For people who have alcohol intolerance due to a medication, stopping the medication will likely resolve the alcohol intolerance. If it is an inherited genetic condition, medical professionals are limited to providing ways to reduce the unpleasant symptoms of alcohol intolerance. Alcohol intolerance is a medical condition that prevents your body from breaking down alcohol normally. The condition leads to a build-up of the chemical acetaldehyde, which can cause unpleasant symptoms like flushing, headache, nausea and vomiting. Alcohol intolerance is most common in people of Asian descent but can occur in anyone.

Enzyme Deficiencies

People who have a true alcohol allergy should avoid drinking alcohol entirely. Alcohol intolerance can also be caused by sensitivity to other substances present in alcoholic beverages, such as sulfites, additives, or preservatives. These substances can trigger allergic-like reactions or worsen symptoms in individuals who are sensitive to them. Alcohol intolerance refers to the body’s inability to effectively metabolize alcohol and is a condition that affects a significant portion of the population.

How common is alcohol intolerance?

It is possible for a person’s tolerance to certain ingredients to change over time, and an intolerance may just happen suddenly due to genetics. People who have asthma, hay fever, or other allergies to foods may have a higher risk of developing an alcohol intolerance. These substances can make your blood vessels dilate, which causes symptoms of alcohol intolerance. A 2014 study showed that people who have a history of hay fever (allergic rhinitis) or asthma are more likely to develop symptoms of alcohol intolerance when they’re exposed to these substances. People with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) are also more likely to have alcohol intolerance. Unfortunately, nothing can prevent reactions to alcohol or ingredients in alcoholic beverages.

What Does It Mean to Have a Beer Allergy?

Therefore, it is likely that your family members are at risk for the same problem. The main risk factor for having a problem with ALDH2 is being of East Asian descent, especially Chinese, Korean or Japanese. In a March 2021 blog post, neurologist Georgia Lea discussed the potential connection between long COVID, specifically the PVFS type, and alcohol intolerance. People with grape allergies need to avoid wine and distilled spirits made with grapes, including cognac, ouzo, and vermouth.

During a skin prick test, your doctor will use a lancet to prick or scratch your skin. They will apply a drop of allergen extract to the pricked or scratched area. Some individuals may experience alcohol intolerance due to an underlying histamine intolerance.

Other Lifestyle Choices That Can Help

• Your body needs this enzyme to properly metabolize alcohol and eliminate it from the body, so there’s nothing you can do to prevent or cure alcohol intolerance.
• If your symptoms are very mild, you may have a food sensitivity rather than a true allergy.
• Alcohol intolerance is a problem with the specific enzyme that helps your body metabolize alcohol.

If someone experiences a severe allergic reaction, they should go to the emergency room immediately. If they do not have an epinephrine injection to treat anaphylaxis right away, it could be fatal. However, some people with Hodgkin lymphoma experience pain in their lymph nodes after consuming alcohol. While research on post-COVID alcohol intolerance is still limited, anecdotal evidence suggests that it’s a symptom experienced by many people following the virus. When stress exceeds a certain limit, it might trigger brain inflammation, resulting in symptoms like those seen in ME/CFS, including alcohol intolerance.

People who find they become intoxicated off a few drinks should limit their consumption accordingly, and not try to “keep up” with others. But by taking precautions, individuals with alcohol intolerance can largely avoid symptoms and maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. Specifically, alcohol intolerance is related to problems with the enzymes that our bodies use to metabolize alcohol. When these enzymes are deficient, consuming even small amounts of alcohol can lead to symptoms like facial flushing and warmth. With an alcohol allergy, a person’s immune system overreacts to alcohol.

To date, there is little strong evidence of this, though distillation is likely to leave behind only negligible amounts of the proteins from the corn, if any. Possible alternatives to wine and grape-based spirits include Japanese plum wine, which has an appealingly sweet taste. If you have an extreme sulfite sensitivity or are at risk of anaphylaxis, you will need to carry an EpiPen to self-inject what causes alcohol intolerance yourself with epinephrine (adrenaline) in the event of an emergency. Because of this, labeling laws in the United States require any food with sulfite concentrations greater than 10 parts per million (ppm) to include the words “contains sulfites” on their label. If you’ve been Googling whether you might be intolerant to alcohol, it’s likely you aren’t just suffering from a bad hangover.

It’s caused by inherited or genetic traits that are commonly found in the Asian population, says Parker. Reducing intake or stopping drinking may help a person feel more in control of their consumption and avoid experiencing a reaction or symptoms related to their alcohol use. Moreover, if a person has a serious reaction after drinking alcohol, they should consult a doctor sooner to determine what may be causing their symptoms. Some people may be unable to drink alcohol without experiencing immediate feelings of sickness, or they may develop this over time after a prolonged period of drinking.