However, prolonged alcohol use can cause other complications that affect the skin, such as liver disease. Frequent and excessive drinking can lead to several problems with the skin including flushing, reduced elasticity, and dryness. If it is left untreated, alcoholic nose it can cause medical problems, including respiratory issues that can make it challenging for a person to breathe. Watching for physical signs of alcoholism or alcoholic face is easier when you know you or a loved one have been drinking too much.
Other Names for Alcoholic Nose
- Rhinophyma has historically been referred to as alcoholic nose due to the incorrect belief that alcohol consumption may lead to the condition.
- Contrary to popular belief, a “drinker’s nose” is not necessarily caused by alcohol addiction or abuse.
- To understand how rosacea can lead to rhinophyma, it’s important to understand what rosacea is, its symptoms, and how it develops.
- Surgical and drug-based treatments can help, but limited research suggests that the condition may recur after surgery.
- There is no cure for rhinophyma, and it typically does not go away without surgery.
However, if severe cases are left untreated, it can cause disfigurement. Treatment for basal cell carcinoma usually involves surgery to remove the affected tissue. Individuals with rhinophyma are at risk for skin cancer within the affected tissue. If you or someone you love is struggling with alcoholism, getting help as soon as possible is essential. Alcohol addiction is a serious condition that can lead to health, relationship, and financial problems. While vasodilation is the widening of your blood vessels, vasoconstriction is the narrowing of blood vessels.
Causes of rhinophyma or “alcoholic nose”
Tell them about your struggles and how your alcoholism is agitating your rosacea. However, it is very important to note that rosacea and rhinophyma can be agitated by things other than alcohol. Stress, sleeplessness, dehydration, depression, improper diet, dry skin, and many other factors can agitate rosacea and rhinophyma. The issue is that rhinophyma has absolutely nothing to do with alcoholism. Rosacea is a separate disease and disorder from alcoholism and has no connecting cause. Someone with alcoholism does not necessarily need to have rosacea to be an alcoholic.
Alcoholic Nose: Understanding The Effect Of Alcohol On Your Body
Alcohol affects your face and skin in general by enlarging both pores and blood vessels. Blood vessels expand and sometimes break, making some heavy drinkers look red and flushed even when sober. Excessive consumption of alcohol may also lead to the development of spider veins on the face. Rhinophyma exacerbated by heavy drinking can cause the cartilage cells to swell, resulting in a bulbous or “flared” appearance. So while drinking alcohol may not make your nose physically bigger, it can play a role in altering its appearance. According to DermNet.org, drinking large amounts of alcohol can increase a person’s risk of developing psoriasis.
The Mayo Clinic reports that over a long period of time, rosacea can thicken the skin of the nose. This thickening of the nose causes it to become more bulbous, which is the condition you now know as rhinophyma. Although rosacea itself is more common in women than men, the specific side effect of rhinophyma happens more often in men than women. Case severity will depend on the individual and certain variables that exist in one’s life that have the potential to aggravate rhinophyma. Severe cases of rhinophyma can see an individual develop an extremely bulbous nose, so much that it appears to be quite disfigured. If you or someone you love is struggling with alcohol abuse and addiction, The Recovery Village at Palmer Lake can help.
What is vasodilation?
The Effect Of Alcohol Addiction On People With Rosacea
- Heavy drinking is defined as 8 or more drinks per week for women and 15 or more drinks per week for men.
- This is a skin disorder called rhinophyma, which is a side effect of another type of skin condition called rosacea.
- If you or a loved one are looking for substance abuse treatment, help is available.