Is an allergy to alcohol possible?

Question

When I drink an alcoholic drink, on occasion, I will get very ill rapidly. My husband insists its is the way I sip my drink. For example, I had an apple-tini at a restaurant and by the time I finished I had to excuse my self to go to the restroom. I broke out into a cold sweat and my chest was tight and my muscles were extremely tight. I soaked through my shirt and hair...it sounded like I was in labor. The pain was unreal. After 25 minutes I was fine...tired but fine. I had a beer another time which didn't bother me but a beer the following night (a different brand) caused the same symptoms. Due to this I am afraid to drink as I don't know how I will react to the alcohol. Does this happen to anyone else? Is this an allergy?

Answer 1

It is very possible to be allergic to alcohol. The best thing to do is to go to the doctor and find out exactly what you are allergic to. It may not be the alcohol but rather one of the ingredients.

Answer 2

An alcohol allergy would be very uncommon. You might be allergic to something else in the alcohol such as wheat or sulfur dioxide. There are also some substances in alcohol beverages such as wine that can cause flushing or even rashes. But it's probably more likely that you have an alcohol intolerance, which means you are more sensitive to the normal effects of alcohol. And really the only solution to avoid all of those symptoms is to just avoid alcohol in general.

Answer 3

Yes, you can be allergic to alcohol.