Possibly not rosacea?

My boyfriend worked in a factory which produced a lot of hot steam and now consequently suffers with terrible skin on his face. He was diagnosed with rosacea and has used different creams such as E45, Aquaeus, oilatum etc which have done him no good. He visitied his doctor yesterday and has now been prescribed with antibiotics. After reading up on this skin condition I guess he has been misdiagnosed. His skin is so red, inflamed, rash like around his cheek bones and forehead areas until it drys and flakes off making it raw underneath.

Does any one have similar problems? could this be a type of rosacea? I dont think it is but hey, im open to any help my suffering boyfriend.

Thanks

He no longer works at the factory and left there years ago. He has suffered with it since he left there.

He may still have rosacea, but the scaling and rawness suggest that there may be an associated seborrheic dermatitis. The 2 problems often go together and when they do an anti irritant approach is needed with the rosacea treatment. Consider the use of Elidel or hydrocortisone cream. Also, has metrogel ever been used for the rosacea? I am surprised that you didn't mention that treatment as it is usually considered superior to the treatments you did mention.

I have had a similar problem and the dermatologist diagnosed it as perioral dermatitis. It can only be treated with antibiotics. Sometimes you have to stay on the antibiotics for many months before it completely clears.

It doesn't sound like rosacea, it sounds like he had a skin reaction due to his work environment. It is possible that the other skin products he used on his face only made matters worse. Hopefully he is seeing a dermatologist. If his skin doesn't improve in a few days with the antibiotic, I would consult another skin specialist. And if he could find work somewhere else with a better environment, that would be best, or else his skin may always be aggrevated.