Does Drinking Alcohol Cause Nasal Congestion? HowStuffWorks

If you experience any symptoms after consuming alcohol, it is important to speak to a doctor to ensure your health and safety. They will be able to provide the best advice for treating any underlying medical condition. Allergy testing can determine if a person is allergic to histamine or other compounds found in red wine. A skin prick test or blood test may be used to detect an allergic reaction to the particular compounds that are present in red wine. If a person is found to be sensitive to red wine, they may need to avoid it altogether or switch to white wine, which contains a lower concentration of histamine.

Allergy vs. intolerance or sensitivity

Your doctor also may recommend that you stop drinking all alcoholic beverages for a while. Then you can start again, perhaps trying just one of your go-to drinks at a time. If the reactions return with specific drinks, then you know which ones cause problems for you.

Alcohol intolerance

Keep track of all your activities in a daily diary or schedule planner for a few weeks, and take an honest look at how it adds up. Are you wondering whether your drinking is on the high side of normal or if it’s crossed the line into a problem? If any of the following scenarios seem familar, it might be time to make some changes. Applying a cold compress to your nose will help to soothe the mucous membranes in your nose and reduce inflammation.

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• During hot weather, they may begin to experience nausea and dizziness with dehydration in addition to sweating.
• Additionally, adding foods with anti-inflammatory properties to your diet can help reduce any irritation caused by red wine consumption.
• Alcohol intolerance occurs when your body doesn’t have the proper enzymes to break down (metabolize) the toxins in alcohol.
• Dilated blood vessels can cause inflammation and swelling in the nasal passages.
• If you find that certain drinks trigger your sneezing, try switching to a different type of alcohol.
• A doctor can provide information and guidance on how to avoid alcohol.

In addition, people with asthma or other food or inhalant allergies might be more likely to have alcohol allergies or intolerances. Food intolerance occurs when your digestive system has a hard time with a particular food. With intolerance or sensitivity, your digestive system gets irritated by certain foods or has trouble digesting them. Allergies occur when the body responds to an allergen (for example, an ingredient in beer).

Factors that can affect alcohol’s diuretic effects

• At their worst, allergies can also cause life-threatening emergencies such as loss of consciousness or anaphylaxis.
• The more things you said “yes” to, the more important it is that you take action or seek help from a health professional.
• Be sure to tell your doctor if you’re taking any medications or supplements.

Since even tiny amounts of merlot may trigger such a reaction, blended wines containing a combination of grapes need to be avoided. Miller said the symptoms can get worse since why does whiskey make me sneeze she has found that wine frequently compounds her other food allergies. “It seems between the stuffy nose and the skin irritation that there’s a reaction,” said Miller.

If you try to abstain, but then obsess over alcohol or switch to another drug or behavior, that’s a red flag. Do you continue to drink even though you know it’s causing health problems, or making those problems worse? Alcohol can damage your liver, heart, brain, pancreas, and immune system.

Tips to reduce negative reactions

Drinking plenty of fluids will help to thin out the mucus in your nose and make it less likely to trigger a sneeze. Rinsing your nose with salt water or a saline solution will help to soothe the mucous membranes in your nose and reduce inflammation. Drinking alcohol inhibits the body’s release of the hormone vasopressin. Osmolality is a fancy word to describe the ratio of particles in your blood to fluid. If you have more fluid than particles, your kidneys tell your body to release more urine. First, your kidneys regulate the amount of water in your body.

• Simply avoid alcohol, limit how much you drink or avoid certain types of alcoholic beverages.
• Therefore, sulfates are an important aspect of winemaking to ensure that the finished product is enjoyable to drink.
• It is important to be aware of any symptoms you may experience after consuming alcohol.
• People with aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) are also more likely to have alcohol intolerance.
• A doctor will be able to determine the cause of your symptoms and provide appropriate medical treatment.

Why Do I Sneeze When I Drink Alcohol?

On the other hand, when you have a food sensitivity or food intolerance, your digestive system triggers the response. Symptoms are typically less serious and are often limited to digestive problems like gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, cramping and nausea. There are plenty of ingredients in beer that can make some people sick, even if they drink moderately, according to family medicine physician Mark Rood, MD. If you suspect you have an allergy to wine, make an appointment with a healthcare provider.

In very rare cases, reactions to alcohol may be a sign of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While just about anything can trigger an allergic reaction, some things (like a bee sting, peanuts, and certain foods) are more likely to trigger allergic reactions than others. But not many people realize that there are many ingredients, additives, and preservatives within alcoholic beverages that can cause negative side effects. In some people, these reactions look like allergy symptoms even though they don’t have a true allergy to alcohol. An alcohol intolerance, or ingredients like histamines in alcohol cause an allergy-like reaction in drinkers, swelling the the mucosal membranes in the nasal passages and airways.