Discovering and avoiding your own individual rosacea tripwires can be a challenge. While the list of lifestyle and environmental factors that may aggravate rosacea is long -- ranging from sun and wind to spicy foods, heavy exercise and hot baths -- not everyone is affected by them all. Here's how to pinpoint and avoid those potential rosacea triggers that may affect your individual case.

• Use a Patient Diary Checklist. This form, available online at no charge from the National Rosacea Society, lists common rosacea tripwires in an easy-to-use diary format for tracking your activities and condition each day to identify those factors that may affect your rosacea.
• Evaluate your rosacea at the end of each day. Each night, indicate on the Patient Diary Checklist which potential rosacea tripwires you came in contact with that day, then note the condition of your rosacea.
• Follow your condition for several weeks. Make enough copies of the diary checklist to monitor your rosacea and activities each day for several weeks. If you don't use the form, try keeping a daily journal.

After monitoring your rosacea over time, look through your diary for any patterns that indicate exposure to certain tripwires was followed by a flare-up. The National Rosacea Society provides a free booklet, "Coping with Rosacea," that offers tips on how to avoid the most common factors that may aggravate your individual condition.