Occasionally, sneezing is no big deal after a meal and is not a health concern. You may notice you sneeze from time to time if you eat spicy foods or have seasonal allergies. However, if you find that your interventions do not help, discuss them sneeze after alcohol with your healthcare provider. Few things can be more frustrating than enjoying a drink with friends only to be interrupted by incessant sneezing. Alcohol-induced sneezing is a peculiar phenomenon that affects a small percentage of individuals.
Can everyone experience sneezing after drinking alcohol?
While the main ingredient in beer is water, people with beer allergy symptoms are often sensitive to beer ingredients like wheat, yeast, sulfites, and histamine. That runny or stuffy nose you get if you’re intolerant to alcohol may feel and seem like allergies, but it’s not. As we now know, alcohol intolerance is an issue with metabolizing alcohol — not an overzealous immune system.
When to speak with a doctor
- Some individuals may experience sneezing even after consuming small amounts.
- You may also have a food sensitivity rather than an allergy.
- That’s because beer contains histamine, produced during fermentation (yeast converts sugars to alcohol).
- You may notice that you sneeze when you eat spicy or hot foods or after consuming a large meal.
- A few alcohols are less likely to trigger symptoms in people with alcohol intolerance.
- If left untreated, an allergic reaction can quickly become worse.
- These problems make it difficult for the body to break down alcohol properly.
An alcohol allergy occurs when the immune system overreacts to alcohol entering the body. If you have symptoms after drinking beer, but not after drinking wine or other alcoholic beverages, it’s not alcohol intolerance. More likely, you’re allergic to or sensitive to a particular ingredient in that beer.
What are the symptoms of a beer allergy?
Allergies occur when the body responds to an allergen (for example, an ingredient in beer). When this happens, your immune system overreacts because it sees the allergen as foreign. Your body creates antibodies to fight the allergen the way it would a pathogen.
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If you’re looking for a way to prevent sneezing when you drink, try making your cocktails with fresh fruit juices instead of using pre-made mixes. This will help reduce the number of histamines in your drink and make it less likely to trigger a sneeze. If you find that certain foods make you sneeze, such as strawberries or shellfish, try avoiding them before you drink. This will help to reduce the number of histamines in your system and make it less likely that they’ll trigger a sneeze. You can also get allergy testing to check whether you have a true allergy to alcohol. Allergy testing can also tell you if you have an allergy to another component of alcoholic beverages like wheat, grapes, or barley.
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But there aren’t any tests for sulfite or histamine sensitivity. The difference between the two has to do with how the body reacts to alcohol.
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- This will help reduce the number of histamines in your drink and make it less likely to trigger a sneeze.
- True alcohol allergy (versus an allergic reaction to ingredients in alcoholic drinks) is very rare.
- If a person is allergic to a particular ingredient found in some drinks, they could switch to drinks that do not contain it.