Question

Can Rosacea be seen on other skin areas besides the face?

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Asked by: Anonymous

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March 3, 2008

Poikiloderma is similiar in appearance

Lori Haney, RN
Lori Haney, RN

Although not referred to as "rosacea", there is another skin condition that is similar in appearance and is what prompts many to seek a consultation with us. This condition is called poikiloderma. This presents as brown and red pigmentation to the neck (sometimes the sides of the neck only) as well as the chest. We see this condition often in our Southern Californian female patients from years of sun exposure to these areas.

We all learn to protect our faces with sunscreen but all too often forget to do the same for the neck and chest. Besides seeing color changes over the years, there will be textural changes as well. Patients will complain of a "leathery" look to the skin. When pushing on the chest with a finger, the skin will easily blanch. An increase in superficial vascularity (an abundance of small blood vessels that aren't needed) may lead to changes in the texture of the skin.

We treat poikiloderma with a combination of lasers to treat both the brown pigmentation as well as red.

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February 1, 2008
Debbie Friant, PA-C
Debbie Friant, PA-C

This is a question that is up for debate and some amount of controversy surrounds it.

The neck and the chest is definitely another area where you can get flushing and redness. But the question is: it truly rosacea? I cannot say with 100% confidence that it is but I believe it is possible to get rosacea in these ares, particularly on the chest because I have seen redness and flushing along with a bumpiness in the chest area. When you look at the redness and the flushing that occurs in the neck and the chest, it tends to be more exacerbated because of sun damage, and so it could be rosacea but it is not definititive. Is it sun damage or is it rosacea?

There is also a condition called poikiloderma, which is a goofy word. It's that kind of chicken skin that we get, where it looks like bumps that raise to the surface. It is actually not bumps that have raised up, but rather the surrounding skin that has shrunk away and has atrophied because of sun damage. Typically it looks kind of brownish, pinkish and is common in people that are, or were, real sun worshippers. I have not seen rosacea on other parts of the body with the exception of face, neck and chest.

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