FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--This month, leading rosacea experts, including the National Rosacea Society (NRS) are joining forces for the world’s first Global Rosacea Coalition to drive greater awareness and support for the millions of people with rosacea seeking solutions for their symptoms. As part of this effort, April has been marked the inaugural Global Rosacea Awareness Month, to connect the many dedicated organizations and individuals committed to improving rosacea education worldwide. The aim of the Coalition and Global Rosacea Awareness Month is to highlight the personal impact of the condition, including the psychological aspects of living with rosacea, and to encourage sufferers to better recognize the symptoms and seek professional help.
"For more than 20 years, our Rosacea Awareness Month each April has made significant progress in the United States toward improving the lives of the untold millions who suffer from this common, often life-disruptive disorder," said Samuel Huff, executive director of the National Rosacea Society. "We are pleased to join this important effort to spread awareness and understanding of rosacea throughout the world."
For almost half of the estimated 40 million rosacea sufferers worldwide who remain unaware that they have a medical condition, finding accurate information and access to healthcare professionals are two critical steps to receiving appropriate care. According to results of a new national survey conducted in partnership between Galderma Laboratories, L.P. and the National Rosacea Society, there is a need for greater consumer education about this complex disease – particularly its triggers and physical hallmarks. While 62 percent of patients feel they “know enough” about treatment, many confuse rosacea with acne (49 percent believed they had acne prior to diagnosis). Additionally, patients are unaware that rosacea can also be triggered by common factors such as smoking (68 percent), humidity (68 percent), exercise (62 percent) and the microscopic demodex mites that live in everyone’s skin (86 percent). Moreover, due to the condition’s physical manifestation on the face, many patients struggle with emotional impacts, such as feeling unattractive (50 percent), embarrassed (42 percent) and less confident (30 percent).
Global Rosacea Awareness Month activities, spearheaded by the Global Rosacea Coalition, culminate in the world’s first ever Global Rosacea Tweetathon (#ChatRosacea) on Monday, April 27th. Coalition experts, including doctors, sufferers and bloggers, will take part in a Twitter discussion over multiple time zones covering core rosacea topics from diagnosis and the impact of living with rosacea to managing symptoms. The conversation begins in Europe and Australia before moving to Latin America and then to the U.S. and Canada.
U.S. dermatologist, coalition member and Galderma consultant Dr. Ava Shamban, commented: “One of the biggest challenges with rosacea is that almost 50 percent of patients mistake it for acne prior to being diagnosed by a dermatologist and are inappropriately treated with acne medications that can exacerbate and flare the condition. Patients who suffer from rosacea require treatment specific to their symptoms of redness, bumps and inflammation. A Global Rosacea Awareness Month and Coalition to support the cause as well as opening up the discussion surrounding rosacea to a broader audience during the Tweetathon will help patients better understand their condition and will give them the support and information that they need.”
Please sign up to the Thunderclap page to share a message of support for Global Rosacea Awareness Month with your friends and followers during April at http://bit.ly/1NuNA9c.
Global Rosacea Awareness Month and the Global Rosacea Coalition are supported by Galderma as part of their Act on Red rosacea awareness program. For more information please visit www.actonred.com.
Notes to editors
Global Rosacea Coalition
The Global Rosacea Coalition is an independent group of internationally renowned dermatologists, media medics, rosacea sufferers, bloggers, celebrities and professional organizations, all of whom are dedicated to improving the lives of people with rosacea. Key members include: the National Rosacea Society (U.S.), Dr. Ava Shamban (U.S.), Dr. Linda Papadopoulos (psychodermatologist, UK), Professor Dr. Thomas Dirschka (dermatologist, Germany), Cristiana Oliveira (Actress and rosacea sufferer, Brazil) and Dr. Christoph Martschin (dermatologist, Sweden).
The Coalition has agreed a set of core principles:
- Raise awareness of the symptoms associated with rosacea (>50% are unaware that their symptoms are caused by rosacea)
- De-stigmatize rosacea and help sufferers understand it’s a common medical condition
- Deliver high quality information and resources to people affected by the condition and who may have previously struggled to get the help they need
- Encourage sufferers to have the confidence to speak with their doctor
A number of the Coalition members will be participating in the first Global Rosacea Tweetathon (#ChatRosacea) on Monday, April 27th.
Global Rosacea Tweetathon
The Global Rosacea Tweetathon is a Twitter based conversation between experts in rosacea, sufferers and anyone wanting to better understand the condition. People can join and follow the conversation using #ChatRosacea.
| REGION/COUNTRY | LOCAL TIME |
TIME CEST |
|||
| UK | 09:00-10:00 BST | 10:00-11:00 | |||
| EU | 10:00-11:00 CEST | 10:00-11:00 | |||
| Australia | 18:00-19:00 AEST | 10:00-11:00 | |||
| Mexico (Mexico City) | 09:00-10:00 CDT | 16:00-17:00 | |||
| Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) | 11:00-12:00 BRT | 16:00-17:00 | |||
| US (Chicago) | 11:00-12:00 CDT | 18:00-19:00 | |||
| Canada | 12:00-13:00 EDT | 18:00-19:00 | |||
For further details and to join the conversation please go to: http://twubs.com/ChatRosacea.
Act on Red disease awareness program
The Act on Red program, supported by Galderma, is a global program providing information and educational resources on facial redness associated with rosacea. The Act on Red program has a number of different elements including online resources via the website: www.actonred.com, Face Values: Global Perceptions Survey report and video content to address the needs of people with rosacea.
About Galderma
Galderma, a global company founded in 1981, is committed to delivering innovative medical solutions to meet the dermatological needs of people throughout their lifetime while serving healthcare professionals around the world. The company has 34 wholly owned affiliates with a worldwide network of distributors and more than 5,000 employees. Galderma’s extensive product portfolio is available in 80 countries and treats a range of dermatological conditions including: acne, rosacea, onychomycosis, psoriasis & steroid‐responsive dermatoses, pigmentary disorders, skin cancer and medical solutions for skin senescence.
Galderma is the operating company of Nestlé Skin Health, a global leader focused on enhancing the quality of life by delivering science-based solutions for the health of skin, hair and nails.
With approximately 19% of revenues invested each year to discover and develop new products and access innovative technologies, the company is one of the world’s leading investors in dermatology R&D. Five state‐of‐the‐art R&D centers and five manufacturing sites are dedicated to providing a wide range of innovative medical solutions which meet the highest standards of safety and efficacy.
Strategic brands in the US include Epiduo®, Oracea®, Clobex®, Differin®, Mirvaso®, MetroGel®, Soolantra®, Vectical®, Tri-Luma®, Cetaphil®, Benzac® Acne Solutions, Restylane®, Perlane®, Dysport® and Sculptra®.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
For more information, please visit Galderma’s website: www.galderma.com.
