“No one believes me.” How does a person with an alcohol allergy live?

Writer Stanislav Babitsky shared with us the story of his life, in which there is no room for alcohol.

Since childhood, Stanislav has suffered from all sorts of allergies – to flower pollen, poplar fluff, linden and ragweed. There were also food allergies. The one to fish and seafood didn’t bother me much, because back in kindergarten, forshmak (herring dish) scared me away from all other fish dishes.

But the one on strawberries literally drove him crazy: every summer all the kids eat strawberries, but little Stas couldn’t. He broke down, of course. Then there was hives, wildly itchy eyes, but here any child will say that it was worth it. And when he was 12, he had the most unusual of all allergic reactions – to alcohol.

I felt like an adult, so I decided to sneak a drink of wine.

“On New Year’s Eve, I finished a bottle of wine from the table. A little bit, literally three or four sips. Half an hour later, my lips swelled up. At first, just a little bit bigger, like when fashionistas get beauty injections. Then they really swelled up like balloons. My tongue began to swell and, most frightening of all, my throat. I felt like I was suffocating, which made me nervous and panting even more.

At that time there was no internet to google the symptoms – we called an ambulance immediately. Usually on New Year’s Eve there are doctors on duty who are not surprised by anything, but here even they were impressed. They took me to the hospital, injected something into my vein, at some point they even put a tube down my throat, but I don’t remember the details.

After this incident, the whole family enriched their vocabulary with new word combinations: “Quincke’s edema” and “anaphylactic shock.” Both terms mean acute allergic reactions associated with various biological and chemical factors. Since then, Stanislav has no longer experimented with drinking “adult” beverages.

Stanislav’s mom even rejoiced, saying that such allergies are not even a problem, but a gift from God. It will save him from many problems in the future. And the usual mantra that sounds in the subconscious of all Russian women, “But he doesn’t drink!” turned the boy into a potential enviable groom.

But as he grew up, the young man began to feel like an outcast in noisy companies. After all, if you don’t drink – it’s somehow suspicious. Just a little bit. All persuaded, and then terribly offended and a couple of times even beat. And one day Stanislav decided to take a risk.

“When I studied in the third year of the Institute, I was called to a party in the dormitory of medical students. Naturally, the question immediately arose: why don’t you drink? And right after that: what do you mean, allergies? I told him about my previous experience.

Then the young medics decided to organize a consilium. They invited some senior students they knew, and then an intern-resuscitator. Everyone expressed their opinion and, of course, drank. Opinions were divided. Someone said that the allergy was not to alcohol, but to the dye that was in the wine.

Others said that perhaps it was a teenage thing and I had long outgrown it. But everyone agreed that we should try it, and poured the young man half a glass of vodka.

I cautiously asked: what if it happened? They went through the rooms, asked someone for ampoules of dimedrol and suprastin – I didn’t know that these medicines were liquid – I don’t remember what the third one was.

“They drew it all into one syringe a little bit at a time and said: drink it. If it happens, we’ll take it out. The result was the same: swollen lips and swelling of the larynx. I was injected with that miracle mixture and taken to the hospital where the intern worked. They took a trolley bus. It wasn’t as scary as the first time, and I didn’t have a tube down my throat, but I haven’t experimented since.

For more than a quarter of a century of absolutely sober life, Stanislav had to come up with hundreds of reasons why he refuses even champagne. At least in a purely symbolic way.

“No one believes in allergies, especially when it comes to high officials. Once I was sent on a business trip to Abkhazia to interview the president. And there at every step – like in the movie “The Caucasian Captive”. They pour and drink, you cannot refuse, they will take offense.

Then I said from the threshold that I vowed not to drink until Russia recognizes independence of Abkhazia. All this was appreciated, they shook my hand, hugged me like a native. The President gave an interview. And a year later, in 2008, we recognized their independence. Since then I no longer travel to Abkhazia.

Another funny incident happened when Stanislav, in the status of a popular writer, was called to the jury of a bartender contest. And there it is necessary to assess not only the appearance and presentation of cocktails, but also their taste.

“I had to fill the tube with bread crumbs and pretend to drink,” laughs the allergic man. – I gave marks at random, writing in phrases about some citrus notes and the successful proportion of liqueur and vermouth. I thought it was ridiculous.

But it turned out that I gave the most accurate evaluations, they completely coincided with the opinion of the chairman of the jury, a venerable bartender from London. I was thanked for a long time and called to other similar events, but I declined. On the second go I would have been exposed for sure.”

In today’s society, many people choose sobriety as a norm of life, especially at a young age. It is less and less common to have to justify not drinking with everyone else. And it is possible to be happy, have fun and even freak out even in a non-alcoholic mode. Stanislav admits that he does not feel the slightest regret about his allergy.

I can’t get drunk with grief, so I eat cakes for stress. It’s classic.

“Yes, I have to carefully read the composition of many desserts, whether there is no cognac impregnation or there are candies with brandy I can not afford. But it’s even fun. And sweets are my weakness.”

Doctor’s opinion

Candidate of Medical Sciences, doctor of integrative, preventive and conventional medicine, nutriciologist

Allergy is really nothing but an immune response of the body to a “foreign body”, roughly speaking, to an allergen. To something that this very body considers to be a “potentially dangerous object”.

Such a reaction, especially one that has occurred since childhood, is attributed to genetic problems. The cause may be “polymorphism” – a breakage of a certain gene.

Usually in this case there is a reaction to one thing, to one allergen. Allergy tests are taken, and the person knows that his body reacts, for example, to citrus fruits or honey. Very often there are “cross reactions”.

This means that, for example, pollen antigens and antigens of celery or apples have a similar surface, and the antibodies of the immune system recognize them as a single “foreign agent” and attack them. The body then reacts to both celery and pollen.

If you are allergic to “everything” – you need to work with the immune system. First of all, eliminate additional load in the form of viral diseases, bacterial, worms.

By clearing the body of irritants, we greatly facilitate the work of the immune system, it is easier for it to recognize the enemy point by point, and not react to everything in a row.

Indeed, allergies to alcohol true allergies are very rare, more often it is a reaction to dyes, additives, such as sulfur dioxide. But there are cases when the body reacts to tannins, which are contained in wine and brandy, or to wheat, for example, on which was “fermented” vodka.

In this case, it is recommended to reduce the immune load, but not only the one that concerns viruses and bacteria, but also food – to take a food hypersensitivity test and identify the products that cause hidden food allergies.