Since moving here the condition of my skin has been shocking. I used to get bad acne as a teenager and a young adult but it had largely gone away. But I now get cystic acne outbreaks, particularly once it is hot.
My main concern is the rosacea (redness in nose and face). I have always had a slight ruddy complexion and my parents probably have rosacea. But since moving here it has really progressed. My nose is getting quite bad. A red vain is starting to pop up, there is a constant redness and scars from two bad pimples make it look worse. It is disconcerting because it makes me look like an alcoholic a bit. Annoyingly, Taiwanese people seem to comment on it quite a bit and ask silly questions like do I have high blood pressure or did I drink whisky this morning.
Anyway, I was wondering if laser treatment is covered by the NHI? Im just thinking as it is sort of a cosmetic proceedure that it might not be. For those who have had laser skin treatment, how much does it cost and is it painful? Was it successful?
Also, does anyone recommend any good medications or other treatments? I already take doxycycline 100mg a day which reduces the pimples but it doesnāt do much for the redness.
I had those red veins on my cheeks, under the eye and on the side of my nose starting at age 16.
The discrimination from that really cause some damage to my life. When the first experimental laser treatment came out 25 years ago, I went for the treatment.
It took three to five minutes, did not hurt at all, far less than a needle.
All the veins were gone and never came back.
However, you should go in fall, and avoid the sun as much as possible for the first year.
Have you tried sulfer based soap to cleanse and kill the demodex population on your face? Itās a cheap and effective alternative to expensive laser treatments.
A cheap and effective sulfer soap is available over the counter in Taiwan. Costs about USD$1. Google Shanghai sulfer soap
For the longest time, I thought I had acne but recently was diagnosed with rosacea by Dr. Tseng. Iāve had a vascular laser treatment done which is considered cosmetic but it did help with the redness. I also use Mirvaso once in awhile if I look really red, allegra, and doxycycline every other day.
For the vascular laser, it is at the hospital 1 week out of the month, and it costs 100NT per shot. I spent quite a bit (14K) because Iām quite pleased with the results.
Visiting Dr. Tseng at the dermatology clinic is covered by NHI. He also works at the cosmetic clinic and also did the laser treatment (not covered by NHI).
Recently, Iāve been doing some juicing and focusing on consuming more plant-based food and this has made a tremendous difference. Iām not sure if I have an allergy to something that is a trigger. I do know that red wine, spicy food, and bread donāt help my skin conditionā¦
Aikaili, I want to personally thank you for recommending this doctor. Iāve been struggling with some kind of allergy since I got to Taiwan - never happened to me before - and after seeing doctors with no results, I decided to give doctor Tseng a shot after reading your post and he is wonderful. It has only been 3 days since I visited him and I am feeling so much better. He totally nailed it and he speaks English fluently, since he went to school in Canada.
I am seeing the benefits, too. I lost a clothing size and my skin looks better every day. I joined FMTV and just started their 7 day cleanse today which called for adding spirulina to my morning juice. The juice had lemon, apple, celery, cucumber so you canāt really taste the spirulina.
All week, itās going to be fresh juice, smoothies and different vegetable soups for dinner.
I googled čŗęč»ē²å°å and found these folks. Itās a family run business and they believe in the product so much that their whole family takes it and they started importing it. http://www.spirulina.tw/contact.jsp
The āskin doctorā like any doctors visit was just 150 nt for me. I had a few moles removed for about 300 NT each (which was cosmetic). Most likely its up the the doctor to decide if its a heath issue or cosmetic.