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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffRisk factors for alcohol intolerance or other reactions to alcoholic beverages include:
- Being of Asian descent. Some people of Asian descent have flushing and other intolerance symptoms after drinking alcohol.
- Having an allergy to grains or to another food.
- Having Hodgkin lymphoma.
- Taking certain antibiotic or antifungal medications.
- Taking disulfiram (Antabuse) for alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence. When you drink, disulfiram can cause reactions that include flushing, racing heartbeat, nausea and vomiting.
References
- Armentia A. Adverse reactions to wine: Think outside the bottle. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2008;8:266.
- Fazio SB. Approach to flushing in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Feb. 28, 2012.
- Ehlers I. Ethanol as a cause of hypersensitivity reactions to alcoholic beverages. Clinical & Experimental Allergy. 2002;32:1235.
- Stadie V, et al. Itching attacks with generalized hyperhydrosis as initial symptoms of Hodgkin's disease. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. 2003;17:559.
- Cianferoni A, et al. Food-induced anaphylaxis. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America. 2012;32:165.
- Nakagawa Y, et al. Urticarial reactions caused by ethanol. Allergology International. 2006;55:411.
- Sticherling M, et al. Alcohol: Intolerance syndromes, urticarial and anaphylactoid reactions. Clinics in Dermatology. 1999;17:417.
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