Rhinophyma and alcohol intake

[catherine]

I've heard from other people and few online blogs that rhinophyma occurs in alcohol abusers. Is it true? Anyone can confirm it? Anyone familiar with this topic?

Thanks
Catherine

[pepsimax]

I am not an expert but I am under the impression that rhinophyma and rosacea can get aggravated by alcohol but its not proved to be the cause.

[Dr.Deepak]

Agree with Nikki, rhinophyma is a severe variant of rosacea.yes, people with rhinophyma and rosacea gets prominent flushing after alcohol intake, but there are no any clinical studies that are able to confirm the association of alcohol intake as a causative factor for rhinophyma.

[pepsimax]

Rosacea is a chronic relapsing disease of the facial skin. It is characterised by recurrent episodes of facial flushing with persistent erythema, telangiectasia, papules and pustules. Ocular rosacea is usually bilateral and causes a foreign-body sensation.

Aetiology

A characteristic feature is flushing that may have a number of triggers.
It is a chronic acneform disorder of the facial pilosebaceous glands with an increased reactivity of capillaries to heat, causing flushing and eventually telangiectasia. Rhinophyma is an enlarged nose associated with rosacea in men. It is much rarer in women.
The aetiology of the disease is unknown but, as well as being a disfiguring condition, the patient suffers from an erroneous public perception that it is related to excessive alcohol consumption.
As alcohol is a frequent trigger of flushing it is quite likely that those with the disease drink less than the general population.
Medications which can cause a recurrence include amiodarone, topical steroids, nasal steroids and vitamins B6 and B12.
Theories about the pathophysiology of the condition include the release of free oxygen radicals, abnormalities of ferritin utilisation in the metabolism of hydrogen peroxide, degeneration of the dermal matrix and infection with antimicrobials.

Epidemiology
A study using data from the UK General Practice Research Database reported an overall incidence rate for diagnosed rosacea in the UK as 1.65/1,000 person-years. Rosacea was diagnosed in some 80% of cases after the age of 30 years. Ocular symptoms were recorded in 20.8% of cases at the index date.[2]
Rosacea is more common in females and rhinophyma in males.
Patients of Celtic origin and southern Italians are more frequently affected.

Signs

The disease tends to be progressive but that does not mean that everyone will develop all features.

The skin is not greasy as in acne and may be rather dry.
Erythema and telangiectasia over the forehead and cheeks are variable.
Involvement of the neck and upper chest is rare but can occur.
Sebaceous glands are prominent.
The nose may be enlarged and distorted by rhinophyma.
There may be peri-orbital oedema.

Yet another copy and paste. To be honest Breonna, people will take the time to acknowledge your posts if they are your own.

[Dr.Saiyan]

Yes I do agree with Nikki, alcohal may be aggrative factor for patients with rosacea estimulating the flushing by dilating the peripheral blood vessels. And though some studies have put forward the role of follicular mite Demodex as well as the microaerophilic Gram negative bacterium H.pyroli as the causative organisms for rosacea the exact cause is unclear.

[rosalyhudson]

It is been saying for a long time but there is a no medical proof on it.