It causes irregular redness or flushing of your face, particularly in the cheeks or nasal areas. Small, red bumps filled with pus, called pustules, may appear on your face as part of this condition. According to the National Rosacea Society (NRS), more than 16 million Americans are affected by rosacea. Excessive drinking can lead to many problems, including liver disease, and can impact your appearance. However, the term alcoholic nose is not a medically-recognized condition. Rhinophyma exacerbated by heavy drinking can cause the cartilage cells to swell, resulting in alcoholic nose a bulbous or “flared” appearance.
What Is Drinker’s Nose?
Rosacea is a chronic skin condition that affects the blood vessels in the face, leading to a flushed appearance of the facial skin. Rosacea also causes an increased number of pimples and poorer skin quality. Sunshine Behavioral Health strives to help people who are facing substance abuse, addiction, mental health disorders, or a combination of these conditions.
Drinker’s Nose
Rosacea often happens in flare-ups that can last weeks or months before your skin calms down and the symptoms disappear. Rosacea is frequently misdiagnosed as acne or other similar skin conditions. It can affect anyone but is most common among middle-aged women with lighter complexions. There are four stages of rosacea, and rhinophyma occurs in the last, or late, stage. Because rhinophyma often develops following a severe case of rosacea, it’s important to watch out for symptoms of this unique skin condition.
What Is Rosacea and How Is it Related To Rhinophyma?
Drinking large amounts of alcohol can produce many unpleasant effects. While it may contribute to rhinophyma or “drinker’s nose,” it probably doesn’t cause it. If you are concerned you may be developing rhinophyma, speak to your doctor about available treatments and lifestyle changes that might help.
The Stigma of Rhinophyma or Alcoholic Nose
Topical medications and some oral antibiotics may adequately treat early rhinophyma, with stronger medications used in severe cases. Depending on the level of disfigurement and patient discomfort, treatment of rhinophyma can include medication with or without surgery. Before beginning treatment, a physician may take a biopsy to ensure the disfigurement is not due to cancerous growth instead of simple inflammation from rosacea. In the early stages, rhinophyma shares symptoms with rosacea, such as facial flushing or redness. Later, this condition advances to vascular rosacea, which involves swollen blood vessels and redness. It later progresses to acne rosacea and causes inflammatory breakouts.
Who Is at Risk for Alcoholic Nose?
However, if severe cases are left untreated, it can cause disfigurement. Treatment for basal cell carcinoma usually involves surgery to remove the affected tissue. Even though research is debunking the connection between alcoholism and rhinophyma, there is still a stigma attached to this disorder. It can be difficult for people with rhinophyma to go out in public due to the judgment they receive from others based on the appearance of their nose. If these symptoms are present, a doctor may suggest antibiotics, or another form of treatment to try to alleviate the irritation on the skin. Left untreated rhinophyma can cause excessive scar tissue to form, and surgery may be necessary.
Treatments For Rhinophyma Or Alcoholic Nose
Researchers are also looking at tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator that’s used to treat breast cancer, as a possible treatment for rhinophyma. For most people, one surgery is enough to correct rhinophyma, but people with severe cases might need to have a second surgery. Rhinophyma is treated with surgery, but acne medication can help in some cases. You and your doctor can decide which treatment option would be best for you.
Alcoholic Nose: Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment
As stated earlier, the medical definition of an alcoholic nose is rhinophyma. Your doctor will treat early rhinophyma with oral medications, such as antibiotics or isotretinoin. If these medications don’t work, a plastic surgeon can use different surgery techniques to change the shape of your nose and improve your breathing.
- Experts theorize that androgenic hormones found in males may trigger rhinophyma.
- As the condition progresses, swollen blood vessels appear, then acne-like pimples.
- That means someone drinking heavily may show flushed cheeks and an enlarged nose with a red or purple tint if they have rosacea.
- Rhino means nose while phyma means a swelling, nodule, or skin tumor.
- Rhinophyma, the condition often referred to as alcoholic nose, has a red, swollen, lumpy appearance.
Rhinophyma
Our secure online portal for patients makes it easy to communicate with your doctor, access test results, and more. In extreme cases, the nose can become quite disfigured and make breathing difficult. Contact our helpline today to learn more about our recovery programs, to receive help with understanding your health insurance, and more. While it may not be clear what causes rhinophyma, there are a number of triggers that can cause a flare-up of rhinophyma to occur. If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, our expert team is here to guide you every step of the way. The condition may also produce problems with a person’s eyes and eyelids as well as vision problems.
- According to older research, cited in a 2023 article, rhinophyma begins as “pre-rosacea,” and the only symptom at this stage is facial flushing.
- A flare-up of rosacea symptoms can be triggered by the consumption of many different foods and drinks, including alcohol.
- There are several million individuals who attempt to manage their addiction every day, and less than eight percent actually seek treatment.
- There are other treatments for rosacea, including anti-inflammatories and antibiotics, but none of them work for rhinophyma.
- That being said, there may be some slight truth to the idea that drinking alcohol can contribute to the development of rhinophyma.
When a person has rosacea, their skin—especially on the face— will appear red and create visible blood vessels in the face. The physical impact of rhinophyma can be a point of self-consciousness for many individuals. After all, nobody really wants to stand out for something like a skin condition they can’t control. One way to help people seek the treatment they need and help them live out healthier and better futures is to provide people with the whole story and clear information. If you’re struggling with alcohol addiction, many treatment options are available. Treatment can vary depending on the severity of your addiction but typically includes a combination of detox, inpatient care, support groups and sober living aftercare.
