Alcohol & cea

December 4, 1999

An interesting article on cea and Alcohol... Matija

JULY 13, 1999

Connecting Alcohol and cea

About Carolyn J. Strange | A Woman's Body Archive

Q: When I drink alcohol, my face turns a fierce red and gets very hot.

I know the obvious response would be to stop drinking, but this occurs

even after a single beer, which unfortunately rules out social

drinking, or a drink with dinner. I have never been a heavy drinker,

and there's no history of liver problems in my family. Why does this

occur, and is there anything I can do to alleviate this problem?

A: There are at least a couple of possibilities here. It's great you

drink only in moderation. Experts recommend no more than one drink a

day for women. It's two per day for men because the sexes handle

alcohol differently.

This isn't about liver problems, but it may have something to do

with how your body copes with alcohol, as a woman and as an individual.

It's also possible that you've got the beginnings of a skin disorder.

Let's tackle alcohol metabolism first.

Women are more sensitive to alcohol than men for several reasons.

We're generally smaller, so equivalent doses produce higher

concentrations in our bodies. Even if you correct for size, a woman's

body composition still causes higher alcohol concentrations. We tend to

have a higher proportion of fat, leaving less water for the alcohol to

dissolve in. Women also have less of a stomach enzyme that begins

processing alcohol. So we absorb more of what we drink as pure alcohol.

Finally, we may absorb alcohol more quickly before the menstrual period.

Alcohol is absorbed quickly and its effects may be felt within 10

minutes, peaking at 40 to 60 minutes. People tend to soak up alcohol in

bubbly drinks faster. Food, especially protein and fat, tends to slow

absorption.

Alcohol remains in the bloodstream until metabolized by liver

enzymes. Two enzymes are mainly responsible for this, let's call them

E1 and E2. Like that stomach enzyme, E1 converts alcohol into

acetaldehyde — and that's the chemical culprit behind facial flushing;

E2 then breaks down acetaldehyde. An enzyme imbalance (high E1 or low

E2) causes excessive acetaldehyde build-up, and uncomfortable facial

flushing. Many people of Asian descent have low E2 activity. Fiery

flushing is enough to make some people avoid alcohol altogether.

You can't do anything about your enzymes, if that's what's going

on. But you can sip your one drink slowly, always on top of food, and

make sure you're not dehydrated. You mention that even a drink with

dinner causes flushing, but slowing your absorption might still help a

little.

There's something else to consider. " Facial flushing following

alcohol is often a sign of a skin disorder called rosacea, " says

dermatologist Dr. Garry Gewirtzman of Skin and Cancer Associates in

Plantation, Fla. This flushing is probably both more noticeable and

more common in fair-skinned people.

cea can crop up at any time, but usually appears in the

mid-30s or later. " It's more frequent in women, although women tend to

have lesser severity, " Dr. Gewirtzman says. cea can't be cured, but

it can be controlled, and the earlier it's treated, the better.

Occasional flushing can progress to blotches, bumps and chronic

inflammation, with tiny veins eventually appearing on the face. Women

don't usually get the severe complication of a bulbous, deformed W.C.

Fields nose, called rhinophyma.

Most experts think rosacea is a vascular disorder, but nobody

knows what causes it. Topical metronidazole and oral tetracycline are

the most common treatments, Dr. Gewirtzman says.

December 6, 1999

I am okay with wine coolers, no redness for me. terry

December 6, 1999

I think someone asked this already, but are some types of alcohol better

then others for rosaceans? I think wine and beer are the worst for me. I

sure would like to have a drink to toast with on New Year's Eve, though.