1. If you can, remove all the fluorescent light bulbs overhead your
work area and replace them with normal light bulbs (which do not
change those two brain chemicals). I did this in my office and it
was wonderful.

2. If you cant do the above, remove every other fluorescent light
bulb to decrease the total light penetrating the eye. I did this in
my lab and it made a difference.

3. If you cant do any of the above, order a pair of non-corrective
glasses with various shading that are specially made for indoors.
This works and is highly recommended by the neuro-opthalmologist
for his patients that get migraines or headaches from fluorescent
lighting but cannot remove the light system. Be sure to order the
shaded glasses that are designed for indoor lighting as they don’t
interfere with vision and in fact usually brighten/sharpen the
contrast of indoor material due to multiple mechanisms.

The real take home story is that I don’t think a single
dermatologist or rosacea specialist has ever heard of this trigger
or immediately dismisses it. This is a real trigger. This is a
common trigger. This reaction is a physiological one (not a
psychological one) that is caused by the simple excitation of two
chemicals in the anterior hypothalamus.

Hope that helps some.

Regards,

Geoffrey
______________________________

Dr. Geoffrey Nase
Ph.D. Neurovascular Physiologist
http://www.drnase.com