THE SKIN. 57 



small blood-vessels. This allows the warm blood to flow 

 towards the surface in increased quantities. The result is a 

 flushed appearance of the face and hands, and of the skin 

 generally. This flushing causes the body to feel warmer, and 

 indeed the surface is warmer. The body heat is brought 

 more to the surface, and the sensation leads to the feeling 

 that the body is warmer. To "take just a drop to keep out 

 the cold" might, if looked at thus far, seem justifiable, and 

 the old belief that alcohol warms the body might seem true. 



Let us go a step further. Just as the fire in the stove, 

 intended to warm a room, first heats the surface of the stove 

 and then radiates to the air of the room, so the heat which 

 has reached the surface of the body radiates into the atmos- 

 phere. It passes off more rapidly than it should do, and the 

 body is actually cooler. Alcohol so affects the nerves of the 

 skin that they lose their control over the surface circulation, 

 and heat is lost faster than it is supplied. The experience of 

 Arctic explorers, and of people who live in the colder regions 

 of Canada and other northern climates, fully bears out this 

 statement. Alcohol is now strictly forbidden when great 

 exposure to cold is to be encountered. 



By interfering with the surface circulation alcohol also 

 interferes with the proper nourishment of the skin. Fre- 

 quent use of liquor causes a frequent flushed condition of 

 the skin. The blood-vessels in certain localities become per- 

 manently dilated. The skin of the face and nose in time 

 assumes a dull and blotchy appearance, readily recognized as 

 the "port-wine nose" or the "brandy nose." Dark brown 

 spots appear on the skin in different parts. There is a 

 stronger tendency to skin diseases generally in the case of 

 those who use alcoholic drinks, and when established, they 

 are more chronic and more difficult to manage. 



Tobacco also affects the skin, giving it a peculiar dry and 

 sallow look. 



