Nightshades and acne flare-ups

Two dermatologists diagnosed me with acne rosacea. I was told how to care for my skin with creams and medicines. Even when I used these remedies, my skin would have flare-ups.

Then a family physician suggested I avoid nightshades like tomato and pepper to calm joint pain. After a while, I realized that it had been months since I’d had any acne breakouts or redness in my skin.

I’ve found I can go three months or longer with clear skin even without the prescribed skin care routine. Why didn’t the dermatologists ever ask about my diet?

Dermatologists sometimes advise their rosacea patients to avoid spicy foods as well as alcohol and hot beverages (Dermatology Practical & Conceptual, Oct. 31, 2017). In addition, foods containing a compound called cinnamaldehyde (tomatoes, citrus and chocolate, among others) often seem to trigger outbreaks.

Thank you for your recent comment on liquid bandages for skin tags. I started using liquid bandage on it when I read your article, and my skin tag is now gone!

Skin tags are benign fleshcolored growths that often appear on armpits or around the neck. We first heard about liquid bandage 14 years ago from this reader: “I was fascinated to read in your column that a reader had success getting rid of skin tags by putting BAND-AID TRU-STAY Clear Spots over them. I tried this but could never get a bandage to stay on long enough.

“I was about to give up when I ran across some liquid bandage in my medicine cabinet. I had a large skin tag growing on my shoulder and put the NewSkin Liquid Bandage on it. Within a week the growth fell off.”