I would have been around the age of 18 when I first encountered my alcohol red face. It was always hard to watch all my friends drinking and having fun. I wanted nothing more than to be a part of it all but whenever I drank alcohol my face would become red, swollen and very unattractive.
I distinctly remember the first time I discovered that I couldn’t drink alcohol – what a traumatic experience it was. Being young and eager to socialize, I was naturally drawn into a circle of teenagers who regularly met up at parties and clubs to have fun, let loose and go crazy. Obviously, alcohol was a big part of this.
I recall sitting with girl who I was quite fond of at the time. We had bought a bottle of the cheapest champagne money could buy and before I knew it we had drunk nearly half the bottle between us while laughing and talking in a circle of about 5 friends. This was the first time I had drunk alcohol and had absolutely no idea what would happen to me in the next 30 minutes.
It began with my face. I started to feel the skin on my cheeks and forehead tighten and become slightly irritated. My breathing then became harder and I noticed a distinct wheeziness to each breath. I initially ignored all of these symptoms, but it wasn’t long before simply ignoring them no longer became an option.
The conversation stopped and all the eyes of everyone in the group were staring directly at me with shocked expressions on all of their faces. “Have a look in the mirror”, said the girl next to me.
I will never forget the embarrassment as I walked through a house full of staring teenagers to the bathroom. I was confronted by my symptoms for the first time. Panic!
Then the headache started. It was as if someone was relentlessly beating a drum between my ears that just would not stop. I curled up into a ball on the floor of the bathroom, shut my eyes and preyed that everything would go away. Unfortunately it didn’t, and I have been stuck with this reaction ever since. That is, until I was lucky enough to come across a method which enabled me to drink alcohol without experiencing any of the above-mentioned symptoms at all.
The curse of the alcohol red face
What a curse this was! I mean… why do you think we go out and socialize at bars and clubs? To meet people right? We go out to socialize, have fun, and if we’re lucky, to find someone who we can connect with and perhaps build a relationship with.
I’m sure you can understand my frustration. I used to spend hours trying to look my best before going out, only to have all of my efforts go down the drain once my red face started to rear its ugly head – and it always did!
I reached the point where I simply gave up drinking with my friends altogether because of the embarrassment of experiencing my reaction in public.
But this didn’t help either! Let’s face it, alcohol plays an important role in the way we socialize and meet other people. It is, as they say, the great social lubricator and a tradition that is deeply ingrained in our way of life.
I couldn’t stand the feeling i’d get whenever I got my red face when drinking in public. I’d feel it starting with a tightening of my face and cheeks and then before I knew it my face would be flushed and swollen. I don’t mean to be overly superficial but it made me feel really unattractive and paranoid that everyone was looking at me.
People would often ask what was wrong with me and whether everything was ok. I would attract exactly the kind of attention that I wanted to avoid!
It didn’t take me long to realized that my alcohol flushing was coming between me and a full, fun and exciting social life – and I had to do something about it, FAST! But did I? No…
Instead, I spent the next 5 years of my life in denial. I thought that my reaction would eventually go away over time as I grew older or more tolerant to the alcohol. Did it? No…
By this time I was 23 and working as a junior lawyer at a reputable legal firm in Melbourne. My social life was average so I decided to forget about my alcohol related problems and focus on my professional life. But guess what?
Surprise, surprise, nearly everyone in the business world drinks alcohol. Whether it was client lunches, team building exercises, or out of work social gatherings, I simply could not turn my back on the ever present peer pressures to drink alcohol.
Let’s face it, drinking alcohol brings people together. It allows them to connect and get along in a way that is extremely important for relationship building in the professional world.
Not only did I feel excluded because of this, but I actually was excluded! The people at work would treat me differently because of my unsightly red face.
I don’t blame them, who would invite someone with red swollen face to an important business lunch where everyone would be drinking alcohol? It would be an embarrassment for the company.
How I stopped the red face
It wasn’t until I decided that nothing would happen to stop my problem unless I personally made it happen. It was this realization that compelled me to try every combination of supplements and pills I could get my hands on in the hope of finding something that would allow me to drink normally.
This was when I came to the most important realization of all. You can’t cure alcohol related flushing like you would a headache. It is infinitely more complex and simply popping a pill just isn’t going to cut it.
When I began understanding this, I was lucky enough to come across the No Red Face Formula’s treatment program for Asian flush. Upon examining the program, I quickly realized how it was different to everything else I had tried up until then.
The approach is holistic. There are specifically timed supplements for daily intake, prior to drinking and also strict daily diet alterations that work together to do what a single wonder pill simply can’t.
I can now enjoy a cold beer on a hot day, a glass of champagne at a celebration, and a stiff drink with my old man. I can have a drink whenever I want and not have to think twice about the chance of my red face spoiling a good time.
How did this happen? I became fed up, admitted I had a problem and did something about it. It is as simple as that. When you admit that you have a problem you then open yourself up to the possibility of it being fixed. I never knew that there was something I could do! Why?
Because I was so embarrassed about my flushing that I was ignoring my problem rather than doing something about it.
I can confidently say that this was the best thing I could have done for my social life. Let’s face it, we all love to enjoy a drink or two to unwind, socialize and simply have fun. That’s what it’s all about isn’t it? Having fun?
I wish I was smart enough to have done something about it a lot earlier, but I am still grateful to have found a solution that has undoubtedly re-invigorated my social life and my willingness to enjoy myself and simply have a good time.
If you are interested in learning about what I did to get over my reaction to alcohol please read more about our Asian flush treatment program.
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