Can Finasteride Or Propecia Cause Rosacea?

[James227]

Okay, cut to the chase. I took finasteride for about one year, stopped for around ten weeks due to my anxiety over taking finasteride. Horror stories I've read etc. I recently started finasteride again, actually on the 24th December 17, seven days later I developed a burning, itchy rash on my face. One month down the line and I have seen a doctor who has told me I have rosacea and suggested that finasteride is probably to blame (even though this was never a problem the first time around) and that I should stop taking it immediately... as if it were that easy! Anyway, just looking for some feedback as to whether you guys think it's possible that finasteride has cause my rosacea? Obviously I'm going through a bit of a "what to do" moment?

Thanks in advance, James.

 

[James227]

Bump

 

[James227]

I'm sure I'm not getting any response because nobody knows the answer, but if anyone has any experience with this or has ever heard of someone reporting rosacea as a side effect I would really appreciate some infrormation? It's has been over a month now and unless I can rule out finasteride as the cause I guess I'll have to stop and hope it's that, but since I've already quit once and restated, I guess if I was to quit again there'd be no going back, so I need to be as sure as I possibly can.

Thanks again.

 

[Alphalete]

Visit a dermatologist?

 

[AnxiousAndy]

It's probably just a coincidence, I was on finasteride for a year and stopped for 8 - 9 weeks then got back on it and I didn't develop Rosacea. Was your doctor a GP? I'm no doctor myself but from experience GP's tend to know very little about hair loss, I would get a second opinion from a specialist.

 

[James227]

Yeh, my doctor is a GP, though he did diagnose me entirely from a text book he was reading, which didn't fill me with much confidence if I'm honest. Never had much look with doctors full stop. And I haven't seen a dermatologist yet as I live in the U.K and over here you either get referred by your doctors, which I doubt they will do, or pay, which I don't really want to do just yet, but obviously I will if I have to. Thanks for the responses.

 

[br1]

Taking finasteride for 17 years now, never heard about this as a side effect. Your doctor seems ignorant..

 

[James227]

Thanks again. Yeh, he is very against taking medication for cosmetic purposes though. I see his point I suppose, but he is a successful doctor, young, good looking with a full head of hair... if the shoe were on the other foot, who knows?

 

[Screeech]

Are you still suffering from this?

I read one of your other threads from two months ago where you mentioned you still had it so I imagine you are?

And yes, I believe it is finasteride. If you search "propecia rash" in Google you will see other people who experience various skin issues from the drug.

I used finasteride for about 1 month 6 years ago, but stopped using because I didn't feel comfortable using it at the time.

I have been using it for 7 days now, and on day 3 I developed an itchy scrotum. I now have pustular psoriasis down there, which as you can imagine isn't the best look.

I had candida overgrowth before I started using the drug so I think it has just exacerbated it, but I am going to just try and ride it out for now.

But yeah, did yours ever dissipate, or do you still have it?

 

[James227]

Yes, I still have it. I'm not sure if finasteride is to blame though, probably not. I more like just trying to connect the dots or come up with an explanation for it all, as it kinda came out of nowhere.

 

[Screeech]

Yes, I still have it. I'm not sure if finasteride is to blame though, probably not. I more like just trying to connect the dots or come up with an explanation for it all, as it kinda came out of nowhere.

I think you might be surprised what happens if you put Nizoral on it for 10 minutes for a couple of days.

After putting Nizoral on my scrotum - lol - for two days pretty much all my gross psoriasis has resolved, and it was looking ridiculously gnarly on the first day that I began applying it.

Do you suffer from any other unexplainable health issues - not necessarily since using finasteride, but prior?

It's only anecdotal, but from my experience with what happened to me, and reading around with other people's experiences I think Propecia can inhibit the immune system, at least temporarily, allowing bacterial pathogens to proliferate, resulting in symptoms - often of a fungal nature - hence Nizoral being able to combat them if they are superficial things on the surface, as it's intended purpose is actually as an antifungal shampoo.

The bacterial pathogens that I'm referring to is candida, by the way, and it causes fungal/ yeast infections.

Anyway, you should give it a try!

I'd be interested to hear what happens!