General Question

sjg102379's avatar

Why does Pepcid AC stop you from turning red when you drink?

Asked by sjg102379 (1250points) October 16th, 2007

I—like many people—am missing the enzyme to break down alcohol in your system. This means that I get drunk very easily, and also turn very red when I am drinking. A friend who has the same problem recently told me that if you take a Pepcid AC (which is a heartburn medication), you won’t flush when you drink. I tried it—it totally works. But why? It seems like turning red has nothing to do with acid reflux.

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3 Answers

xgunther's avatar

I dunno. But I wish I didn’t have those enzymes

bob's avatar

You may find this metafilter thread helpful: http://ask.metafilter.com/24889/Red-faced

The scientific answers are beyond my comprehension, but the partial answer, at least according to that thread, is: “Apparently Pepcid is one of the histamine blockers (antagonists) that inhibits the inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase, making it more active, so you process alcohol a bit better.”

Poser's avatar

How did you discover that you lack this enzyme?

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