Chamabama

Is or has anyone had skin issues after they stopped drinking? Around day 4 I started getting those deep painful pimples (boils?). I'm 40 for goodness sake!

They quickly subsided but now I have spent the last 2 days itching like a madwoman. I guess the toxins are coming out of my skin? This is surely uncomfortable. Just another reason to only do this once, huh?

Aysha

I dont know about drinking. But I usually always get the itchies for like months after stopping drugs. I get these rashes and just itch like crazy everywhere. I break out sometimes too. But mostly itch. It makes me crazy. Hope it stops for you soon.

Charmie

hello cham,,yes i know what you are talking about!!!! im 100 odd days sober and im still itchy and getting boils (yuk) and the odd spot aswell,,my bf quit about 3 months ago and he too is getting the odd spot also,,i think like you said its all the toxins coming out,,i can handle a spot though! better than a stinking hangover eh? lol.

ClaretandBlue

Yep, same here! I'm on day 17, and after about 5-6 days I started breaking out in my face. I'm still having a bit of trouble keeping the face clear, but I assume it's the toxins as well. It's a pain, and frustrating, but a small price to pay for sobriety.

I wash my face twice at night, once with soap, and then again with a non-alcohol based toner. This is what I use. It seems to help a bit.

Ulta.com - Cosmetics, Fragrance, Salon and Beauty Gifts

shaun00

i had rashes........and zits........but they soon faded back to my old tanned adonis face......lol...lol.

Seriously.........i guess your body is chucking out all the junk......so you could look at it as positive...............and it wont last im sure.

JJB

yep me too first time I stopped drinking a few years ago i got a couple of spots-and i'm someone who never gets spots.
I interpreted it like you that it was my body purifying itself and getting rid of toxins.
This time i didn't get spots but my face did get quite red. Couldn't work that one out.
Anyway it's calmed down now and everyone says i'm looking so much better (even those who don't know i've stopped drinking)

Stopping drinking does wonders for the skin and physique!
Those awful bags round the eyes caused by not sleeping properly when drinking go too.

I think as an alcoholic i expect solutions fast to everything so when i stopped drinking i was expecting my skin, body, moods etc to be better instantly. In fact it takes time but it's well worth it. Waiting for things and being patient is something to learn now i'm sober!

Dime

When I detoxed I profusely sweat out fluids for the first two days and perspired more than normal for a while after that. I didn't have any skin anomalies but I could certainly understand why they might occur.

Our bodies go through many changes as we detox and things return to normal. Just remember that it is part of being much healthier and that we will feel much better and look much better as a result of being sober. I have watched a lot of people get sober and sometimes they look so much better in just couple of weeks that I hardly recognize them.

Chamabama

Good to know it's normal! Thanks!

It is uncomfortable, but, 'uncomfortable' doesn't begin to describe how I felt when I was drinking. I can deal with this, no problem!

leap

Hi there

I used to often drink a bottle of red wine per night, not every night but probably 4 or 5 out of 7. July 10 was my last sip of alcohol. I don't feel driven to drink again, but six days after my last encounter with wine, I started to get a bit itchy on the mid-to-upper right side of my abdomen. It has progressed to boils, blisters, whatever they might correctly be called.

It's not the nicest thing, is it? Yet, I am very relieved (happy?) to have found others mentioning the same symptoms.

You know, I searched for three days in all kinds of different ways, different search terms, different search engines. I did not find one single resource listing possible effects of alcohol withdrawal that came close to mentioning this.

I can live with it, but I hope it tails off as I noticed this morning the red blotches are starting to emerge on my face. I only hope that they don't turn into what I have on my abdomen.

I guess everybody is different and asking how long for the initial severity to subside may not give me an accurate answer for my own personal situation.
However I would really appreciate if somebody could give me an idea based on their experiences.

Thanks, folks. This looks like a very helpful site!

Taking5

I agree I had this too. Itching is actually a symptom of a damaged liver, so you may want to get that checked out.

leap

dgillz - Yes, that is good advice. However, I did have a full physical just a few months ago and my bloodwork came out just fine.

I found some photographic images of shingles, and I look exactly the same. It seems that the stress and shock to the body can cause many reactions, and shingles can be included.
It's never a good thing to diagnose yourself absolutely via information on the web, so I will go see a doctor tomorrow.

I wonder if any of the people here in this thread may have been or are now, experiencing shingles.