Why Do My Seasonal Allergies Seem Worse After I Drink Wine?

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• You’ll have those same symptoms, and a more intense reaction, at that, along with wheezing, difficulty swallowing, low blood pressure, and heart palpitations, he says.
• Allergic reactions occur when the immune system overreacts to the allergen entering your system, attacking the allergen and causing the symptoms listed above.
• Other types of liquor, including gin, whiskey, and some vodkas, may also be distilled from corn, so be sure to always check the label.
• In rare cases, if untreated, an alcohol allergy can be life-threatening.

In addition, women reported greater incidences of nasal symptoms after consuming alcohol. Dr. Bowser says that might be a function of women being less tolerant to alcohol or being more likely to report a problem.

Are There Sulphites In My Drink?

There hasn’t been much research on allergic reactions to alcohol, but there’s enough information out there to know what the symptoms are, and why they’re dangerous. If anything below rings true for you on a regular basis, schedule an appointment with your doctor. In one 2005 Swedish study, those with asthma, bronchitis and hay fever were more apt to sneeze, get a runny nose or have “lower-airway symptoms” after a drink, especially women. Watch that glass of red wine or hoppy beer if you have food allergies.

On the other hand, some individuals experience a runny nose instead of congestion. An allergy to alcohol should never be ignored and pushed aside. If the body identifies the alcohol as a threat, the immune system makes a record of it and produces antibodies to prepare for the next time it encounters the danger. Recording what you consume and when, along with any accompanying symptoms, is vitally important. The doctor will be then able to see what could be causing the reaction.

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The good news is that if you’re suffering from an alcohol addiction, there’s support to help you find recovery. For example, let’s say you drink an alcohol that was aged in wooden barrels. If you have a tree nut allergy, this type of alcohol can trigger your allergy symptoms – especially if you drink too much. Abusing alcohol has such a negative signs of allergic reaction to alcohol effect on your immune system that it can make allergies worse. Your doctor also may recommend that you stop drinking all alcoholic beverages for a while. Then you can start again, perhaps trying just one of your go-to drinks at a time. If the reactions return with specific drinks, then you know which ones cause problems for you.

Alcohol addiction is a challenge you don’t have to go through alone. We have a team of professional caregivers ready to answer your call 24/7. When your allergies get worse from drinking, it doesn’t mean you’re allergic to the alcohol itself. Instead, alcohol interacts with your immune system to make you more susceptible to other allergies.

How Alcohol Can Affect Allergies

When this occurs, it can cause a variety of histamine intolerance symptoms, including the so-called “red wine headache.” There also is some evidence of histamine being associated with migraines. An allergic reaction to high-histamine foods actually could indicate a possible histamine intolerance. Your body has two enzymes that are supposed to break down histamine, but sometimes these enzymes don’t work as well as they should. We publish Alcohol material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider. Heavy alcohol consumption can weaken the immune system and cause a variety of other alcohol-related diseases and disorders.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.

If you are truly allergic to alcohol, it’s important to avoid alcohol and speak to your doctor before drinking again. You may also need to undergo an allergy test with a professional. If you think that you are allergic to alcohol, a doctor can arrange a test for you. Getting an allergy test done is the only way to know the allergy relates to ethanol itself, or certain ingredients in beverages, like rye, grapes or gluten. The more time spent intoxicated, such as during college years, the more comfortable you feel being in that state of mind.

Experts don’t fully understand how alcohol affects the body’s response to allergens. Many people say their allergy symptoms worsen when they drink, and several studies show that people who suffer from allergies are more likely to experience symptoms after consuming alcohol. The answer can be found in an ingredient found in many alcohol products called sulfites. It’s an additive that some people with asthma have a sensitivity to.

We rarely think of alcohol as having much to do with allergies; the usual offenders – pollen, pet dander, dust mites, environmental pollutants – get the lion’s share of negative press. But alcohol can contribute to a worsening in allergy symptoms. Some people are even allergic to alcohol itself and can experience symptoms ranging from stomach cramps to hives. There are times that the body is unable to break down alcohol contents leading you to feel uncomfortable feelings associated with nasal congestion and flushed skin after drinking alcohol.

The only way to prevent these uncomfortable reactions is to avoid alcohol. What’s more, some people have a gene variant that prevents the body from producing aldehyde dehydrogenase, an enzyme that helps break down alcohol. So if your heart races and your body temperature skyrockets after drinking, your liver may not be able to effectively manage the concentration of alcohol in your body.

But it’s important to learn about alcohol allergies, because although they’re rare, they do exist. Just like any other allergy, they shouldn’t be ignored — leaving them untreated for a long time could lead to severe allergic reactions that could land you in the hospital.

However, just because you feel ill after drinking alcohol doesn’t mean you’re sick. If you have any concerns about your health, always consult a doctor .

“Gin and vodka have low levels of histamine, so switching from beer or wine can be a sensible move,” Whittamore writes. Allergic reactions occur when the immune system overreacts to the allergen entering your system, attacking the allergen and causing the symptoms listed above.

But you shouldn’t be wrestling with intense pain just because you had a few beers. Excruciating stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea point to a potential alcohol allergy — and/or an allergy to histamine, which is known to swell your blood vessels and cause acute abdominal cramping. Some people are sensitive to the histamines and sulfites in effects of alcohol red wineSo what if you’ve taken a DNA test and you don’t have the gene variants, can you develop alcohol intolerance? There are other substances in alcohol that can cause your body to react. Alcohol intolerance is associated with a combination of specific ADH1B and ALDH2 gene variants that influence your alcohol-neutralising enzymes.

But experts don’t fully understand why those people are more vulnerable to nasal symptoms caused by alcohol. But there isn’t proof that alcohol makes the body’s response to allergens worse. Instead, many experts believe the effects of alcohol are similar to the side effects caused by allergies, according to a response from allergy expert Dr. Phil Lieberman. In some cases, reactions can be triggered by a true allergy to a grain such as corn, wheat or rye or to another substance in alcoholic beverages. If you can’t be bothered to try anything to help your alcohol intolerance, stop drinking.

Author: Ann Pietrangelo