Alcohol link to eczema
Stay off the drink if you have skin problems – study
ABSTINENCE from alcohol may be a new way to tackle eczema in some adults, according to experts who have found that up to one in three people attending clinics for severe cases of the skin problem drink an unhealthy amount.
Researchers say excessive drinking may be a cause and a consequence of eczema in some people, and warn that some drugs used to treat the condition may interact with alcohol, resulting in unwanted side effects including liver inflammation and – rarely – cirrhosis.
Dr Phil Hampton, consultant dermatologist at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals, who led the study published in the British Journal of Dermatology, said: “This is the first study to show a link between heavy drinking and eczema.
“The big question is whether alcohol is a cause or an effect. We know it has pro-inflammatory effects in, for example, cancer and dementia, but does it promote inflammation in the skin and cause or exacerbate eczema in some people?
“We have had patients who say their eczema has worsened after a weekend drinking.
“This study shows an association between heavy drinking and eczema, and does not prove that alcohol worsens eczema. However, it does raise the possibility that in some people alcohol may play a role in worsening the level of their skin inflammation. It is possible that cutting down on drinking could ease symptoms.”
He added that those suffering the discomfort of inflammatory skin conditions may also drink more to seek comfort from their illness.
The researchers from The Royal Victoria Infirmary and Newcastle University compared alcohol use in 609 patients at a dermatology clinic.
They asked 10 multiplechoice questions to analyse the frequency, quantity and intensity of drinking in each patient.
Questions included: “How often do you have a drink containing alcohol?”; “How often during the past year have you been unable to remember what happened the night before because you had been drinking?”; and “How often during the year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking?”
Each question has between three and five possible answers, which are scored accordingly, with a maximum score of 40.
A score above 20 would indicate alcohol addiction, while a score of 16 would flag drinking as likely to cause harm to health.
A total of eight or more is classed as having an “alcohol use disorder”, and this is the category that 33.3% of severe eczema patients taking part in this trial were in. This figure is far higher than in the general population, where 19.7% fall into this category.
The researchers point out that links between alcohol and acute and chronic inflammation have been previously reported. Alcohol can, for example, trigger the release of pro-inflammatory immune system compounds, including cytokines.
Drugs such as azathioprine and methotrexate are increasingly being used for severe eczema and the authors say that excess alcohol consumption must now be taken into account by doctors when prescribing them because of the risk of interactions with alcohol.
“Greater efforts are needed to identify patients with a heavy alcohol consumption in dermatology clinics to ensure safe drug prescribing and to allow support and advice in achieving safe levels of alcohol consumption,” the researchers say.