Alcohol allergy – what an embarrassing disorder to have grown up with. Give me asthma, hayfever, migraines, you name it, but not an alcohol allergy. At least with the other disorders you can sit back, relax and have a drink to forget about your disorder stricken existence – but with this particularly annoying form of allergy, you can’t even do that!

The term alcohol allergy is quite broad and has been colloquially used to describe a wide variety of alcohol related disorders ranging from a simple alcohol related headaches & nausea, to more severe red facial flushing and hives, and even in the most extreme cases, seizures and unconsciousness.

It should be made very clear at the outset that if you are in the latter category of experiencing seizures, unconsciousness, or any potentially life threatening symptoms, then alcohol is simply not for you. An allergy specialist may or may not have the cure for you, I don’t know. But what I do know is that, whilst a cold beer on a hot sunny day can be a pleasant experience, it is certainly not worth risking your life over.

If, however, you don’t fit into this category and your alcohol allergy is merely causing unpleasant symptoms such as a red face, headaches, nausea, itching, etc., then perhaps there are a few things you can do to lessen and in some cases totally eliminate you alcohol allergy symptoms each and every time you consume alcohol.

First and foremost, know what you are drinking. Alcoholic beverages are made from a plethora of different ingredients ranging from grapes, yeast, potatoes, rice, plum, etc. In addition to this, in some cases, egg and seafood proteins are sometimes used in the production process of some alcoholic beverages to remove fine particles from the liquid. Any one of these ingredients may be the cause of the supposed ‘alcohol allergy’ rather than the alcohol itself. So the lesson to be learned here is: Know your allergy, and know your alcohol. If you have a grape allergy, don’t drink wine. If you have a yeast allergy, don’t drink beer brewed with yeast. It sounds quite simple when simple examples are used, but this does not negate the importance of knowing precisely what you are drinking – even down to the particular fining agents used in the production process if you have allergies relating to eggs or seafood.

Secondly, if you have any kind of intolerance to alcohol at all, including an alcohol allergy, then the rate at which you consume and alcoholic beverage is of paramount importance in determining how intensely you will experience your alcohol allergy or related disorder. Think of each drink as a poison. Your body is equipped with the requisite tools to defend against this harmful substance entering your body but can only operate at its own pace. For some people this is lightning fast, and they are the lucky ones who can slam down 5 beers in a row and dance around a nightclub feeling fine and dandy. If you are like me, and like the rest of the people most likely reading this article, you probably cannot slam down 5 beers in a row without spiraling into a symptom ridden nightmare of throbbing headaches, extreme red flushing and facial swelling, unbearable itching, etc, etc.

For us, drinking requires a very finely tuned judgment as to precisely how much or how little alcohol we can consume before our symptoms start to appear, and if this is one sip, then one sip it is. The skill is to become accustomed to knowing exactly how much to drink and when to stop – again, if its after one sip, then so be it. For some it might be 1 beer, others 3 sips of beer. For me it used to be about 1 quarter of a beer before I needed to stop drinking and let my body do its think as it metabolized the alcohol.

Hopefully the above tips help you on your way to overcoming your alcohol allergy problem. If you would like to find out how I learned to totally eliminate my alcohol allergy symptoms, please visit the No Red Face Formula right now, you know to click the link.

Best of luck and all the best conquering a problem which held back my social life for years. Just know that the rewards are worth the efforts in the long run.

This Article takes a closer look at alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction solutions and aims to differentiate between the good ones and those not worthy of your time or money. Why you ask?

The reason why is because alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction are a disorders that affect nearly 50% of Asian people worldwide and people are because increasingly less tolerant of the embarrassing side effects of alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction and are happy to invest a small amount of money to never have to think about their alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction problems ever again.

Interestingly, not all alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction sufferers are Asian! That’s right, you can have alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction and not even be Asian at all. As funny as this sounds, the number of non-Asians seeking alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction cures has increased exponentially over the past years.

Basically, it seems that the consumption of alcohol is and forever will be an important part of our social and professional lives. You will be happy to hear that we can now breath a sigh of relief because there are products available that can be used to treat the symptoms of the alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction disorder extremely effectively.

Pepcid AC, Zantac and other Antacids are NOT Cures for alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction.

Don’t believe what you read…

A simple search on the internet will yield countless websites and forums talking about the use of Pepcid AC, Zantac and other stomach antacid medications as a cure for alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction. Before we go any further, it is very important that we clarify that these are pharmaceuticals and whether it be for an upset stomach or otherwise people should visit their doctor or pharmacist before taking any medications for any purpose.

So back to the point, are Pepcid AC and Zantac considered 100% reliable cures for alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction?

NO. They absolutely are not.

According to various anecdotal accounts on the use of Pepcid AC and Zantac as a cure for the alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction disorder, it seems that H2 blockers (like Pepcid AC and Zantac) may operate to aid in the alcohol breakdown process and in turn, the alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction reaction, because of their antihistamine properties.

The consumption of alcohol is generally known to irritate the lining of the stomach and in turn facilitate an increase in production of gastric acid. With this in mind, we can see then how antacids can aid the alcohol breakdown process as they reduce gastric acid production in the stomach and also play a role in inhibiting alcohol dehydrogenase, thus slowing down the metabolism of alcohol to acetaldehyde and enabling the deficient enzyme in alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction sufferers to metabolize toxic acetaldehyde to non-toxic vinegar.

PHEW! Ok let us get out breath…

So what does this mean?

It means that Pepcid and Zantac only go half way in curing the symptoms of alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction. A more detailed and considered remedy is needed in order to fully combat the embarrassing symptoms of alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction.

From a recent survey of various anecdotal accounts of using Pepcid AC and Zantac as a remedy for alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction, it seems that the results were quite negative. Some of the subjects reported experiencing only a very slightly reduced facial flushing, and many other people reported no change whatsoever from their normal degree of facial flushing.

So What is the Real alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction Cure?

Finding the truth in amongst the noise…

The real solution for alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction is one that understands the biology behind why people experience alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction and also the chemistry of foods and other substances that may aid in totally eliminating the alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction reaction all together. It is simple science.

So, the biology…

We experience alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction after we drink alcohol. This is because the symptoms experienced by alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction sufferers arise as a result of the body’s inability to sufficiently break-down the alcohol.  The reason behind why the body has trouble breaking down the alcohol is that SOME people who have alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction have something in common. They have an inactive enzyme called ‘aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)’.  It is this enzyme that is normally responsible for breaking down ‘acetaldehyde’, which is a toxic byproduct produced when the body breaks down alcohol.  As result of the body not being able to properly break it down the acetaldehyde, the toxin builds up and causes a variety of reactions like headaches, nausea, itching, hives and most commonly, the red face that we have come to know as alcohol red face reaction. Note: There are more serious alcohol allergy symptoms that this review does not cover, i.e. Seizures, fainting, inability to breath and unconsciousness.

Now, the chemistry…

The real cure for alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction is one that attacks the symptoms of the alcohol red face reaction from the root of their cause all the way to the treatment of the actual symptoms themselves. This full circle approach is what the mere use of Pepcid AC and Zantac neglects, and this is why people nearly always continue to experience alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction even after using Pepcid AC and Zantac. They neglect to consider the obvious fact: we need to stop the build-up of acetaldehyde in order to stop our alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction.

Let us take a look at the No Red Face Formula.

What we have here is a simple cure that works as it claims – it totally eliminates your alcohol allergy and alcohol red face reaction. Not only that, it also cures the common symptoms of headache, nausea, restricted breathing, and itching after drinking alcohol. Now don’t get us wrong, our experience with the team at No Red Face Formula was, how can I say… mixed.

We logged onto the website and it was terribly slow – oh how this annoys me. The guy’s at No Red Face Formula were apologetic about the technical issue and were kind enough to send us a complementary sample of their product.

Verdict?

It works as they claim guys, obviously everyone is different and individual results might vary, but for us….all alcohol allergy symptoms were gone!

If you would like to find out more about the No Red Face Formula, please click the following link: No Red Face Formula.

Disclaimer: The author is now affiliated with the No Red Face Formula after this positive experience with the product.

People often experience one or more of these side effects and lump themselves into the category of having either the alcohol red face reaction or some kind of alcohol allergy problem.  The two terms are often used interchangeably, and whilst this is often discouraged by medical practitioners, some geneticists have even referred to alcohol red face reaction as a genetic form of alcohol allergy resulting from an enzyme deficiency.

Research has indicated that as many as 50% of Asians experience a red face after drinking alcohol.  This is commonly referred to amongst sufferers as “alcohol red face reaction” or “Asian glow”, and by some scientists as “alcohol flush reaction”.  The main cause of alcohol red face reaction stems from the body’s inability to sufficiently break-down alcohol.  The reason why the body can’t break down the alcohol is because people who have alcohol red face reaction have an inactive enzyme called ‘aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2)’.  This enzyme is the one that is normally responsible for breaking down ‘acetaldehyde’, a toxic byproduct that is produced when the body tried to break down alcohol.  As result of the body not being able to properly break it down the acetaldehyde, the toxin accumulates and causes all kinds of reactions such as headaches, nausea, itching, hives and most commonly, the red face or alcohol red face reaction.  Interestingly, these are very similar to symptoms of mild allergy.

Scientists don’t know precisely why the enzyme is more likely to be inactive in Asian people, but some studies have shown that the enzyme deficiency that causes alcohol red face reaction is genetic and has the potential to be passed down by both parents.  According to the weight of medical opinion, there isn’t much one can do to fix their enzyme deficiency.  However, there are several remedies available on the internet that have been proven to be successful in treating alcohol red face reaction.

In contrast to alcohol red face reaction and other related toxic reactions to acetaldehyde discussed above, allergic reactions to alcohol are relatively uncommon.  In people with extremely severe alcohol allergies, as little a mouthful of beer is enough to provoke extremely severe rashes, difficulties breathing, stomach cramps, seizures and even unconsciousness.  Mild alcohol allergy sufferers often report the same types of symptoms as people with alcohol red face reaction – i.e. red flushed face and neck, throbbing headache, irritated and itchy skin, hived and skin blotching, and difficulty breathing, including aggravation of existing asthmatic disorders.

When the liver breaks down alcohol and converts it into acetaldehyde (discussed above), the toxic acetaldehyde is then converted by the body into non-toxic acetic acid (vinegar).  Like alcohol red face reaction sufferers, the problem for alcohol allergy sufferers occurs when the alcohol cannot be broken down properly.  This is because alcoholic beverages contain substances other than ethanol such as yeast, hop, grape, barley, wheat, natural food chemicals, wood derived substances and preservatives.  extremely bad alcohol allergies have been described in people who experience allergic reactions to proteins within grapes, yeast, hops, barley and wheat and some of the other abovementioned substances.  It should be noted that these people are not sensitive to the alcohol itself, and accurately speaking, do not suffer from an ‘alcohol’ allergy.  In addition to this, egg and seafood proteins are often used as fining agents to remove fine particles from the alcoholic liquid in the production process.  These may also be the catalyst for the allergic reactions, rather than the alcohol itself.

In addition to this, egg and seafood proteins are used regularly as fining agents to remove fine particles from the alcoholic liquid in the production process and these may also be the catalyst for the allergic reactions, rather than the alcohol itself.

So… Is Alcohol Red Face Reaction an Alcohol Allergy?

There are many medical sources that claim that mere facial flushing by itself is not an alcohol allergy.  There are also many medical sources that state that most doctors are incorrect in saying that alcohol red face reaction is not an alcohol allergy and that if you speak to a geneticist they will tell you that alcohol red face reaction is an allergic reaction that is a result of a genetically inherited enzyme deficiency.  Whatever the classification, it does seem that sufferers of alcohol red face reaction and alcohol allergy both suffer very similar side effects.  Furthermore, it also seems that these side effects are predominantly caused by a deficiency in the alcohol break-down process whereby the body, for whatever reason, has trouble converting the toxic acetaldehyde into non-toxic vinegar.

A Cure?

Given the similarities, a cure for both alcohol red face reaction and alcohol allergy will be one that aids the process whereby the body converts alcohol into acetaldehyde and then into vinegar. Click here to see how i cured my alcohol allergy problem.

First and foremost it should be noted that these are pharmaceuticals.  Whether it be for an upset stomach or for some other purpose (i.e. to remedy an alcohol red face), one should consult their doctor or pharmacist before taking any medications.

So do they work?

The data varies from case to case it seems.  According to some sources, it appears that H2 blockers like Zantac and Pepcid AC have been seen to work in reducing the alcohol red face reaction as a result of their antihistamine properties. Alcohol is commonly known to irritate the lining of one’s stomach and increase production of gastric acid. It is also commonly known that antacids function by reducing gastric acid production in the stomach, but they may also have an additional effect of inhibiting alcohol dehydrogenase, which would slow down the metabolism of alcohol to acetaldehyde and help the deficient enzyme in alcohol red face sufferers to metabolize toxic acetaldehyde to non-toxic vinegar.

According to a survey of various people using Pepcid AC and Zantac as a remedy for an alcohol red face reaction, it seems that the results are mixed.  Some users reported experiencing a slightly reduced facial flushing, however there are little to no cases where the use of Pepcid AC and Zantac by themselves has totally eliminated the alcohol red face reaction. Other users reported no change whatsoever from their normal degree of alcohol red face.

Therefore, to summarize:

Alcohol red face reaction (aka. Asian flush, alcohol flush reaction or alcohol allergy refers to a disorder whereby one’s face turns red after drinking alcohol.  Whilst this disorder is a genetic pre-disposition, some people have noted the use of antacids as creating some relief from the symptoms.  A survey of anecdotal experiences has revealed that some people have reported slightly reduced redness after taking antacids such as Pepcid AC and Zantac before drinking alcohol. However, it does appear that totally curing or remedying this disorder is slightly more complicated than popping a couple of pills before going out drinking.

Contrary to common belief, people from all races experience an alcohol induced red face reaction, however, about 50% of people of Asian descent experience an alcohol red face reaction after drinking alcohol (a much higher proportion than other races).   Because of this, the alcohol red face reaction has often been referred to as ‘Asian flush‘ or ‘Asian glow’, and sometimes more technically referred to by scientists as Alcohol Flush Reaction.   Whatever we call it, we are referring to the body’s inability to properly break-down alcohol due to an inactive enzyme called “aldehyde dehydrogenase 2″ (ALDH2), which is typically responsible for breaking down “acetaldehyde”, a byproduct of alcohol metabolism.   Acetaldehyde is actually toxic, and as a result of your body not being able to properly break it down, it builds up and causes the red flushing that we all have in common.  Whilst the red face reaction is probably the most commonly reported symptom among people who experience an alcohol red face reaction, other symptoms often experienced are dizziness, nausea, itchiness, headaches, and an increased pulse rate.

Scientists often refer to this as an alcohol related allergy, however, it is not to be confused with other alcohol allergies that are much serious – i.e. where one experiences seizures, convulsions and unconsciousness after exposure to the slightest amount of alcohol.  In contrast, people who experience alcohol red face reaction often report allergic reactions such as feeling flushed after 1 drink of alcohol, more often than not leading to a bright red swollen face, bloodshot eyes, thumping headache, increased pulse rate, and constricted breathing.  These symptoms obviously vary with the amount of alcohol consumed, however, rarely escalate to seizures or unconsciousness.