Alcoholic Nose: Signs, Causes & Treatments

She works in a family practice clinic, has a home birth practice and her specialty is perinatal substance abuse. If a person has allergies or a frequently runny nose, they can use soft tissues and moisturize their skin often to avoid dryness and irritation. Avoiding triggers for nose discoloration, such as alcohol and spicy foods, can also help. Rhinophyma cannot be reversed with traditional treatments, but treating the underlying rosacea can prevent it from worsening.

Skin cancer or precancerous lesions

Alcohol addiction and alcohol abuse do not directly cause rhinophyma. Yet chronic alcohol abuse can worsen the condition (rosacea), which leads to drinker’s nose when left untreated. In the early stages of rhinophyma, a person may experience excessive facial flushing. As the condition progresses, swollen blood vessels appear, then acne-like pimples. If you live in Brooksville, Florida and need professional addiction treatment to help you stop drinking alcohol, Springbrook Behavioral Hospital can help. We are a mental health rehab center that specializes in supporting adults with co-occurring disorders, including alcohol use disorder.

• Alcohol flush reaction refers to facia flushing after drinking alcohol.
• You’ll likely have a few other symptoms, including a fever, painful swallowing, and swollen tonsils.
• Drinking too much alcohol enlarges blood vessels in your face, resulting in facial redness and changes in skin tone and texture.
• Facial flushing while drinking alcohol occurs if you have a faulty version of a specific gene.

What is An Alcoholic Nose & is it Bad?

If you think that you may have melanoma, you should get a doctor to check the red spot before it grows or changes. To treat acne, wash the area and try not to touch it or squeeze it. If the pimple does not go away or improve in one or two weeks, consider having your doctor or a dermatologist look at it. However, if a person notices any changes to a mole or skin lesion, they should talk to their dermatologist to find out if the spot could be something more serious. A dermatologist can examine a person’s skin and perform a biopsy, if needed, to determine the potential cause.

Does Drinking Alcohol Cause Nose Pimples?

Use a soothing, hypoallergenic moisturizer or aloe vera gel to get rid of some of the redness. Many times, this happens when you’re dealing with another condition, like a cold or the flu, that draws you into contact with your nose more often than usual. Touching red spots on nose alcohol your nose often or picking at breakouts can inflame the pores around your nostrils. Clogged pores around your nose can be painful and sometimes take a while to go away. Most of the time, the flushing happens because you have trouble digesting alcohol completely.

Scientists haven’t fully figured out exactly how rhinophyma develops. It seems to involve a mix of problems with how blood vessels and nerves work, along with how the immune system responds naturally in the body. According to older research, cited in a 2023 article, rhinophyma begins as “pre-rosacea,” and the only symptom at this stage is facial flushing.

Having a big nose, even as a result of rosacea, is not necessarily a sign of alcoholism. If you or a loved one are looking for substance abuse treatment, help is available. Contact our team at AddictionResource.net today for more information. For some individuals with alcohol addiction, it can be more effective to enroll in a treatment program outside of their local community. This way, they are not bombarded with social pressures and stigma close to home. Surgery, including laser treatment or dermabrasion, may be necessary to remove large bumps on the nose from rhinophyma if they interfere with breathing.

Skin conditions affected or caused by alcohol

• We offer 24-hour psychiatric services provided by licensed professionals in various disciplines.
• Call us now to get help finding the ideal alcohol recovery program.
• If you’re worried about alcohol consumption leading to drinker’s nose or rhinophyma, you may also show signs of alcohol abuse.
• The discoloration typically begins on the cheeks and spreads to the nose, ears, chin, and other areas of the face or body.

Additionally, a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology noted that alcohol consumption increases the risk of rosacea in women. Similar research is needed on the link between alcohol consumption and rosacea in men. The exact cause of rhinophyma isn’t known but a doctor can usually make a visual diagnosis. Rosacea is a lifelong but treatable condition that mainly affects the cheeks and other central parts of the face.

It is likely that you noticed the red spot on your nose early, but it is important to monitor it for any changes. Sometimes, if a doctor treats the underlying cause of spider angioma, the symptom may improve. A doctor can also use a special pulsed dye laser to destroy the small blood vessels that give the spider angioma its red appearance.

Can I continue to drink alcohol if I have alcohol intolerance?

This may include excision, cryosurgery, chemotherapy, or other treatment options. A person may experience nose discoloration due to rosacea, dry skin, lupus, and allergies. While there is no way to treat this condition, your healthcare provider can talk with you about ways to reduce the negative effects of alcohol intolerance. Rhinophyma has historically been referred to as alcoholic nose due to the incorrect belief that alcohol consumption may lead to the condition. That said, alcohol and caffeine can both temporarily dilate blood vessels, which seems to worsen rhinophyma.

• All alcoholic drinks — including beer, wine, and liquors — contain a substance called ethanol.
• Don’t be afraid to speak up and ask questions if you’re not seeing results.
• Use a soothing, hypoallergenic moisturizer or aloe vera gel to get rid of some of the redness.
• As you detox from alcohol, get lots of rest, drink plenty of water, and eat a solid diet.