The Role Of Sulfur In The Rosacea Picture

For over two decades, sulfur has been used for the treatment of rosacea, and clinical studies have demonstrated that it is extremely effective in the treatment of rosacea-related papules and pustules. Many dermatologists tailor rosacea treatments to the individual by varying the concentration of sulfur in a given preparation (from 2 percent to 15 percent sulfur). Because rosacea is a chronic disease, treatment must usually be continued for a long period of time. For this reason there was interest in a topically administered treatment that would be as effective as orally administered drugs such as antibiotics. To date, many medical physicians use topical sulfur as their primary anti-rosacea treatment. In a double-blind clinical study of 40 rosacea patients, these physicians found that rosacea-related papules and pustules responded much better to topical 10 percent sulfur than to oral antibiotics. More specifically, they found that with four weeks of topical sulfur treatment, the average number of papules and pustules dropped significantly (from 213 pimples before treatment to 17 pimples after treatment), that this clearing was much better than that attained by treatment with oral tetracycline. In a separate series of clinical studies, similar results were found by Dr. Strauss and colleagues.