Rosacea – Linked with Gut, Nerve and Immune System Dysfunction

Small intestine bacteria overgrowth (SIBO), Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) infection, and other gastrointestinal disorders are prevalent in rosacea patients and are suspected in the pathogenesis of rosacea. There isn’t a clear-cut mechanism and ubiquitous finding, i.e. not all rosacea patients have H pylori overgrowth, or SIBO, but there is a connection between gut health and rosacea. A 2015 study found that bacterial overgrowth of H pylori was significantly higher in patients with rosacea than healthy controls. A December 2017 meta-analysis study found some benefit of H pylori treatment in rosacea patients, but failed to fully and substantially explain the pathology, which means that there is more to the story.