Alcohol Allergy - Rare Disorders Message Board

MykkyBaby · 09-21-2003, 10:04 PM

Ok when i drink alcohol, my thoat swells up ( but not shut), I get very hot (my temp shoots up), My eyes feel asif they are being pushed shut (like i am squinting but i am not), and i get a huge blotchy rash all over my body, It starts at my cheeks and goes down to my toes, it makes all of my skin feel strange. The rash is worse the more i have, the largest amount of Alcohol i have had is 1/2 a beer bottle. The things i have tried are beer, malted beverages, wine, and champagne. I have heard the term 'asian flush' but i have an asian friend who does that, and what happens to me is about 15 times worse. do any of you have any idea what this could be??

zuzu8 · 09-22-2003, 03:37 AM

MykkyBaby-
Although alcohol per se CAN be the culprit, it usually isn't... More likely you have a sensitivity to the the additives used in the manufacturing process of some alcoholic beverages. Some of the possible culprits include:

Brewers yeast
Corn
Eggs
Grapes
Molds
Sulfites
Pesticides

. Most alcohol has been fermented so if you are allergic to MOLD that may be a factor.

Beer has BREWER'S YEAST which a lot of people are allergic to.

If you have an allergy to molds (which is not uncommon), you could also have allergic responses to many fermented things, (apart from beer, wine,) like maybe mushrooms, cheeses, vinegar, etc....

Also, SULFITES are common in beer, wine & wine coolers. A big allergy problem for lots of people.

Beer can also have BARLEY or CORN in it...which again can cause an allergy problem for sensitive folks.

Lots of wine companies and beer companies use egg white to clarify their wine or beer during the brewing process. It is not an ingredient as such, but the wine or beer is filtered through it to make it less cloudy...If you have an allegy to eggs...well....

zuzu xxx

MykkyBaby · 09-22-2003, 09:23 PM

Thank you for your reply. Ok I am not allergic to grapes, corn, or eggs. I have been around differnt types of mold (I moved into a old apartment that hadent been lived in, in many years. There was all kinds of mold growing all over the place, i was in there around the molds when i was killing them and didnt get sick or have an allergic reaction, on those days.) I dont think that i am allergic to pestacides, b/c i have helped spray gardens, and my neibor uses them alot on his yard (it comes over to my yard alot to) I have had a beverage that had brewers yeast in it but it wasnt alcoholic. It was in a biology class the professor made homemade rootbeer, and put brewers yeast in it. i guess that i do not know what sulfites are. could you explain more??

zuzu8 · 09-23-2003, 03:08 AM

Sulfites are used as bleaching, antioxidant, and preserving additives in food and, as I mentioned in previous post, have been implicated as allergens. Sulfite sprays have been widely used on fresh produce in stores and restaurants to prevent browning which results from air exposure. As preservatives, sulfites are found in processed food, alcoholic beverages (wine and beer), and drugs.

Sulfites hit the headlines in 1985 and this has subsequently led to new regulations limiting their use. The FDA finally BANNED the use of six sulfite preservatives in fresh fruit and vegetables....but the ban still allows manufacturers of processed foods, dried fruits, WINE AND BEER to use sulfites, although, if these manufacturers are prudent, they SHOULD (but probably don't) voluntarily restrain or curtail sulfite use.

zuzu xx

[This message has been edited by zuzu8 (edited 09-23-2003).]

MykkyBaby · 09-23-2003, 11:49 AM

Thank you again. If they are placed on fresh fruit then I don think that is it either. (it prolly gross but i almost never wash fruit from the store) I really wonder what i am allergic to in alcohol, I have no allergies to food, i am allergic to penacillon (that is prolly spelled wrong) which is a mold BUT i get a way different reaction to it then alcohol. And Sulfa (i dont know what that is) except that its a medication. I THINK THAT I AM A FREAK OF NATURE!!!