Onreltea is a new treatment for controlling facial redness temporarily, another welcome option for people with rosacea. We ask dermatologist Dr. Shannon Humphrey about this new treatment.
First, what is rosacea?
Rosacea is a common skin condition that affects the face, and most commonly affects fair skinned patients. Rosacea is a chronic and progressive condition, meaning that it will get worse over time unless properly treated. Some of the most common symptoms include persistent background redness, dilated blood vessels, flushing, burning sensations, and acne-like pimples. Rosacea most commonly starts at middle age, and affects women more often than men, but men tend to have more severe symptoms. Identifying rosacea early when it’s mild is ideal as the condition is progressive and it’s easiest to treat while the symptoms are still mild.
It’s important to note that while rosacea rarely has a serious medical impact, it can affect a patient’s sense of self and emotional well being which is very important.
What is Onreltea
Onreltea is a new topical treatment for persistent facial redness for patients 18 years or older. First of its kind, it constricts the blood vessels so the background facial redness is temporarily controlled. Improvements can be seen typically within 30 minutes, and the effect peaks at around 3 hours. This is a nice options for patients who want to temporarily clear the facial redness. Patients need to understand clearly that there is no cure for rosacea at this time.
What does it do?
Onreltea may help clear the redness temporarily, but the effect wears off in about 12 hours, and if patients wish to see improvements again, they will need to reapply it. It’s important to note that no treatment is without side-effects. In clinical trials, the most common side-effects included: Worsening of redness, itching, and burning sensations which occurred in 1.2 – 3.3% of patients in the trial. The side effects were usually mild to moderate.
How is it applied?
Onreltea should be applied in pea sized portions in the following areas: Forehead, chin, nose, cheeks. 5 pea sized applications should cover the entire face. Patients should remember to thoroughly wash their hands after application. Patients should work with their dermatologist to first, ensure that they do in fact have rosacea.
Patients should also consider lifestyle measures in addition to medication to manage rosacea properly, avoiding major triggers that worsen their condition. Strict sun avoidance, gentle skin care regimen, avoiding smoking are important for patients with rosacea. A good lifestyle adjustment paired with medical treatment can really help control and manage the symptoms of rosacea.
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