Approximately three to four years ago I woke up one morning after going out and enjoying a meal and some drinks the previous evening. I found my legs were covered in small red spots. Mostly, they clustered around the ankle area, but were also present on my shins and thighs. There was no raised bumps, no weeping or scales. I felt no discomfort such as pain or itching. I became suspicious of the fact that the alcohol i’d consumed may have been the cause. However, even though I continued to consume alcohol to the same degree as i’d always been used to, the spots faded and disappeared over the next few days.

Weeks went by with no return of the rash, despite my continued intake of approximately four bottles of wine per week. Then without warning, they re-appeared. Exactly the same symptoms, and exactly the same disappearing act as before. This pattern continued right up to last christmas (sometimes appearing after a drink or two, sometimes not.) a little time after last christmas the rash only faded but refused to disappear completely. It was obvious to me that alcohol was to blame, so I decided to stop drinking any alcohol at all. The rash still did not disappear completely, but it had faded quite significantly. Then one day it flared up again. I hadn’t taken any alcohol, so I was quite mystified. Eventually I began looking for answers on the net. The closest I came to an answer was the disease psoriasis. However, the document I was reading explained that the symptoms consisted of red spots or patches that grow bigger and become scaly. This differed from my rash, mine did not ever become scaly. Many of the other symptoms did not affect me either, such as blistering or bleeding. The only symptoms I ever experienced was the appearance of red spots and patches. Can anyone offer an explanation please? If so I would be ever so grateful.