Taking A Closer Look At Dermatologic Manifestations Of Alcohol Abuse

You may look at drinking alcohol as a recreational activity or something that will cause no harm, but the truth is, consuming large amounts of alcohol can wreak havoc on various bodily systems. Even though the dermis is often disregarded as a bodily system by the average person, this too is one system that can be greatly affected with heavy alcohol use. If you are struggling with an alcohol addiction or you just consume heavy amounts of alcohol on a regular basis, your skin will easily start to show some signs of damage. Here are a few dermatological manifestations of alcohol abuse you should know about.

You could see vasodilatation of the blood vessels in your body.

Even though most people are unfamiliar with vasolidation of blood vessels, this is actually a common problem with alcohol abuse. Vasolidation is caused by decreased blood pressure and lower blood flow, which in turn widens the blood vessels. You may notice reddish, vein-like webs across your neck or face or excessive redness of areas of your body that are not receiving an adequate amount of blood circulation.

Heavy alcohol use can cause yellowing of the skin, also referred to as jaundice.

Alcohol is filtered by the liver just the same as other toxic components that make their way inside the body. Excessive use of alcohol can cause extreme difficulties for your liver to effectively filter out toxins from your blood. The result is a larger-than-usual concentration of bilirubin pigment, which comes from old blood cells being filtered through the liver at a slower than usual rate. This will cause your skin to take on an unnaturally yellowed appearance, which may be noticeable for several days after you have consumed alcohol in large quantities.

Alcohol use can exacerbate already present skin conditions.

Rosacea, psoriasis, and seborrheic dermatitis--all of these are examples of skin conditions that can be further irritated by heavy alcohol use. So even though the use of alcohol may not solely cause these types of skin conditions, if you already struggle with skin problems, you could easily see a drastic change in the severity of your pre-existing conditions.

Even though some dermatological damage with heavy alcohol use may be permanent, there may be some treatments that can help alleviate the appearance of some other skin problems. Talk to a cosmetic dermatologist at Dermatology Associates PC or a similar organization to find out if you are a good candidate for treatment for your skin conditions.

Share