Skin Pain After Drinking Alcohol

[TroubleProblems]

First a little about myself:
I am a 28 year old female in relatively good shape and health.  I drink maybe once a week and excessively once a month.  I don’t take any medications (even Advil) regularly and I am not of Asian descent.  About a year ago after heavy drinking I started to notice that my body hurt.  Not the usually kind of hurt that would be associated with drinking, like falling or overexerting one’s body.  This is more like my skin hurts, it does not feel like my muscles, bones, or joints, it literally hurts to be touched.  The pain is primarily above my torso.  I usually notice it on my neck first, then my shoulders, chest, etc.  The pain usually starts the next evening and then last for a couple of days.  I have been a social drinker for years now and like I said this developed only about a year ago.  I have tried to research this online and while I know I am not alone with these symptoms, I cannot find a diagnosis that fits my symptoms.   I realize allergies can change, but this seems unlikely to me.  Alcoholic Myopathy seems unlikely because of it’s slow onset, it doesn’t feel like it’s targeting the muscles, and my legs are fine.  Also because of its onset and family history I am excluding Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  Please let me know if you think I am prematurely ruling any of these diagnoses or if there is another option I am unaware of.   I don’t mind going to the doctor, but with something like this I believe I will just be told to stop drinking, and I am looking for an actual reason.  Also, I apologize because I had no idea which forum this fits into. I would love to hear any thoughts.  Thank you!

[Mialemon]

I don't know what causes it but I'm also a woman with this problem. I'm 27, and I rarely drink, but when I do, I can't be touched. It feels like everything is raw and sore but it's only skin deep. Are we all just allergic??

[crazylegs99]

I've suffered with this problem for years, getting worse each time but always 24 hours after I started drinking. I gave up alcohol for 16 months and then realized that it is the sugar that causes the pain - whenever I had smoothies, which were packed with extra added sugar, I got the pain.
I also went to a nutritionalist who said my ibs(c) wasn't helping as that meant stuff stays for longer in my body and led onto me getting sibo which could also be causing a backlog and therefore more susceptible to pain after drinking.
I've been back drinking for a few months now and stick to red wine which is the least sugary and not had any pain, even when I've over indulged.
Hope this helps!

[AlexK316]

Hi! I am a 26 year old female who had been experiencing this for years. Im not a heavy drinker at all. I had no muscular pain, I was just tender to the touch all over about 30 hours after drinking. So after experiencing this for several years with no answers, I was involved in an accident that led me to lose about 40% of my blood. I didnt receive a transfusion and let the blood rebuild naturally over 8 weeks. Following this, the pain after drinking has completely stopped. Im honestly in awe. My only thought is that the cause must have been some type of toxin build up in my blood? Ive had no other lifestyle changes other than my "new blood". I had been reading these forums for years trying to get to the root of the problem, so I wanted to share. Obviously I don't recommend losing blood, but it could be worth it to get some blood work done and see if any red flags come up!

[SarahEAtkins]

I too experience the same thing - my skin feels like it's bruised from the torso up after a night of heavy drinking. I found that not drinking any mixers with sugar, such as from fruit juices, AND not adding any limes/lemons stops it from occurring.  But I would love to know the root cause!  I've been researching for years, and all I find are people who experience the same thing with no resolution.  I'm a 42 year old female and have had this happen for at least 8 years now.  I drink Vodka mostly.  I now drink my Vodka with Ice flavored water mixers.

[Katlynmill9]

I have the exact symptoms you described. I am a 24-year-old female and started noticing this three years ago. I have never had someone who understands what I'm talking about when I say my skin hurts all over. It usually occurs in the late afternoon of the day after drinking heavily.

[ConnieMulligan12]

I'm the oldest to share on the site (59). This is caused by our body dealing with toxins in alcohol. But I don't know what to do other than drink less, & less often. Never much into drinking all my life, except for a little wine, beer or champagne at family events or dinners out with my then-boyfriend--now ex-husband. Without turning this into a soap opera, my ex & I had a long, loving but hard marriage (also an 11-year dating period before I married at age 35. He left me for a younger woman 5 yrs. ago. I was deceived by him, his lawyer & so-called friends who knew! At Thanksgiving I was offered a glass of wine. I thought, why not? After New Year I decided to get a little wine to keep on hand (to have at home) just to relax. No problems with this flesh pain at first. But time wore on. GOT MUCH WORSE. Lasts 3 days. Feel severe FLESH pain everywhere. Scalp, face, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, breasts, tummy, abdomen, back, legs. Even palms of hands & soles of feet. If only the torture would end in one day!

[mesha20]

I have been suffering with the exact same symptoms for years and i am a 27 treat old female.  I went to the doctor twice and they both looked at me like i was crazy.  I had an allergy test done but everything came back negative.  I'm currently on vacation and I'm in pain from drinking 2 nights in a row.  It's my skin not my muscles.  It hurts to touch and lay down.  I'm think im going to stop drinking all together.

[InesMontt]

I have the same symptoms! Help.. Does anybody know what could this posibly be?
I'm also a female, 26 years old, not a heavy drinker, have noticed this reaction since almost a year. It hurts to be touched, squeezed, poked or anything superficial really.
It seems to be rare, because I have asked to my friends and relatives and nobody seems to have heard of anything like this before.