If alcohol makes your allergies worse, would you quit drinking?
Asked by
eden2eve (
3703
)
April 21st, 2010
An article in the NY Times states that studies find alcohol can cause or worsen symptoms of asthma and hay fever, such as sneezing, itching, headaches and coughing.
It goes on to say that it’s not necessarily the alcohol itself, but that beer and wine contain histamine, which we recognize as the chemical that can set off allergy symptoms. They also contain sulfites, which are known to provoke or cause asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems. They cite several studies which seem to confirm this correlation. Other fermented foods, such as cheese and breads can also be culprits.
If these facts are proven to your satisfaction, would you choose to eliminate or curtail the use of alcohol?
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21 Answers
No question about it! Though I have been known to rub wheat beer on mosquito bites. Works pretty good too!
If it meant better health – yes, I would stop drinking.
I could give up drinking in a heartbeat if it was hurting me.
I don’t drink enough in the first place for it to be much of an issue. It makes sense to stop or cut back if you are having those symptoms, if you don’t have any real allergy or asthma symptoms, then there’s no reason to, obviously.
The real question is, if you have these symptoms, and stopping the use of alcohol would relieve them, and you wouldn’t do it, would you then recognize yourself as an alcoholic, or would you invent some excuse as to why drinking is so important to you that you would keep suffering, but you’re not an addict?
My husband does refrain from drinking during certain times of the year, when his asthma and allergies tend to act up. He’s quite a fan of beer, though, just about connoisseur level, so I doubt he’ll ever quit entirely.
No,I will suffer like a big ‘ole drunko!not really!There’s nothing like feeling good
Yup, I would. I don’t drink enough for it to be much of a bother if I stopped altogether.
I am affected by some wines. I take a sip and wait a few minutes before taking the next one. If figure that pause also makes me look sophisticated. If I feel a tightening in my chest, I will very discreetly, over time, dump it out and avoid it the rest of the evening. Many, but not all reds, will bother me. Most whites will not. On average cheap stuff is better for me than expensive.
If I had to give it up, I would. Breathing is much more important to me than wine.
I do think I actually have experienced some increased allergy symptoms after drinking some beer. I already had pretty much cut back to nothing, but I’m a little pickier now and I very rarely have more than one beer, and that with a meal. I don’t drink anything else.
I am allergic to the beer I brew.
@Rarebear
I could probably help you with that. ^_^
well, if it’s on the dark side, anyway.
Maybe your moniker should be Rarebeer?
Yes I would. Drinking is bad for you anyhow. Makes you stupid.
No, i like to drink. I would gladly sacrafice something else though.
@Seek_Kolinahr Funny you should mention that. I just brewed an utterly fantastic bitter chocolate oatmeal stout that is now, as of three days ago, all drunk up!
Only if it was, in my opinion, serious enough to keep me from enjoying my drink or if the aftereffects outweighed the pleasure of the moment. But, not having allergies, I’m not too worried about it.
Damn. Call me the next time you make it! That sounds incredible.
Yes. I don’t drink enough to miss it anyway!
I would just start pop Claritin or Allegra with my beer if all I got was hay fever. If alcohol made me asthmatic I would quit drinking.
Absolutely. We don’t need to drink in order to have a happy, satisfying life.
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