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Asthma and Allergy (Expert Forum)
Allergy to alcohol??
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This forum is for questions and support regarding: Allergies, Asthma, Chronic Cough, Sinusitis, and other Respiratory Disorders.
Allergy to alcohol??
by mchean, Feb 24, 2009 12:19PM
Hi, im 19 and ive never been a heavy drinker. Recently I went over my usual 3 drinks (i had maybe like 8 or 10). In the morning when I woke up my skin felt like it was on fire...it was very red/irratated and hot....mostly throughout my torso. The worst part is the insatiable itchyness that comes with it...it feels like i want to tear my skin off...but scratching just makes it worse. This symptoms last for 3-7 days
I though it might be that i was allergic to something that the drink was made with (although im not allergic to anythign that i know of, well exceot for motrin) so a few weeks later i made sure to only do shot, no mixed drinks. The same ting happened.
A friend of a friend;s said it may be dehydration. Which makes sense since i drink very little water. So ive started drinking alot more water, but the symptoms kept coming back.
Finally I just gave up drinking more then 3 or 4 drinks. Last night I had 3 drinks and in the morning my sympotms came back.
Ive been trying to look online for a solution, but I havent found anyone with my itchy/irratation symptoms.
Please Help!!
I though it might be that i was allergic to something that the drink was made with (although im not allergic to anythign that i know of, well exceot for motrin) so a few weeks later i made sure to only do shot, no mixed drinks. The same ting happened.
A friend of a friend;s said it may be dehydration. Which makes sense since i drink very little water. So ive started drinking alot more water, but the symptoms kept coming back.
Finally I just gave up drinking more then 3 or 4 drinks. Last night I had 3 drinks and in the morning my sympotms came back.
Ive been trying to look online for a solution, but I havent found anyone with my itchy/irratation symptoms.
Please Help!!
Doctor's Answer
by National Jewish Health, Mar 04, 2009 12:20PM
, Mar 04, 2009 12:20PM
It is very doubtful that this is simply dehydration. Much more likely that you are having an allergic reaction to alcohol or a particular component of specific alcoholic drinks, called mast cell degranulation. Thus you may experience this phenomenon only in response to certain alcoholic drinks or classes of alcoholic drinks, for example to gin or vodka but not to bourbon or beer or scotch.
You may want to begin a trial and observation of the effects on your skin, of a variety of drinks. You may have to cut way back or even stop drinking alcohol. Here is a citation for an article that points out that alcohol is a common cause of allergic reactions and asthma: Allergic and asthmatic reactions to alcoholic drinks: a significant problem in the community by Dr Hassan Vally in Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 2007, volume 38, pages 1-3.
Good luck.
You may want to begin a trial and observation of the effects on your skin, of a variety of drinks. You may have to cut way back or even stop drinking alcohol. Here is a citation for an article that points out that alcohol is a common cause of allergic reactions and asthma: Allergic and asthmatic reactions to alcoholic drinks: a significant problem in the community by Dr Hassan Vally in Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 2007, volume 38, pages 1-3.
Good luck.
