It wasn't unusual for Bob Vilsoet's face to get particularly red while he played volleyball. After all, the competition was usually fierce, and the game would get his blood flowing.

But when the facial redness persisted, and his face began to look red and "splotchy" all the time, he wondered what was up.

"I didn't know what was going on. The splotches resembled acne, but they just wouldn't go away," Vilsoet said. "It went on for about two years and I didn't do much about it." Then, as he prepared for a volleyball game one night, a friend approached him during a tournament. "Hey, I have what you have," his friend declared.

"I looked at him confused," Vilsoet said. "I didn't know what he was talking about." His friend went on to explain about rosacea. "His face had the same red spots that I had, and I knew I wanted to do something right away."

Vilsoet mentioned his plight to a nurse friend and she sent him copies of Rosacea Review. He then went to see a dermatologist who confirmed he had rosacea. He started using oral and topical antibiotics and learned that other factors that cause him to flush might aggravate his condition.

"The medication helped my face clear up considerably," Vilsoet said. In his particular case, Vilsoet finds his volleyball playing, although physically intense, doesn't pose much of a problem.

"Playing volleyball doesn't seem to bother me," he said. "In fact, if it wasn't for the game, and my volleyball friend, I wouldn't have my rosacea under control."