Malar Rash and Alchohol

Hi All,

I'm trying to figure out whether I have the malar rash or not, last time I mentioned it to my rheumy he said that it doesn't last long enough to be considered a malar rash (he says they usually last weeks). I'm working really hard on paying good attention to my symptoms so I can give my rheumy a full idea of what is going on, and I've had a light malar rash since Friday that has flared up at certain points in the day.

Anyway, my main question is when I'm flaring and I drink alcohol the malar rash gets really bad. When I'm not flaring and I drink I have no side effect. Does this happen to anyone else? I know sun can trigger it but I haven't heard about alcohol.

Thanks!

Some people get flushed in the face or elsewhere after drinking alcohol. It has to do with how well your body metabolizes alcohol.

My first rheumy said the same exact thing 'lupus rash takes weeks to disappear'. I flush bright red on my face, arms, and chest after a few minutes in the sun. It looks like I'm sunburned and takes hrs for the bright red to fade to just a flush. That first rheumy said 'you're so pale, of course you turn red in the sun!'. The 2nd rheumy could tell right away I had a malar rash and sun sensitive rashes on my arms and chest. I also was not sure if my 'bad complexion' was a malar rash because it didn't seem very obvious to me, it wasn't deep red or bumpy like some google pictures. My malar rash is just enough to make me look flushed, some days are worse than others. But it doesn't seem to ever completely go away.

If you don't feel comfortable with the dr's assessment, get a 2nd or 3rd opinion.