There are a lot of theories that, for some, Rosacea is caused by the body’s pH being too acidic or not acidic enough. When it’s too acidic, diet can be changed and supplements can be added to regulate the body’s pH back to where it needs to be. When it’s not acidic enough, this can lead to Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), which then leads to vascular damage (ie Rosacea). Here’s a study I found really neat-o:

“In a clinical study, it was found that SIBO was much more prevalent in those with Rosacea than in those without (40/60 vs 3/60, respectively). When patients with Rosacea were treated for SIBO, 85% experienced complete recovery, with 10% seeing marked improvement (95% positive results). In those treated with the placebo, 14/16 remained unchanged, while 2/16 worsened. These patients were then treated for SIBO and saw a complete resolution of Rosacea in 14/16 and significant improvement in the remaining two cases.”

The theory is that SIBO must thus lead to Rosacea symptoms in many patients. Of course, Rosacea can be caused by multiple things, like steroid overuse, slow gut transit time (which might, too, be caused by SIBO), etc. Yet I’m pretty positive my Rosacea is caused by something internal, as I’ve never put topical steroids on my skin. So basically:

Low stomach acid –> SIBO –> Rosacea

and

High acid –> vascular damage –> Rosacea

This is all just theorizing, but it’s easy to check whether the body’s pH is around normal levels (I think these testers are store-bought). I’m thinking of giving it a shot, just to make sure. I won’t get my hopes up, but who knows?