Like most rosacea sufferers, I did the whole routine with the doctors. They all diagnosed rosacea and prescribed various drugs – some worked, some didn’t. They were always careful to warn me that there was no cure – it was a chronic condition. I didn’t like introducing powerful drugs to my body, I also tried going chemical free in my home, becoming a vegetarian, refraining from eating sugar and gluten, and everything else I could think of. None of these things worked, although I was losing weight and getting pretty healthy in every other way.

Then my symptoms mysteriously evaporated…………

After relocating to a somewhat remote location in Colorado, my rosacea symptoms and other skin ailments began to subside. After a year or so, the symptoms were gone. No redness or bumps. I could go out side on sunny days, which I didn’t for years. I could drink or eat anything without concern. I could exercise, go to work, and do all the things I used to do without any concern for my face or skin. It was gone!

But, then I had a relapse, then more relapses…………

A new job required travel to several cities on a regular basis. Every time I traveled, the rosacea would return. Whenever I returned home, it would subside. It was disheartening because every time I would go to the home office or client meetings, I had redness and bumps on my forehead, cheeks, and chin. I am sure you can relate.

This continued until……………..

In an attempt to uncover the cause of the flare ups, I tried a number of experiements. For example, on several trips I packed and used my own pillow cases in case the hotels were using strong cleaning chemicals that would trigger the symtoms. Another experiment was to rinse my face after airline travel and several times a day when in the cities to rinse off any air borne pollutants that might be triggering the symptoms. This went on for several months to no avail.
Finally, on the verge of giving up, I tried purchasing bottled water and using it to wash my face instead of washing with city water. It worked! I remained almost symptom free while in the city. I could – and did while experimenting – amplify the symptoms simply by showering or washing my face with chlorinated water. And, I could – and did – reduce the symptoms by rinsing with chlorine free water. Now, when traveling I wash with bottled water. It is inconvenient, but my alternative is to trigger rosacea. The symptoms would recede but not disappear in larger cities due to ubiquitous chlorine exposure from numerous sources in all large cities. However, it was very mild without the direct exposure from water or shower steam.

I feel kind of slow for not figuring it out sooner, but now it obvious that my rosacea would subside when I was at my remote home because it has well water which contains no chlorine or any other chemicals. And, in a remote area, there are no sources of chlorine.

It turns out, after some follow up research, that I learned that millions of people are allergic to chlorine. Really, everyone is. It is one of the most toxic substances there is. Municipalities use it because it is very toxic to deadly microbes. But, in some of us, it causes rosacea. It is suspected as the cause for many other serious ailments, and after my experience, I don’t doubt it.

An important side point: I had to stop using soap or any chemicals on my face. Any chemical now causes irritation. It is possible that my facial skin will always be hyper-sensitive due to years of irritation from chemicals. All bets are off if you apply chemicals to your face.

Of course, not everyone’s rossacea is caused by chlorine. But, could it be possible that some, and possibly thousands of rosacea sufferer’s symptoms would evaporate if they were no longer exposed to chlorine? This is not speculation on my part. I proved that chlorine was causing – at least – my rosacea symptoms. I can make my rosacea flare and diminish – and did so several times – simply by using chlorinated or pure water. So, it seems very reasonable that the same cause and effect is occurring with other people. I was just lucky enough to move to a place with well water so that even I eventually stumbled on to the cause.

Your health and peace of mind is worth the minor investment of time and money to find out if you are also experiencing a reaction to chlorine. Buy some chlorine free bottled water and wash with it for a week. If the symptoms are still there, you are out a few dollars and some time. But, what if the symptoms go away? If they do, invest in relatively inexpensive chlorine filtering shower head and get your rosacea under control the healthy way.

This information will not help everyone, but I hope it helps you.

Jim