Among all kinds of inadequate immune response to seemingly harmless substances, alcohol allergy is one of the most unusual. Nevertheless, it is increasingly found in both male and female populations. Perhaps alcohol has become less quality or quality drinks have become less accessible to most. Anyway, to ignore the manifestations of alcohol allergy means to put your health at great risk, and maybe even life.
Treatment of alcohol allergy
Ethyl alcohol - the main component of alcoholic beverages - is a natural product of metabolism in our body. Therefore, in the role of an allergen, it can act, reacting with some other substance contained in a drink or other combined products: dyes, fruit and herbal supplements and proteins. The latter are the most common causes of alcohol allergy.
The high absorption of ethyl alcohol into the blood exacerbates the situation. Therefore, any alcoholic beverage in its entire composition quickly penetrates into all human organs. In this case, a reaction similar in appearance to allergies is possible. It occurs under the influence of alcohol. But this is not an allergy, and the individual intolerance of alcohol is a congenital pathology in which the body can not break down alcohol. This state of treatment is not subject to and requires a categorical refusal of alcoholic beverages.
But how to cure an allergy to alcohol, and is it possible in general such treatment without a complete refusal of alcohol-containing beverages - just a matter of finding a real "culprit" of an allergic reaction. The exclusion of beverages with that component that causes allergies, ensures the complete absence of unpleasant symptoms in the future.
It is very difficult to independently determine such a component. It is better to entrust "search" work to a specialist. The doctor will make allergens for all possible natural and synthetic supplements. Drinks, which contain substances that the body does not perceive, will need to be eliminated from use, replacing them with "safe" ones.
By the way, alcohol can be useful only in limited tiny doses, safe - in a moderate amount. But the excessive use of even the highest quality alcoholic beverages threatens the healthiest person.
How does the alcohol allergy manifest?
To "know the enemy in person", it is important to remember the most basic signs of an allergy to alcohol:
- redness of the skin;
- edema of the palate and nasopharynx;
- coryza;
- sore throat;
- headache;
- abrupt change in blood pressure;
- increased heart rate (pulse rate more than 75 beats per minute);
- in severe cases - angioedema.
Knowingly remembered about the face. After all, the primary allergy to alcohol - red spots on the cheeks, nose, chin and neck - is an important distinctive symptom. He says that with the drink, after which the face flushed, experiment is no longer worth it.
Most allergy sufferers notice the appearance of red spots on the skin after consuming wines or beer. Most likely, these are inexpensive drinks with a high content of dyes or preservatives. Replacing cheap powdered wine or natural beer can be a good alternative in this case. If the face turns red after a few milliliters of vodka, you can try to replace it with good cognac. Tannins contained in cognac reduce the intestinal absorption of allergens.
In any case, it is important to remember that the allergy on the face from alcohol over time grows into a disease with more complex symptoms, and the external manifestation of the immune reaction is just a reflection of internal pathological processes in the body.
The allergy to alcohol: what to do?
Faced for the first time with an allergic reaction to alcohol, not everyone knows how to behave properly in a critical situation. It's good if the symptoms do not get complicated and are limited only by red spots on the body. Such manifestations occur after the natural removal of the allergen from the body. But sometimes the allergy even from the first time manifests itself so roughly,
- Immediately call an ambulance.
- Do not take any medicine before the doctors arrive.
- If possible, drink warm boiled water.
It is important to know that most allergy medicines that block histamine receptors in case of alcohol allergy can not be taken. As a treatment, gastric lavage is performed and sorbents are introduced. Sometimes, under medical supervision, treatment with antihistamine preparations of the third generation with reduced cardiotoxic properties, as well as moderate effects on the kidneys (desloratadine, cetirizine, fexofenadine) is possible.