alcohol allergy-sudden

i also had a similar problem when i was 23 im now 25 and no longer suffer from it. when i would drink i would swell out. i could gain up to 6 lbs in one night just from drinking. it was very bad if i ate any type of crackers or wheat products. i would get hives all over my arms and itch like crazy. i remember one nigt my feet swelled out so bad that a frind had to carry me out of the bar cause they would no longer fit in my shoes. i discovered it was candida, went through a candida cleanse that lasted about 6 months and it really helped. i was able to go to paris last summer and enjoy drinking wine eating cheese and bread without a single episode

I'm 33. I've been drinking socially for since I graduated high school. I admit that it has gotten to be where I became a mild alcoholic.
Just in the past few years, my face turns red in the corners of my mouth.
If I drink a few beers, sometimes even one, I wake up the next day with my face itching. I think it's something they are putting in the beer. These days beers are not really beer. It's more like malt beverage. Carbonated water with ethyl alcohol added to it. Malt flavorings etc. I think it has something to do with the artificial flavorings and/or color. It seems if I take a shot of Yager, there is no effect, unless I drink a lot of it. I've quit drinking for about a couple of weeks and it started to clear up. Last night I had about 4-5 bud lights, and I woke up with my face itching like crazy. Same itchy patches near the corners of my mouth. Small whiteheads cover my chin all the way around to each corner of my mouth. 2 distinct patches of red on each side of my cheek starting at the corner of the mouth towards the chin. I'm thinking the only solution is to not drink. I drink Odouls and there is no effect or very little if effect if any.

I am 27 and I have been drinking for 10+ years. I drink socially (on weekends) and alone (2-3 times during weekdays). Recently I have been to a party and got very drunk. The following day I noticed some rash on my lower back and didn't think too much of it. After a few days I drank again and that rash spreaded to my whole lower back and it was damn itchy! It then spread to my shoulders and chest area throughout the week. Doctors have no idea what the rash was caused by and just prescribed me with reactine and antibiotics. It's been a little bit longer than a week now and I am slowly recovering. Does this mean I have to give up my booze for good? As mentioned above, are alcohol and beer not like what its used to be? Seems like a lot of the users are allergic to Bud...hmmm...maybe I'll try the Organic brand and see if it's ok.

I have been a casual drinker for a long time. Red wine, scotch, dark beer. Maybe 3 glasses at a time. Well, I stopped drinking for a period of time due to acid reflux and now if I have even a half of ounce of anything I start to get breathing difficulty. Has me concerned. This forum has been helpful. Very helpful. I am allergic to foods and latex. But never alcohol until all of the sudden.

Some of the systems that are described sound like an undiagnosed liver problem that may or may not be alcohol induced. I don't think Asian flush would be the problem if you have been drinking for 10 years or more and the systems just started.

Drinking even socially, but especially heavily, has an affect on you liver. Once it is damaged, it may become sensitive to even the smallest amount of alcohol. I suggest getting a blood panel to check you're liver functioning.

Also, it is common in your mid-twenties to develop both food intolerance's and Crohn's disease. Both can decrease your tolerance to alcohol and both can be detected with comprehensive blood test. So if the systems persist. See your Dr.

Hope this helps

Some of you may want to look up seborrheic dermatitis. Symptoms include episodes of red, patchy skin on scalp, face and trunk, sometimes with scales.

Sulfites (like in red wine) can trigger asthma.

I feel your pain.

Ok to all of you whom seem to think you're allergic to alcohol I believe I have an answer.

Many of you are probably social drinkers and practically immune to getting drunk easily.

What's happen to you is most likely a cause of revere immunity which causes to no longer be able to consume alcohol even just a sip can make you vomit.

Keep on searching im pretty sure you'll find this information ....

i guess it is really important to ascertain whether or not you are experiencing a real alcoholic allergy or whether it is merely asian flush.

If you are getting carted to the hospital after 1 drink then either it was spiked or your have a severe alcohol allergy.

I can draw on my own experience in describing the symptoms of asian flush:

- red face after 20 minutes after having drunk alcohol
- throbbing face and head
- red patches on the body
- wheezy breathing
- headaches
- red eyes

if you are experiencing symptoms restricted to the ones o listed above maybe you have asian flush.

if you have alcohol allergy the best thing to do is to not drink at all. but if it is just asian flush that you have then there are things you can do to reduce the flushing - a few of these things were touched on in another thread on this forum.

hope this helps.

J Hawking.


edited by moderator***web addresses not allowed

Sometimes when I drink I get a blotchy rash on my cheek/forehead and then sometimes on my chest and sometimes on my back. I used to be sure it was due to washing powder but I use non bio stuff now and it still happens randomly. However sometimes if I think its a piece of clothing I change it and it has gone down and also if I smoke weed or take a pill it also goes down. However I've also noticed that it comes up when i go to the gym sometimes or get really hot so I still think it could be to do with clothing. anyone have any suggestions?

Hey,
I have some advice for those of you who have this redness and blotching after drinking. I have had a similar experience. 2 glasses of wine and a Martini over the course of 2 hours and I was red and all over.

Within about an inch of my hairline I was blotchy, my chest, down my arms and all down my spine. My lips started to go tingely... it was awful

I took 1 benadryl (antihistamine) and within 10 minutes I was just fine.
Mind you, I did stop drinking and switched to water. But because my body was having an allergic reaction, the Benadryl didn't make me that sleepy (usually the knock me out).

I'd keep a benadryl with you next time you go out and when the redness or the blotchyness gets bad, It's your body telling you it's time to stop. Pop the Antihistamine and start on the water or soda instead of the alcohol.

Best wishes.

Aughhh, after reading all these posts I thought maybe there would be an answer, but I am yet again, another sufferer.

I am a 28 yr old Caucasian female. Been drinking since I was in college. Always been a heavy social drinker.

I recently got kittens (had them all my life growing up), and I noticed a strong allergic reaction to them right away. It has been 2 months now, and I have been "hoping" I would get used to the kitten. Never had allergies in my life, so maybe I'm in denial.
Anyway, last weekend I went out with some friends. Immediately (say 5-10 mins) after I drank a glass of wine I started sneezing uncontrollably, dripping nose, went through about 15 tissues at dinner and had to leave. A few days later I had a hot toddy (whiskey) and the SAME thing happened. Ok ok ok, give it a week... last night I meet a friend for a beer- and half way through the beer it happened AGAIN.

Tonight, as we speak, I tried the whole- take a Claritin before for you go out trick... NOPE- here I am after half a vodka tonic and I'm home on my couch surrounded by tissues and sneezing sneezing sneezing.

Is it related to my other allergy to cats? Is there anything I can do? This came out of NOWHERE. Gonna go try and drink some milk as one of you suggested.....

I developed a fairly sudden allergy to alcohol as well.  It started when I would stray to certain brands of beer, but now I can't find any alcohol that doesn't cause a problem.  Initially it would happen if I had just one damn canned beer of certain brands, and I could feel a sudden stiffness in the back of my neck, and get a splitting headache.  Now, if I drink multiple drinks, even just 3 beer, I am fighting nausea the next day.  I'm in my late 30s, but in my teens and 20s, I could drink whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, without issue.  I used to be bulletproof, and mock my friends who got hangovers.  Now, one beer causes pain, and two or three risks nausea.  Doctor ran blood tests and urinalysis and found nothing suspicious.  My doctor actually thinks its funny, and jokes, "Well at least now you won't become an alcoholic!".  THAT WAS NEVER A CONCERN.  I just would like to enjoy 3 beer on a hot summer afternoon again.  I would like to have a social glass of red wine with a meal with friends.  I would like to stop explaining to every damn person why I won't even have one drink anymore, and having them look at me like they suspect I'm dying of liver failure or something. 

It's a shame that there are not any medical professionals on here for actual medical reasons for these reactions. Being a person who does have allergies to sulfites among numerous other things I can tell you that over the years I have had different reactions as those mentioned and have put 2 and 2 together as to what has caused reactions while drinking. Wine- obviously contains sulfites which I am allergic to, has in the past caused me to have hot, red ears and chest in addition to numbness, dizzyness, shortness of breath, ringing ears, has caused sudden bouts of vomiting and diarreah. With those type of symptoms I would advise you to seek medical attention because you could be having anaphalaxis, which is life threatening. Beer- I drank beer for a few years and had no problem. Eventually I started to vomit after only 2 beers followed by diarreah (no rash). I later discovered that I am allergic to several grains one of those being rice. I never realized until I saw a special show on  the history channel which said that certain beers are brewed with rice being one of the grains. Vodkas can be made from wheat, grapes, potatoes, or other grains or other combinations of artificial flavors or colors. They can be distilled one to seven times. Any of these things can cause a reaction. Although most forms of liquor and alcohol products do not have ingredient lists due to trade secrets. You can check around the company website to see if the company produces it's products using only one grain. and the more the item (as is the case with vodka for example) is distilled the less likely it is to cause a reaction. Don't get me wrong but if you are allergic to corn, obviously you shouldn't drink liquors containing corn. Same thing with rice, avoid beer fron brewers which use rice. As with wine, brandy, and some vodkas if you are allergic to sulfites you should avoid all of these because they all contain sulfites. Even those wines which claim to be sulfite free are not because grapes have naturally occurring sulfites. I am not a medical professional and I am only discussing my personal observations when consuming alcohol.

Hi, I am a regular wine drinker and I also had a sudden and severe reaction to a single glass of wine that I assumed to be allergic reaction as I could not imagine redness, itchiness and hives, dizziness, shortness of breath not being an allergic reaction??

Point being, I had also just started an intensive exercise regime after a long time sedintary and as we all know, toxins are stored in fat cells, so now I believe that too many toxins were released into my system by my sudden blitz on fat that my liver was overwhelmed and put a red flag on alcohol for a while.

While this may not be everyones situation, hopefully it might ring a bell or two for some...

hey. as a red wine, vodka etc social drinker for the past 12 yrs, i have for the past 5 yrs been having problems the following day after drinking. i usually feel like i cant breath, red rashes on my arms. i have been to a&e so many times, but i have always been told it was anxiety, until i ended up in a&e again last week, when i was told it was a allergic reaction. im just going to give up drink i think, because it is driving me mad, having to put up with theses symptoms each time.