Expert: Uribe - 6/17/2009

Question
i'm 47 and have never stopped breaking out. i have gone to a dermatologist about once every 10 years or so and have tried different remedies without anything helping. i just went again yesterday and he says it's rosacea which i don't understand why at my age there is a problem with calling it acne. when i read the description of rosacea, it doesn't describe me. i get whiteheads, mostly on my chin, but everywhere else they pop up too, and my neck and back always have pimples too. the only time they get red is when they are large and under the suface. they get really large and hard they last a long time and they hurt like crazy. i don't blush or get red easy or ever. i don't have a broken capillary issue. he gave me another oral antibiotic to try (cefuroxime) and a topical (duac). i asked him if i could try accutane but he said he'd rather not, that he at lease wants me to try this first. i've tried oral antibiotics before and topical, i've tried everything up to and including retin-a. any words of wisdom for me?

Answer
Please read my expertise;  this site is only to help in a diagnosis, through photos.
In order to help you, please take some pictures (web size) and send them to jvelasq51@hotmail.com with the words JMC at subject; don´t forget to make your question on the message text.
If you can´t, or you have any concerns with your skin or its treatment, please visit a board certified dermatologist, preferably at an University Hospital.
I don´t prescribe by internet.
Uribe.