Burning Skin after consuming alcohol

Hi there,

Probably about 2.5 years ago now i had a big night out on the alcohol on a saturday night.  Around Tuesday at work i suddenly felt burning all over my skin.  It was more intense than i could bare. This same feeling then lasted for about 5-6 months.  I saw several doctors to no avail.  This burning sensation then slowly went away.  However now any time i drink alcohol i get the same burning sensations come on a few days later.  It still is very very intense, as if i have 3rd degree sunburn.  I have heard when peoples ALDH enzyme doesnt work properly they can get symptoms from drinking alcohol, however if i have a night out on the alcohol now, my skin will feel as if it is burning for about 3-4 weeks(or longer).  Do you think this has something to do with my liver?  And if alcohol does flare it up, why do the symptom last for so so long.  I could bare 2 days but 3-4 weeks?

Prior to this i never used to have any reaction to alcohol.

Your help would be much appreciated.

Regards,

John.  

[Enoch Choi, MD]

Thanks for your patience, i'm trying to get ready to go to Haiti.

Burning skin is a common sensation after drinking alcohol, especially for those with less alcohol dehydrogenase in their liver.  That enzyme breaks down alcohol, and if less is available, more side effects of alcohol can occur, including skin burning, palpitations, flushed skin (redness) which decreases as the alcohol is metabolized.  This is more common in asians.

Enoch Choi, MD

[John290]

Im just wondering how long it usually takes to have these questions answered?  I posted this question 2 weeks ago and still havent had any feedback.

Regards,

John.  

[slas]

Yeah, I was wondering that to... I only posted mine about a week ago but I havent gotten a response either. This question was my first post on the site so im not sure what the normal response time is. According to the help section on the website the doctors are supposed to respond within 5 days of the post. I would send an email to the site (through the help section) to let them know you haven't gotten a response and you want an explanation (we are paying for this after all!!) Hope we both get responses soon!

[Thea_MHModerator]

Thank you for your patience. Our doctors do their best to answer questions as soon as possible. Doctors typically answer questions in the Ask A Doctor forums within 10 business days from date posted.  Sometimes it may take the doctors a bit longer to research the question before responding.

Thank you for your understanding.

MedHelp - Thea

[John290]

Great, thankyou both for your help.  

Regards,

John.

[John290]

Thankyou for your response.  May i ask why these symptoms seem to remain in my body for 4-5 weeks after drinking alcohol, or longer?  I would have thought these symptoms may appear for a few days after consuming alcohol, but for 5 weeks?  Does this seem normal?