Does the redness go away over time?

Life in Recovery
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Hi sober family,

Over the years, my face kept getting redder due to the drinking, especially after beer or red wine it even got worse with the temporary flush, I was all red. There are also some small veins on my cheeks that are remains of my drinking history that daily remind me of what I did to my body.
I would like to ask how your experience is with recovery and if the skin got better after, say, a year or so? Right now I would say it is a little better after ~170 days, but I still appear quite red compared to others.
Thanks for sharing your experience :blush:

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I have the same issue, due to my past alcoholism. The veins in my cheeks are burst, too. I was a straight whiskey drinker starting out. There’s a medical term for this skin condition: Telangiectacia. It’s embarrassing, but unfortunately it isn’t reversible.

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See a dermatologist as there are ways to close off those little veins. Could improve the redness

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Thank you both for your answers. I’ll see a dermatologist, it would be nice to see a little improvement as a reward for finally staying sober. William, I don’t know if that is something you would try, but I am using cosmetic BB cream to cover it up and that helps me get through the day.

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Hey! I like your thinking here! I’m in same boat. The redness did improve, but the broken capillaries are permanent unless you use laser treatments thru a dermatologist. I will say, I now see it as a small price to pay for all the gifts I’ve received in recovery. It’s a reminder of the destruction alcohol did to my body, spirit and mind.

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Yes, that’s a good way to look at it, LeeHawk. I like that. Makes me thankful that I got sober when I did before I did even worse damage to my body. :+1:

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Well said, we are already gifted enough to live good lives again, the marks are our reminders to stay sober and to live a life we can enjoy :blush:!

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Ever thought, besides the getting drunk part

That maybe, just maybe, it’s a true down to earth ALLERGY
The redness, hot flashes, and so on

I know, it sounds dumb

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Hi @J_Lo_Ste,

I had myself tested for all kinds of allergies about 3 years ago and didn’t have any allergies back then. I witnessed during my drinking time that the face redness increased, but did my best to blame everything else for the redness to not having to give up drinking. It sounds as if this hasn’t happened to you and I am happy about that :blush:.

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Part of my redness problem is that i’m fair skinned and happen to be sun sensitive, but the alcohol definitely made the problem worse. It’s toned down a lot since I quit drinking, but still have the broken capillaries in my cheeks.

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Seems we share our basic condition, I also used to be (and still am) quite sun sensitive. I will most likely have a sunburn tomorrow, as the sun here in the Alps is kind of sneaky, with constant wind you don’t actually feel the intensity of it. Anyway, sounds good that at least it toned down and we’ll just have to get along with the rest. Have a good rest of the day!

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