Tell If You Have Allergies to Liquor
Allergies to liquor, also known as alcohol intolerance, can be an unpleasant experience. Caused by an inability to break down alcohol or by various ingredients in alcoholic beverages, the symptoms are myriad and can often be indicative of another condition. Thankfully, there are ways to determine if you have liquor allergies, though they might be unpleasant. It is important to find out whether you have an alcohol intolerance; consuming chemicals that you cannot metabolize can have dire consequences.
Steps
- Understand that the alcohol itself is often not the culprit. While an allergy to alcohol itself is quite rare, it's not unheard of. Far more likely, however, is that one of the grains used to make the alcohol, or a preservative used to keep it fresh, is causing the allergic reaction.
- Beer, wine, and liquor each contain the allergen histamine, produced as a result of the fermentation process. Histamine, of course, is what sets off allergic reactions in humans.
- Beer and wine also contain sulfites, used as a preservative. Sulfites are known to worsen asthma and cause other allergy symptoms.
- A protein allergen called “LTP” is found in the skins of grapes, making red wine (fermented with the grape skins, as opposed to white wine) a common allergen.
- At the same time, red wine tends to have fewer preservatives than white wine, meaning fewer sulfites.
- Know the common symptoms associated with an allergy to alcohol or anything else that contains alcohol. These symptoms include:
- Nasal congestion
- Itchy, red, inflamed skin that is warm to the touch (hives)
- Headache
- Accelerated/rapid heartbeat
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pain in the abdomen
- Runny or stuffy nose.
- Try drinking one type of alcohol only for a night. Stick with beer only (preferably the same kind), or wine, and see if symptoms develop. If symptoms don't develop, cross that beer/wine/liquor off the list and gradually try a different beer/wine/liquor. Over time, you should be able to figure out which beers/wines/liquors contain offending allergens, and which don't.
- Determine how much alcohol you can consume without experiencing symptoms. Sticking with one beer/wine/liquor, try to pinpoint the amount of alcohol that is needed for symptoms to present.
- In some cases, those affected by alcohol allergies may only experience very mild symptoms when drinking, or symptoms only when mass quantities or certain types of alcohol are consumed. If this is something you can tolerate, a doctor's test typically isn't necessary. To confirm a diagnosis, however, you should visit a doctor.
- Visit a doctor to have tests performed to confirm whether or not you have alcohol allergies or an alcohol intolerance.
- Your doctor will perform a skin prick test or a blood test to make a conclusive diagnosis. A skin prick test involves pricking the skin with a needle that contains one of the possible causes. If the skin reacts, you have an allergy.
- A blood test will look for immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, which can help measure your immune system response to specific substances. Unfortunately, this test isn't always accurate.
- The doctor will also perform other tests, such as obtaining a complete medical history and a physical examination. Diseases such as Hodgkin's lymphoma, being of Asian descent and taking certain antibiotics, anti-fungals or the alcohol abuse drug disulfiram present with a greater chance of alcohol intolerance.
- Stick with alcohols you know don't affect you, along with alcohols that contain fewer ingredients. Once you've made a list of the alcohols that don't make you burst out into hives, stick with those. Also consider these alcohols:
- Try out grain-free liquors like potato vodka, rum (fermented from sugar), and tequila (fermented from the agave plant).
- Stay away from flavored liquors.
- If sulfites in wine cause allergic reactions, stick to red wines. If LTP in red wine bothers you, stick to white wines.
- Stay away from liquors that contain carbonation (such as coolers). Liquors that contain carbonation are more likely to cause allergic reactions.
Warnings
- Never drink more alcohol than you can handle, especially if you have an allergy to it. In some extreme cases, alcohol can cause an allergic reaction known as an anaphylactic reaction that could be potentially life-threatening.
- This article's advice is intended for people of legal drinking age.
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