Bulbous Nose
The medical name for bulbous nose is called rhinophyma or phymatous rosacea. The person’s nose appears to be bulb-shaped, red, and large. There is no defining cause of having a bulbous nose but there are many factors that can contribute to this medical condition. There are some risk factors to having this medical condition and those are age and gender. It occurs more often in men than women and middle-age men have the highest risk for developing a bulbous nose.
One factor is that having a bulbous nose is actually having a severe case of rosacea that is not being treated. Having a bulbous nose is not a life-threatening medical condition but it can have a strong psychological impact on a person because of the effect it can have on their physical appearance. The appearance of a bulbous nose will usually appear in the later stages of rosacea and gradually forms over time. The entire nose is not affected but just mainly the lower half which appears to have a large mass growing there.
Although there is no cure for having a bulbous nose there are treatment options. To help reduce the swelling and redness your physician may prescribe acne medications and antibiotics. In extremely severe cases, it may be treatable using plastic surgery. If you opt to have plastic surgery, the surgeon will reshape the tip of your nose and remove some of the tissue. Unfortunately, this is not always permanent and it is possible that the condition might return.
Rosacea
This is a skin condition that causes inflammation of the skin on your face. It can also affect your nose and cause the skin there to thicken along with the swelling of the oil glands. When this happens, you have a bulbous nose. It is not known exactly what causes rosacea but there are factors that can cause this condition to appear worse or to flare up. If can become worse if it is extremely cold or hot. Two triggers that can cause a flare are emotional distress and high stress levels. Other triggers can include:
- Foods like cheese, eggplant, avocado
- Drinks like tea, hot cider, coffee
- Skin-care products
According to the National Rosacea Society, in the United States alone there are approximately sixteen million people affected by rosacea. The onset of the initial stage generally happens between the ages of thirty and fifty with women more likely to develop rosacea but not as likely to develop a bulbous nose as men. You are at a higher risk for developing rosacea along with a bulbous nose if you have light eyes, hair, and skin. Another risk factor is a family history of having rosacea.
Rosacea can develop on any part of your face including your nose, chin, forehead, and cheeks. Some of the symptoms associated with rosacea can include:
- Facial flushing that is random
- Blotchy red area in the center of the face
- Swelling of the tiny blood vessels on your cheeks and nose called telangiectasia.
- Skin that is very sensitive
- Increased sensitivity to sunlight, humidity, and temperature
- Persistent reddening of your face that can last from a few days to several days and in men it is mostly seen on their nose while women have all parts of their face affected.
- Small red veins, particularly on your cheeks, that look like spider webs.
There are several treatments for rosacea but most often your physician will prescribe topical antibiotic ointments. You may also need oral antibiotics. The best known topical antibiotic ointment is Metronidazole. If there are a lot of acne-like blemishes your dermatologist may give you a prescription for acne medications or have you use over-the-counter acne medications. You should also use an effective sunscreen when you go out in the sun as the sun can trigger flare-ups or aggravate the condition. Harsh winds can also do the same things so protect your face with hats and scarves.
Link Between Bulbous Nose, Alcohol, and Rosacea
As you can see from the information in this article that when you have rosacea it can cause a person to have a bulbous nose, so there is the relation between bulbous nose and rosacea. When a person has a bulbous nose it is usually associated with alcoholism and drinking but this is not really the case. Yes, alcohol can cause the pre-existing condition to appear worse than it really is rosacea is still the underlying reason to have a bulbous nose. If you do have a bulbous nose from having rosacea you should stay away from alcohol as it can cause your skin to appear ruddier, especially in the areas that are affected by rosacea.
The relation between alcohol and rosacea is that alcohol does not cause this skin condition and rosacea is not the result of drinking excessively but alcohol can trigger or aggravate rosacea flare-ups in some people. According to studies done it shows that in some people with rosacea all it takes is one drink to trigger a flare-up. In addition, there are certain alcoholic beverages that trigger flare-ups more than others in some people. For example:
- Red wine in seventy-six percent of people
- White wine in fifty-six percent of people
- Beer in forty-one percent of people
- Champagne in thirty-three percent of people
When a person drinks, it dilates their blood vessels so it makes their red face look even redder. The reason that red wine can affect so many people is that it contains chemicals called tyramines, which are a histamine type compound that dilates your blood vessels even more.
The answer to the question of how there is a relation between bulbous nose, alcohol, and rosacea is simple. Having a bulbous nose is a symptom or medical condition that is associated with severe rosacea that is not treated and alcohol figures into the relationship because when you drink it dilates your blood vessels and gives you more of a reddish look on your face. Alcohol can also be a trigger for some people that can cause a flare-up or make their rosacea worse. In addition, there were a number of famous people who were known to be heavy drinkers that had rosacea and developed a bulbous nose.
