Alcohol Intolerance?

[krustyballer16]

This seems like as good a place as any to ask and get some info...
 
So I drink a little more than I should probably. About 2 or 3 Rum or whiskey and sprites a night after work (between 4pm and 10pm). Have for the past 3 years or so.
Well about 2 weeks ago, one night, after about 4 drinks (seagrams 7 and sprite) my face feels kinda hot and my buddies notice its red and kinda splotchy or broken out. Then I look at my hands and they're really broken out and kinda irritated and itchy. So I go home and within an hour its cleared up enough to not be noticeable.
The next night I'm about 4 drinks in again, same seagrams and sprite, and I make a long island with sprite instead of coke and about half way thru drinking it my hands break out again and my face breaks out even more. My hands are more irritated this time but it clears up again within an hour or so.
 
Well last night I'm finishing my 3rd drink, I'd been drinking bacardi and some mango juice stuff and one seagrams and sprite and another bacardi and juice, and I notice my face is slightly broken out but my hands aren't that red yet. So I stop for the night and it clears up.
I don't ever really get drunk or drink to get drunk. I just like the taste of it.
 
When this is all happening I don't ever feel sick or light headed or any different. Just red and splotchy.
 
Anybody have any ideas? Could be an intolerance or allergy to something?
I haven't drank only sprite thru out the day to see if its the sprite doing it...
I'm 28 and 5' 6" 145lbs if that makes a differnce. Ha.
 
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[89 MJ]

How warm was it when you were drinking? Odd question, I know, but that is very similar to what I look like when my allergic reaction to the cold happens. 

[krustyballer16]

Like air temperature? Both times were inside peoples houses so around 68 or 70 id say.
But outside it was probably around 40*

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[Manche757]

Definitely looks like an allergic reaction. Not so sure it is to the alcohol although it might amplify what is going on. What other things have you eaten or had to drink since this started?  Handling any chemicals at work or home? Any medications? Some people breakout like that from certain antibiotics when they are exposed to the sun. Have you been in contact with poison ivy?  Time to visit your doc and take your clothes off and let him examine you.  Take pictures with your phone when you have the breakouts and take your phone with you when you visit him.

[coolwind57]

So beginning about 3-4 years ago, I began noticing that my skin would feel hot after even a beer or two.  Especially my face.  It had gotten progressively worse, with now even a single liquor drink, like a screwdriver or something, will have me waking in the middle of the night around 2am with my heart feeling like it'll come out of my chest.  Scary.  I think my blood pressure now goes nuts with this stuff in my veins.  One beer these days makes me scurrying around to find the nearest couch because I'll have no drive to do anything for the next 6-8 hours.  Not worth it. 

 

So, as much as I like some alcohols especially beer, I no longer drink.  Make fun of my all you want, but I've been hitting Sharps and O'douls to enjoy the taste of beer.   You'll likely be made fun of for it, but I'm 51 and could care less about what my friends say about it.  I routinely have them available at the many parties and socials my wife and I host.  

 

Here's one way to look at it:  That stuff is poison...literally.  You don't need that in your body.  Krusty, you're a young, smart dude.  You're having 2-3 drinks per night for the past 3-years?  If I'm not mistaken, you're still in your 20s.  Dude.  Just my 2-cents but that's a slow poisoning.  Kinda like me. 

 

I was in the military for 20-years.  I abused alcohol, as that was the cool thing to do along with chasing skirts.  I never became an alcoholic, praise the LORD, but I most certainly abused it...routinely.

 

I see my "allergy" to alcohol as a blessing.  I no longer desire it.  The downsides to drinking it (general lethargy to 2am scary heart panics) doesn't even come close to breaking even with the enjoyment of it anymore.  I'm shooting to get another 30-years at least out of this body.   Healthy, fulfilling years.

 

This all could be your body telling you that booze aint cool any more.  Your body may be trying to save your life.  

 

Again, my 2-cents my young Brother.  

      

[Manche757]

17 minutes ago, coolwind57 said:

..... with now even a single liquor drink, like a screwdriver or something, will have me waking in the middle of the night around 2am with my heart feeling like it'll come out of my chest.  Scary.  I think my blood pressure now goes nuts with this stuff in my veins. 

Good attitude with alcohol.  The physiology, as you probably know, is that alcohol dilates your blood vessels which causes your blood pressure to drop.  That in turn causes your heart to race to keep the bp up.  Your body might be more sensitive to vasodilation  from alcohol than other people might be. Or it could indicate some unknown condition.  When death is impending, blood pressure drops and the heart races to keep bp up. In a weakened body, it races until it fails and death occurs.  You might want to have an exercise stress test if you have not already.  Avoid the widow maker. 

[Pete M]

sounds like a good time to make a doctors appt.   

[gogmorgo]

I’ve had mild reactions to some hand sanitizers recently, the ones with some kind of lotion or moisturizer added.

Usually with an allergic reaction the doctors will ask about new things you’ve been exposed to. It’s possible to suddenly develop an allergy to something you’ve had around you all your life, but I don’t think it’s too common. The only person I know it’s happened to got it as a side effect to chemotherapy... as if getting cancer at 29 wasn’t bad enough for her. She also didn’t just develop one or two allergies, suddenly she was allergic to basically everything.

[NHMJXJ]

It is most certainly a reaction to something.  I work for an otolaryngologist who also treats allergies (I'm on immunotherapy myself for

environmental allergies) and whatcha got there is Urticaria.  You need to get it checked out.  They'll want to know if you've been exposed

to anything new.  Your description of reaction and recovery will be important info too.

 

Edit: As an aside, Chemotherapy wreaks havoc on the immune system and so, it thinks everything is an antigen. 

[coolwind57]

I'd discovered around 2007 that I have IgA nephropathy.  My levels indicate that I am at the lowest levels to officially say I have the condition.  Since the original diagnosis, my indicator levels have remained low praise God.  My doctor had suggested that I drop alcohol consumption along with healthier eating anyways.  So like I said, my reaction to alcohol that began a couple of years ago is a blessing....I don't need it in my body anyway (and neither do any of us, really). 

 

I've been on blood pressure meds since around 2007 as well.  I feel that we monitor my body well and definitely routinely.  Zero issues with blood pressure since meds--I'm sure it would sky-rocket if I tested shortly after a high-ball or a shot or something.  Be interesting to see, but I'm not that interested to do a test.

 

Goes without saying, but everyone my age should be making a doc's visit consistently routine.  And Krusty, you ought to get your butt in and have that looked at.  Probably a very low chance at your age but you may find that what you're seeing may be an indicator of something other than a simple food/beverage allergy.  

         

[Sir Sam]

Nothing wrong with not drinking. Anyone who makes jokes or passes judgment against someone for not drinking ought to be chastised. 

 

We all know it would be better for us if we didn’t drink. Goto a doctor, see what they say, and consider that this might be the time to not drink. 

[BeatCJ]

My primary thought is it's probably best to get a real diagnosis instead of relying on your "fake internet friends". I would be concerned about some underlying condition. As a 32+ year Fire/EMS responder, I have seen a lot of people with bad results due to alcohol. I also have quite a bit of wreckage in my family. It may be something else, but you have too much to look forward to, don't ignore it.

[krustyballer16]

Going to the doctor requires finding a doctor lol. I havent been to the doctor since my hernia like 6 years ago and that was about 5 years of dealing with the hernia.

But I'm gonna do some experiments this week;
Drink only sprite one day snd see if thats it.
Make a drink with something other than sprite
Make a drink with sprite and see how long, if at all, it takes for the redness to come on.
Just for more details to tell the doctor eventually.

Thanks guys!

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[BeatCJ]

19 minutes ago, krustyballer16 said:

Going to the doctor requires finding a doctor lol. I havent been to the doctor since my hernia like 6 years ago and that was about 5 years of dealing with the hernia.

Yeah, all of us old b@$t4rds keep one in our contacts. By 28 I was already dealing with high blood pressure, so I had one. Another piece of unsolicited advice, find a doc you like. It's worth the effort. And for me, I have had better luck with a PA, they seem to listen better.

[NHMJXJ]

6 minutes ago, BeatCJ said:

find a doc you like

 

I would second that.  A dentist too!  Might be difficult at 28 but, find one that's younger than you.  That way the chances are you'll expire

before them.  I had the same PCP for 24 years and I've had 6 since he retired.  No one stays at internal medicine practices. 

[rokinn]

Do drink the sugared or the Zero?

[krustyballer16]

Do drink the sugared or the Zero?

Sprite? Regular

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[schardein]

11 hours ago, coolwind57 said:

So beginning about 3-4 years ago, I ...

Thanks for sharing that experience. I also served a career in the military, and was routinely abusing alcohol before I was of legal drinking age.  I noticed about 5 years ago that  even a few drinks left me with a hangover the next day, similar to what I might have after a Friday night and a case of beer when I was younger.  Because of that, I rarely drink anymore.  I always have a few the second week of Nov, and occasionally when friends are over, but I can count the number of times I drink a year on one hand.

[Manche757]

13 hours ago, krustyballer16 said:

 ...... but it clears up again within an hour or so.
 

What are you washing your hands with?   With Covid precautions and washing hands more, that might be the culprit and causing contact dermatitis.  An hour and half is pretty quick to clear when alcohol would clear your system about an ounce an hour.  Are your 4 drinks measured ounces or a heavy pour from the bottle?  At 145 lbs, you are polluted for several hours.

[krustyballer16]

I only wash my hands after using the bathroom. Don't use sanitizer really. And they're heavy pours I know. Probably 3 oz a drink.

I haven't messed with any new chemicals or food or anything new. It seems random, I havent noticed a pattern in it yet. Trying to figure that out as I type...

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[Manche757]

10 minutes ago, krustyballer16 said:

Probably 3 oz a drink.

A little quick math: At 145lbs you are at legal limit with 2 oz in an hour. Consuming 12 oz in 1 hour puts you at 6 times the legal limit. It would take 12 hours for your body to break down that much alcohol. At 11 hours, you are borderline legal to drive home. Still something else may be the cause. As alcohol breaks down, it creates formaldehyde.  You are embalming yourself

[fiatslug87]

??? "Jerry finds a section on his condition and figures out that his hives came from an allergic reaction to Benzene, commonly used as a metal cleaner."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slicer

[krustyballer16]

So 2 weeks later and haven't had another breakout...

Did all kinds of tests over the days with food and drinks and nothing!

Not sure at all what it was

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[Pete M]

very weird   yay? 

 

I do despise things that magically fix themselves.  makes it hard to do a failure analysis and learn anything from it. 

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

I had something similar happen recently. After three days in a row of drinking throughout the day (never to excess, just keeping a small buzz for hours) during a vacation I broke out in hives and severe itching similar to yours. An hour later and it was all gone.

 

My bet would be toxic build-up with your constant drinking. The testing you have done gave your body a few days to get back to normal. If you get back to the standard drinking it will probably come back in a week or two. Not that I recommend that as a final testing procedure, but it could be definitive.