Very red facial rash on severe alcoholic

I have a friend who unfortunately has been an alcoholic since he was 18, and he's 56 now.  When I say alcoholic, I mean, I've never seen anyone drink and stay drunk as much as this person.  Well, I think he is dying now because he is getting a lot of health problems, and when he tried to quit one time last summer, he went into convulsions.

He will not go to a doctor so I don't know what his liver enzymes are or anything about any health problems, but he has recently gotten a really red rash on his face that won't go away.  It doesn't look like bumps, it just looks like a severe rash.  I am wondering if his severe alcoholism is causing this rash and why has it only started now?  Any help would be appreciated.

[rod44]

An alcohol-induced rash if this is the problem your friend indeed has could be an allergic reaction, alcohol is full of toxins that destroy the body's organs over time. It is important that your friend gets to a doctor who will deal with this and any other medical problems he may have and the doctor can advise on a safe detox treatment,.
Can some friends and/or family sit down with him and encourage him to get help, it is best to do this when he is reasonably sober.

Ray

[kenneltech]

Thank you for responding.  How is it that he has just become allergic to alcohol when he has been drinking it for over 35 years?  That is what I don't understand.

Ray, everyone has tried sitting down with him, once recently his sister, brother and mother did an intervention, and he was so bad off (because he is such a bad alcoholic) that he had the alcohol withdrawal so bad that they (the hospital) put him in a drug induced coma!  He was having seizures and everything, he is bad off.  Anyway, he came home after that and didn't drink for about a month, then one day he got some beer (that's not really drinking, according to him, ha!) and said that he was going to "prove to everybody that he can quit and doesn't have a problem" and started drinking that.  Well, we all know what happened.  He now hates his sister, brother and mother for "doing that to him," and they are through.

He's just going to die from this, I was just wondering if this rash is kind of like the "last stages" or what exactly it is, I'm thinking if I tell him what it is and it's a horrible last stage, maybe that will scare him to go get some help.

[ibizan]

could be broken capillaries underneath the skin... drowning the body for years w/booze will cause this...i've seen this in scores of late stage alcoholics who have no plan to quit....they ignore their health and also have very high blood pressure..heavy smoker?

[kenneltech]

No, he doesn't smoke, but who knows what his blood pressure is, I'm sure it's high.  I'll try to remember what it was when they did the intervention and he was in the hospital, or I can ask his other friend, she'd remember.  It's just so sad, what a waste.  This man has fallen down flights of stairs and cracked his head wide open, runs or falls into walls and puts his head through them, and he'll have a friend of mine stitch him up with a needle and thread!

I have tried talking to him as I was an addict years ago, but it was prescription drugs, not alcohol.  In the treatment center I was in we did do the 12 steps, though.  I don't know, I guess he figures I don't know what I'm talking about because I don't, nor have I ever, drank.

[kenneltech]

Oh yeah, I forgot, he CHEWS!  Gross.

[ibizan]

more of a nicotine hit than cigarettes!his alcohol is to him what ur pills were to u...it all takes us to the same place which is hell no matter what form it comes in!alcohol destroys brain tissue horribly.......pills wreak havoc w/the brain receptor endings.....yes it is sad and u will most likely watch him die from this unless a miracle happens and he wakes up!his withdrawal from alcohol would be horrid and would he be able to withstand this and go thru it towards sobriety?like i said...a miracle!

[kenneltech]

His family tried an intervention and he was so  bad off that the hospital had to put him into a medically induced coma.  He was having seizures and everything.  He was so sick and shaky he didn't even know his name.

Yes, it is sad.  When I went to treatment, they told me they didn't even want to take me because I was the worst one they had, and I needed long term treatment.  I guess taking downers is one of the worst things to get off of, I don't know.  It was horrible, though.  But I wanted off, and I told the head guy that I was the one that called and I would work the program and I would get off of them.  I did, and that's what I told some of his other friends.  I told them that unless HE wants off of the booze, they can take him to anyplace they want, but it won't work unless he wants it to, and he doesn't.


Yes, I expect him to die real soon, what a pity.  So many people on all this crap, inhalants, drugs, booze, anything they can get their hands on.  It's such a waste.

Anyway, thanks for writing because your information was vital.

[ibizan]

i've been sober/clean 27 years myself.dayjob substance abuse counselor for 25 years.......i watch ppl die from cirrohsis,hear attacks,strokes,liver and pancreatic cancer,drunken car accidents,suicides by hanging self inflicted gunshot wounds,heroin overdoses......u name it i've seen it but something always come along that off the hook!this week i was overdosed on the amount of sexual abuse and rape material i listenend too.....so glad i can come home to my therapists.......3 cats and 2 greyhounds!

[kenneltech]

Oh man, that is something I couldn't handle is listening to rape and sexual abuse material because that is what happened to me as a child.  But I have to laugh at your therapists!  Mine is a little dog that was horribly abused and they were about to put him to sleep because he was "unadoptable because he wasn't socialized!"  and i grabbed him up.  His name is Harley and he is completely my therapist!  Don't know what I'd do without him!!

[ibizan]

it never ceases to disgust me the horrible things human do to each other and to our beloved animals.for the job ppl need to keep telling their story/and their feelings until it is a manageable lump of play doh they can put in the can and learn to manage it so it no longer manages them.Such a lifelong process!dogs that are deemed as ur Harley was in a shelter is such BS......yes they are traumatized and in a strange environment...who wouldn't act weird?my first female grey was 20 lbs underweight,scarred body, broken teeth,fear biter......she taught me love patience and consistency and in return i got the most wonderful dog who morphed in2 a butterfly after 8 months of her living w/me...she was my guardian my companion......my heart girl until her passing in 2001.i cannot start my day unless i have my morning meditation that consists of quiet time,a strong cup of coffee and in half my lap is a greyhound and in the other half a large cat purring away....wish i didn't have to leave the house!:)

[dominosarah]

Well now i am crying again~~~~~

There is no greater therapy than a warm fuzzy pet.

[ibizan]

we know that girl!the foundation of our recovery!!hows the weagle search coming?