Question
 

I was wondering if anyone had issues with your face getting and staying red when you were drinking and/or during recovery. Did it go away after you quit and if so, how long did it take? Did you have the little broken veins? Did your face continue to have redness issues? If you were able to get rid of them, did you use a face cream or did you have a procedure done by a doctor? Any experience you've had with this would be appreciated. TIA!

My face is still unnaturally flushed after more than two months sober. I'd be interested to hear when/if others' faces returned to normal, too.

I was told that my face looked 'normal' (whatever that means) after a few weeks (maybe 28-35 days)..redness, puffiness etc had reduced.

He He ! ;)

I never actually saw my own face, but I'm told it was quite puffy and red in early sobriety. Apparently, is was also that way when drinking.

I'm happy to report I have a normal face now. I don't remember exactly when it happened, maybe 90 days in. About the same time the insomnia stopped.

I had lunch with someone I know through work the week I got out of rehab (after 33 days) whom I have every reason to believe did not know was up. Her first comment was how good I looked..."your skin", she said.

In the cold harsh light of the bathroom mirror, though, I can still see one little spider vein on my nose.

Red Face.....
 

Hi NatureLover,

I had a very red face and felt ashamed of it because around where I live a person with a red face was always judged as a person having problems with alcohol.

This was a question I asked my doc. He said that I was allergic to the alcohol in my system and that it would take about nine months to go away. He was right. :c029:

It was gone in nine months and that was my best kudo for quitting drinking. I hated my red face..I felt more like a "regular" person...and now have my original "Ruddy" complection that I had before I started drinking much. :Val004:

People at AA would in later years mention my red face and how good I looked when it was gone.

I didn't use any special creme but never have used soap on my face so still don't...just wash with a warm washcloth. Sometimes I use those baby wipes to clean my face too.

Hope this helps you some. :Dance7:

kelsh

Well, after a year, it's no better and I have an appointment to see my doc about it. I have a feeling she's going to say that I need some expensive procedure. Last year she thought it would go away, but it hasn't. If I could do it naturally, or even if it took another year, I'd be willing to live with it. But it really is embarassing and I don't think it's going to go away on its own at this point. It's worse in the summer or when I'm in a hot room, so I'd like to get it taken care of.

Thanks for the info on your own experiences.

Has your doctor said anything about Rosacea?

I have been told that high blood pressure can cause it too.

I experienced a red hot face and neck when I was drinking. But in the mornings I looked pale and gaunt, with very puffy skin.
I am happy to say after 31 days my husband and kids have noticed a big difference. I was even complemented on my skin the other day when at the bank. I do have some broken capilaries (sp) on the sides of my nose, and I just might have them lasered away along with some skin discoloration from the sun. A treat for myself, I would have spent the money on booze anyway.
I agree with Dean<sounds like it could be rosacea, talk to your Doctor

My face would get so red when drinking that I looked like I had the worst sunburn ever. When not drinking, it was still red but not as much. It took several months for it to clear up. I still have a very slight coloring to it but actually makes me look healthy. When I exercise, the deep redness returns but goes away quickly.

jane

No, the doc hasn't mentioned anything about rosacea, but then it was last summer when I saw her last (and I was tan in addition to red). I just thought that if there was some OTC cream or vitamin supplement that took care of the problem, I'd prefer that to an expensive procedure.

My resting BP hovers around 110/70. Thought that might be the problem, too, but I have a healthy BP.

Thanks all!

I did not have that problem, I wish I could offer some experience in this but I can't, now if it was a puffy face I could share on that! LOL

My face used to get red after ingesting massive quantities of hard licka in a short period of time. I've never heard of someone's face turning red due to alcohol abuse but I have heard of people getting spider veins etc.--disgusting they are. I used to just get terribly red eyes when I was drinking alot. My eyes were red 24/7, after about 2 weeks this went away. Though they still get red at night because I have sensitive eyes. I hope this symptom gets better for you.

When you go to the dr., ask her to run liver enzyme tests. My husband has red spider veins all over his face (cheeks, etc.) and his face gets really red and bluish when he drinks (which is all the time), and he has alcoholic liver disease. I'm not saying that's the only thing that causes it, but it's worth it to get it checked out. Also, if you stop drinking w/alcoholic liver disease, your liver can stay compensated for quite some time, it's when you continue to drink that it's not good.

Dx = Rosacea. I got an Rx for a cream to lessen the redness and acne-like bumps for the meantime and I'll have a procedure done soon. According to the doc, the spider veins are a result of the rosacea, not the drinking in my case (I drank heavily for 3 years, and I guess the doc doesn't think that was long enough to cause vascular damage).

I had LFT, Chem-7, CBC, kidney function test, cholesterol, sugar, etc. done last year when I quit, queentree, but thanks for the suggestion. Always good to hear from everyone's experience.

Please tell us your puffy face war stories, Tazman! I bet most of us have been there. Definitely had the dough-face myself.

I did have a tendency to hit people in the fist with my face when drinking...that did not help with the puffiness.

OH God! My face was puffy and red and bloated! :( I am happy to report it's quite the opposite now! :)

My daughter an I came across some pictures of me today, and from 1 year to the next my face grew from angular to a big bloated pig face. Seriously it looked so nasty. Thank God not drinking for 32 days has taken away the puffiness and about 8 pounds of water weight. These things alone are enough to keep me sober.:zoink:zoink