11 signs that you have an alcohol intolerance

Each human body is unique, and everyone has individual characteristics. For example, one has lactose intolerance, another is allergic to the sun, and someone has an intolerance to alcohol. What are the signs that indicate that you should give up alcohol?

Candidate of Medical Sciences, Doctor of Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics SITILAB

In severe cases, even a sip of wine can be dangerous for such people.

What is alcohol intolerance?

It is necessary to distinguish between an allergic reaction to the components of an alcoholic beverage and alcohol intolerance. The latter is caused by a lack of enzyme that breaks down ethanol.

Intolerance can be

• congenital – manifested from the very beginning, does not threaten health, but any alcohol will have to be excluded;
• acquired – occurs against the background of diseases and taking medications that do not combine with alcohol.

The problem can also occur in people with a severe stage of alcohol dependence. In the past, they could use alcohol without symptoms of intolerance, but due to regular and prolonged use, the ability to break down ethanol has decreased, the liver can no longer cope. In severe cases, even a sip of wine can be dangerous for such patients.

Nevertheless, the drink has useful properties. Which ones – told in the article.

How to understand that you have alcohol intolerance

Symptoms of alcohol intolerance can be very different, and it is not always obvious that the cause of the ailment in alcohol. Some people after drinking even a very small dose of the drink instantly redden the face (so-called “flash syndrome”), headache, nausea, high blood pressure, increased heart rate.

Itching, rash, heartburn, coughing, and runny nose are possible. In acute reactions, there may be choking and loss of consciousness. The severity of the reaction also varies, from almost imperceptible to life-threatening.

What to do if you have alcohol intolerance

If chronic use of large doses of alcohol is suspected, a special laboratory analysis is used. Alcohol dependence can not always be diagnosed with the help of a questionnaire or a conversation with the patient. It happens that a person himself sincerely does not notice the problem. The test will help to assess the situation objectively, based only on facts and accurate indicators.

If intolerance is associated with the intake of drugs, after some time after their withdrawal, it is usually possible to use alcohol again. In other cases, you will have to give up drinks even in small quantities. But it should not be forgotten that in medicine there is no such concept as a “safe dose of alcohol”, and even a perfectly healthy person is better to abstain if possible.

And about six rare cases when beer can be useful, told in the material.