Alcohol and Flushing

[roz]

For me, as for many it seems, alcohol can produce a major flush. In my experience a glass of wine can produce a beet red flush in no time at all.

While I easily have given up any alcohol...there are some times...celebrations and the like where you would just like to enjoy a drink with your friends.

Are there any drinks which are much less prone to bring on a flush? Any rosacea safe drinks? TIA

Roz

[BingoBangoBongo]

I always wear a thin layer of foundation so I have no idea if my face acts up. Nobody can tell if it reddens or not. It doesn't feel like it.


I think it's just who you are and how your skin... internally, reacts to alcohol.

[sarahjonjon]

i've read in a couple of places that if you're going to drink, the best choice is either decent quality gin, vodka or whisky and you should only mix these with water, never soft drinks.
i think it's because they are the purest drinks and lowest in yeast, sugars, histamine, salicylates etc. wine, beer and champagne are apparently the worst offenders.

[Melissa W]

I can sometimes drink cold drinks like a gin and tonic on the rocks. But I couldn't drink more than one without flushing.

Wine in any quantity causes a flush for me so that's out. I think the clear liquors are easier on us re flushing but I'm not sure if that holds true for the majority of people or just me.

[fut]

I've tried it all and they all make me flush. The less alcohol, the less the flush - so beer works for me.

[dpart]

Do you all flush the whole time when you are drinking or just initially? When I drink I get a flush almost immediately, and the flush persist for around two maybe three hours, and then subside and dissapear even if I continue to drink. Wine is the worst, beer is sometimes good but othertimes as bad as wine. I haven't tested so much with whiskey and vodka but I think they are similar to beer...

[roz]

When I drink a glass of wine my flush will come on quick and be there for at least 1-2 hours. I don't have more than one glass so can't say if I were to continue over a longer period if the flush would just die down as I drank more. Somehow I would doubt it.

I am dismayed to hear that some will flush with any alcohol be it wine, beer or hard liquor.

Alcohol seems to be perhaps the #1 rosacea trigger out there.....maybe this is the clue to the cure!

[Crystal brian]

Living with alcohol flush reaction is embarrassing, and can also be hazardous to your health.

[coldbliss]

Vodka-based cocktails don't bother me much. It seems plenty of rosaceans have an easier time handling vodka--that's interesting. Wine is my flushing Chernobyl; although I can handle a glass or two of chilled white wine in a cool room. Beer causes flushing all the way around. If I drink a bottle or a pint, I always have cold water nearby. Stout and malty beers give me less flares. For some reason, my skin tolerates Heinekens but goes into red flush mode if I drink a Budweiser. Go figure.

Not alcohol related, but I can't handle hot coffee or tea at all. But when I drink iced coffee from Starbucks, my skin doesn't flare too badly. Hot caffeinated beverages are very baaaad. It's not the caffeine that causes the flush...it's the ingredients in the coffee bean. Red Bull (sugar free) is the safest non-flushing caffeine boost.