Rosacea has commonly been characterized as a disease of flare-ups and remissions, and data from a recent National Rosacea Society survey of 954 patients confirm that pattern.

More than 55 percent of the respondents said they experience an outbreak or increased intensity of symptoms at least once a month, including 24 percent who noted they have a flare-up every few days, 15 percent who said once a week, and the remainder who said once a month. Another 25 percent said they have a flare-up every few months.

The length of a flare-up varies from one individual to another, but a third of the patients said their flare-ups typically lasted more than a day, compared to 21 percent who said their flare-ups usually lasted less than a day. Twenty-one percent noted that their rosacea flare-ups normally lasted more than a week, while another 14 percent said they lasted several weeks to more than a month.

More than half of those answering the survey rated their rosacea flare-ups as moderate, while 32 percent characterized them as mild and 12 percent classified them as severe.

Eighty-three percent of the respondents said medical therapy and avoidance of rosacea triggers had been effective in controlling their flare-ups. A rosacea diary booklet is available from the National Rosacea Society to help patients avoid their individual rosacea triggers.