{"id":6790,"date":"2025-10-13T15:52:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T15:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/?p=6790"},"modified":"2025-10-15T21:34:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T21:34:15","slug":"my-nose-swelled-so-much-i-worried-about-frightening-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/13\/my-nose-swelled-so-much-i-worried-about-frightening-children\/","title":{"rendered":"My nose swelled so much I worried about frightening children"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Gerard<\/a>\t<\/div>
Over the course of six years, Gerard McAliece’s nose grew larger and larger (Picture: Ever Clinic \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It was six years ago that Gerard McAliece first noticed that his nose was exponentially growing in size.<\/p>\n

Now 68, he initially accepted his condition as his new reality – but things came to a head when he was no longer able to kiss his wife, Carol. <\/p>\n

He also became increasingly self-conscious – and was particularly nervous about his grandchildren being judged by peers over his appearance.<\/p>\n

‘It just kept growing and growing and, as much as possible, I tried to ignore it,’ Gerard, a retired IBM employee from Kilmalcolm, shares.<\/p>\n

‘People began to stare, and some would turn away, but my view was: this is me. Take me as I am.<\/p>\n

‘The younger kids were the worst. I mean no harm to them, but they have no guile at that age, and no filters. I used to really worry at my grandchildren’s birthday parties – what do their wee pals think?’<\/p>\n

At this point, he decided to seek medical help – but his concerns were initially dismissed.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Gerard<\/a>\t<\/div>
Gerard became increasingly self-conscious as time went on (Picture: Ever Clinic \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He recalls: ‘They asked if I could breathe and I said “yes,” and they said: “that’s okay then.” After that, I didn’t discuss it with my GP as I didn’t think they would do anything about it, as they would deem it cosmetic.’<\/p>\n

Not wanting to appear ‘pushy,’ Gerard initially accepted this answer, noting that he generally didn’t ‘expect things to be done’ for him as there were ‘more important things going on.’<\/p>\n

But after Carol recognised that the situation was becoming completely untenable, they decided to contact a private clinic together. It was at this point that doctors diagnosed Gerard with Rhinophyma, a condition that sees patients present with severe swelling, redness and lumps. <\/p>\n

According to the British Association of Dermatologists<\/a>, it happens as ‘there is formation of scar-like tissue and the sebaceous glands (which produce oil on the skin) get bigger.’<\/p>\n

The guidance adds: ‘The condition is mainly seen in those who have rosacea, a rash that can affect the cheeks, forehead and nose,’ though it notes that the reasons behind it are still not fully understood.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Gerard\t<\/div>
Gerard and his wife sought the help of a private clinic (Picture: Ever Clinic \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At this point, the tissue on Gerard’s nose had grown so much that it was hanging down over his mouth and obstructing a large part of his face.<\/p>\n

And so, Gerard and Carol sought the help of Glasgow’s Ever Clinic after they’d researched similar cases the professionals had treated. <\/p>\n

At his first consultation, Gerard instantly felt completely ‘at ease.’ Doctors<\/a> decided upon a surgery that would remove the excess skin and correct his nose to make it more proportional to his face.<\/p>\n

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They gave me a little more.’<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"861\" src=\"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_270098769-e31e.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-24411592\" alt=\"Gerard McAliece' nose after treatment. \/\/ A man was left unable to kiss his wife after one of the "worst cases" of nose growth a clinic had ever seen. Gerard McAliece, 68, from Kilmalcolm, had first started noticing changes to his nose six years ago - as it kept "growing and growing." He was suffering from a severe case of Rhinophyma, a condition caused by the proliferation of sebaceous glands in the nose and underlying connective tissue - leading to severe swelling, redness, and lumps. Tissue on Gerard's nose had expanded to such an extent that it was hanging down over his mouth and covering a large part of his face. He had become self-conscious, nervous about his grandchildren being judged for his appearance - and the growth had stopped him from being able to kiss his wife, Carol. Photo released 13\/10\/2025\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>He says the local anaesthetic started to wear off after a while (Picture: Ever Clinic \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Post-surgery, Gerard is over <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/the-moon\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">the moon<\/a> with the results, and says that it’s ‘totally turned’ his ‘life around.’<\/p>\n<p>He adds: ‘Carol says that I’m back to being the man that I used to be. I’m now talking to people, going for a pint and enjoying meals in restaurants, which we haven’t done for years.<\/p>\n<p>‘If there is anyone out there in the position I was in, my advice to them would be – don’t wait. Just do it.’<\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><title>Comment now<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the course of six years, Gerard McAliece’s nose grew larger and larger (Picture: Ever Clinic \/ SWNS) It was six years ago that Gerard McAliece first noticed that his nose was exponentially growing in size. Now 68, he initially accepted his condition as his new reality – but things came to a head when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6790"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6797,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6790\/revisions\/6797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/curiousdrive.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}