Alcohol Allergies: Symptoms, Signs, and Treatment for Reactions

These range from heart and liver damage to a greater risk of certain cancers. For some people, alcohol can also make allergy symptoms worse. Alcohol intolerance occurs when your body doesn’t have the proper enzymes to break down (metabolize) the toxins in alcohol. This is caused by inherited (genetic) traits most often found in Asians.

Sulfites intolerance

If you’re looking for a way to prevent sneezing when you drink, try making your cocktails with fresh fruit juices instead of using pre-made mixes. This will help reduce the number of histamines in your drink and make can drinking alcohol make you sneeze it less likely to trigger a sneeze. If you find that certain drinks trigger your sneezing, try switching to a different type of alcohol. For example, if wine makes you sneeze, try drinking vodka or gin instead.

Why Do I Get Stuffy Nose & Nasal Congestion After Drinking Alcohol?

Wine has been a popular beverage since ancient times and across all cultures. While the effects of wine on health are frequently reported, allergy or intolerance to wine has not been as closely studied. If your sneezing becomes a problem, try keeping a food diary and noting which foods make you sneeze. Avoiding those foods can help you avoid sneezing after eating in the future.

What to know about alcohol allergies

“I, too, have experienced the stuffy nose after a glass of wine,” said Sloane Miller, a food allergy coach and advocate, who is also president of Allergic Girl Resources Inc. in New York City. Rhinitis is the medical term for inflammation of the mucus membrane in your nose. This inflammation leads to sneezing, stuffiness, and a runny nose. Rhinitis is often broken down into allergic and nonallergic rhinitis.

Tips to Manage a Beer Allergy

Alcohol Intolerance vs. Allergy

• This figure represents people whose symptoms are traceable to what the manufacturers made the product from and its production process, not the alcohol itself.
• Like wine, beer also contains histamines, which can trigger sneezing.
• These range from heart and liver damage to a greater risk of certain cancers.

Alcohol Allergies

• The best way to manage a beer sensitivity or allergy is to avoid drinking beer or choose beers that do not have the ingredient (like gluten) that are causing your symptoms.
• It is possible that the compounds in white wine that cause sneezing are more concentrated than in red wine, or that the body is more sensitive to them.
• Be aware, however, that labels might not list all ingredients.
• If you’re one of those people, it’s probably because the alcohol is irritating your nose.
• Others might only develop them shortly after finishing 1 or 2 drinks.