- Alcohol allergy: symptoms
- Alcohol allergy: what makes us allergic?
- Alcohol allergy: treatment
- Alcohol and cross-allergy
Alcohol allergy makes people suffering from it fight, among others. with urticaria-like skin eruptions and a watery runny nose. Find out how alcohol allergy is treated, what it really causes allergy in alcohol and other symptoms of alcohol intolerance.
Alcohol allergy- where does it come from? For the production of alcohol, fruit (wine), barley, hops (beer), potatoes, grain, rice (vodka), yeast are used. All the listed ingredients may cause allergic hypersensitivity reactions. The most common causes of non-allergic hypersensitivity reactions are sulfite compounds, histamine and tyramine. Alcoholic beverages can also lead to mast cell and basophil degranulation, which results in the release of histamine, the mediator responsible for symptoms identical to those associated with allergic diseases, such as hives, sneezing, itchy nose and cough. Another reason for the occurrence of intolerance symptoms may be the effect of alcohol on the inhibition of histamine metabolism.
Alcohol allergy: symptoms
In people with a known hypersensitivity to alcohol, apart from skin lesions, symptoms may occur in the eyes (conjunctival redness, tearing, itching), nose (watery discharge, sneezing, itching), respiratory tract (coughing, difficulty breathing), circulation (increased heart rate, lower blood pressure). Fortunately, severe, life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions are very rare.
Alcohol causes blood vessels to widen considerably and the appearance of red spots on the skin. In people with couperose skin, new changes may appear on the face (mainly the cheeks) and around the ankles. Reddening of the skin, the most common symptom of alcohol intolerance, can resemble nettle burns. They may be accompanied by itching and / or burning of the skin. Such changes most often occur on the neckline and neck. In some people, they are also visible on the forehead.
People allergic to alcohol are more likely to develop bruises and smaller or larger lumps on the skin. These changes are not due to blows or injuries caused by alcohol, but to extravasation of blood vessels. Please tell your doctor about these symptoms of alcohol intolerance.
Even a small amount of alcohol can because nausea and vomiting. This is an individual reaction. Another form of alcohol intolerance will be repeated diarrhea after alcohol consumption. It also happens that breathing becomes difficult after drinking alcohol. Breathing is shallow and rapid. This is often accompanied by heart palpitations.
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Alcohol allergy: what makes us allergic?
The fewest adverse reactions occur after drinking pure vodka (pure alcohol is not a complete allergen), more after drinking vodka, most after beer and red wine.
Alcohol contained in cosmetics and medicinal preparations can also cause allergies or induce a hypersensitivity reaction. Some people with asthma may exacerbate their underlying disease after each consumption or even smelling of alcohol.
Important| When allergic: | You have to watch out for: |
| tree pollen | apples, nuts, potatoes, carrots, stone fruit |
| feathers | egg white |
| cat hair | pork meat |
| bylica wormwood | celery, carrots, honey, bananas |
| latex | pineapples, tomatoes, figs, potatoes |
| dust mites | seafood |
Alcohol allergy: treatment
No he alth conditions should be taken lightly. If you experience any discomfort or skin changes after drinking alcohol, see a dermatologist or allergist who can do allergy tests. It may turn out that it is not alcohol that causes intolerance, but, for example, fruit that is used to make wine or cheese, which we like to eat during meetings where alcohol is present. If you experience significant shortness of breath or heart rhythm disturbances, it is best to go to the emergency room in hospital. Allergy to alcohol alone is rare. It is more common for individual ingredients or additives to alcoholic drinks to be the cause of intolerance.
Alcohol and cross-allergy
Cross allergy is an allergy caused by two groups of allergens (for example, birch and apple pollen, grass pollen and oranges, cat hair and pork). Sensitizing factors enter the body through two separate routes. As a result, one person may suffer from symptoms typical of inhalation and food allergy.
Usually until an allergy developsSubstances that belong to the same botanical group or that originate from the same animal contribute to the crossover. But the presence of hypersensitivity to two different allergens at the same time does not necessarily mean cross-allergy. It might just be a temporary coexistence of two types of allergy. Confidence in the development of cross-allergy is provided by tests that allow to determine whether the antibodies produced to fight one of the allergens are being used to eliminate the other irritant. If so, there is a cross allergy.
Systemic cross-allergy symptoms are rare. The skin symptoms of cross-allergy are exacerbation of atopic dermatitis, erythema, urticaria. On the part of the digestive system, gastrointestinal complaints such as abdominal pain, constipation, vomiting, diarrhea, painful colic and nausea may appear. On the other hand, symptoms of the respiratory system are usually cough and runny nose and itching of the larynx and throat.
What about alcohol? Well, different allergens can be in the drink itself. Sulfates are present in wine, but they rarely provoke an allergic reaction. But there are also fruits in the wines. If we are allergic or hypersensitive to them, we may feel bad after drinking alcohol that contains them. Chicken protein may be present in the liqueur, so in a person who is hypersensitive to it, after drinking a glass of eg eggnog, an allergic reaction may develop. It can be similar in the case of beer, the production of which was made of wheat, barley m alt or corn. The causes of undesirable symptoms are also artificial dyes and flavors or preservatives.
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Anna Jarosz A journalist who has been involved in popularizing he alth education for over 40 years. Winner of many competitions for journalists dealing with medicine and he alth. She received, among others The "Golden OTIS" Trust Award in the "Media and He alth" category, St. Kamil awarded on the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, twice the "Crystal Pen" in the national competition for journalists promoting he alth, and many awards and distinctions in competitions for the "Medical Journalist of the Year" organized by the Polish Association of Journalists for He alth.