What would YOU look like as an alcoholic of 20 years? Interactive calculator reveals the toll booze takes on your appearance


comments

The damaging effect alcohol can have on health is widely publicised - with experts warning of depression, liver disease and even an early grave.

But a new tool created by website Rehabs also shows the negative effect excessive drinking can have on your appearance.

By uploading a picture you can chart the change in your features over five-year intervals to see how alcohol can alter your face.

Try out the tool directly below

California-based company Rehabs has released an 'alcoholic' tool (pictured). It shows you what your face will look like if you keep drinking for years. The tool shows your changing appearance over the next 20 years

To the use the tool you need to click the 'Start' button above.

You will then be asked to either upload a photo or use your webcam to take one of yourself.

Then the tool asks you to position eyes, nose and lip icons over your own facial features.

The result is a series of pictures that shows how your appearance will change from two to 20 years into the future.

'Our team over at rehabs.com is well aware of the many different causes of alcoholism, and in an attempt to combat them, created this interactive web tool that shows users what they would look like after two, five, 10 and 20 years of heavy drinking,' a spokesperson tells MailOnline.

HOW ALCOHOL AFFECTS OUR APPEARANCE

Alcohol is a diuretic, so it causes us - and in turn our skin - to become dehydrated far more easily. This has both an instant and long-term effect on our skin and hair.

Dehydration causes skin to become dry and hair to become brittle. Excessive alcohol consumption also depletes iron levels which can exacerbate a pale, lifeless complexion and hair loss.

Because alcohol can sap the body of Vitamin C and A, the skin also becomes less resilient to environmental causes of ageing such as the sun and pollution.

This is because lowered levels of these vitamins lead to the reduced production of collagen, the substance responsible for making our skin look plump and youthful.

Heavy drinking also affects the skin because alcohol robs us of B Vitamins. Alcoholics often develop skin rashes that could resemble eczema from such deficiencies.

Skin is also much more prone to becoming red and blotchy. This is because alcohol dilates the blood vessels. Many people who suffer from the flushing condition rosacea find that they become red-cheeked if they drink.

However, if you drink large amount regularly, eventually the blood vessels can burst leaving people with permanently red cheeks or the notorious 'drinker's nose'.

Chronic alcohol abuse often shows itself in dark circles under the eyes. This is because in the long-term, alcoholism thins the skin, making blood vessels beneath the surface more visible.

It is worth adding that those who abuse alcohol tend to neglect their health in general, so the damage that drink does often goes hand-in-hand with the incredibly ageing and health-damaging habit of smoking. 

Last month a separate study found that men bond over a pint because booze lowers their inhibitions making their smiles more 'contagious'.

Alcohol increases mens' sensitivity to 'rewarding' behaviour such as smiling but women are relatively unaffected.

The study warns that this positive reaction could make groups of men vulnerable to 'problem drinking'.

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh looked at 720 social drinkers aged 21 to 28 and split them into groups of three.

To use the tool you need to upload a picture or take one with a webcam. Aligning facial features will then add alcoholism effects to a person's appearance (shown)

To use the tool you need to upload a picture or take one with a webcam. Aligning facial features will then add alcoholism effects to a person's appearance (shown)

Last month a separate study found that men bond over alcohol (stock image shown) because it lowers their inhibitions making their smiles more 'contagious'. The study warns that this positive reaction could make groups of men vulnerable to 'problem drinking'

Last month a separate study found that men bond over alcohol (stock image shown) because it lowers their inhibitions making their smiles more 'contagious'. The study warns that this positive reaction could make groups of men vulnerable to 'problem drinking'

Each group was then randomly assigned to receive a particular drink: an alcoholic beverage (vodka cranberry), a non-alcoholic beverage, or a non-alcoholic 'placebo' beverage that was described as alcoholic.

IS MODERATE DRINKING BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH? 

Drinking just two glasses of wine a day can damage your health, according to a study.

The research challenged previous claims that moderate amounts of alcohol could have a protective effect on the heart.

Even if you drink as little as 12 units a week - less than a pint of beer or two small glasses of wine a day - this will still have a negative effect on health said scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Earlier this month, the Government warned people to have a 'one day on, one day off' policy when drinking, to avoid damaging their health. 

For all-male groups drinking alcohol, smiling became a lot more contagious. When one man smiled, it was more likely that his smile would be 'caught' by other members of the group.

But it did not have a significant effect on emotional contagion for groups that contained any women.

The findings suggest that alcohol is especially likely to induce a sort of 'social bravery' among men, disrupting processes that would normally prevent them from responding to another person's smile.

Lead author Catharine Fairbairn, a Phd researcher at the University of Pittsburgh said: 'According to popular opinion, a "social drinker" is necessarily a non-problem drinker, despite the fact that the majority of alcohol consumption for both light drinkers and problem drinkers occurs in a social context.

'Not only that, the need to "belong" and create social bonds with others is a fundamental human motive.

'Therefore, social motives may be highly relevant to the understanding of how alcohol problems develop.'



IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

0 comments:

Post a Comment