Here`s Why You Sneeze When Drinking Alcohol
Have you ever noticed sneezing more often when you drink alcohol? Well, this could be due to allergens. Allergens are substances which might cause an allergic reaction. Allergens are generally foreign bodies to the immune system. The immune system tries to get rid of foreign bodies in various ways to protect your health, and sneezing happens to be one of those methods. Alcohol contains some of these allergens either as preservatives or as ingredients causing you to sneeze while you drink.
A Few Words about Histamine
Once by-products from alcohol aren’t broken down quickly, they can build up to the point where they create a minor allergic reaction. Although these reactions may not cause serious harm to your health, they are worth noting. For example, beer and wine are high in histamine, a chemical that causes an allergic reaction and leads to nasal congestion, causing you to sneeze. Histamine is produced naturally by the body during digestion that does not occur fully or properly. Once histamine builds up in the body from an external source and doesn’t break down correctly, it triggers the immune system, resulting in sneezing and nasal congestion. Most individuals metabolize the histamine in these drinks. Still, it may be a lot harder if you are sensitive to histamine. If you are histamine intolerant, the answer to the question: why do I sneeze when I drink alcohol (even one glass of beer or wine) is obvious.
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Alcohol Tolerance
You might also sneeze during drinking if you have low alcohol tolerance, so it’s important to know this before having a drink. Alcohol beverages like beer are made from complex mixtures of grains, chemicals, and preservatives your body needs to break down. You are alcohol intolerant when your body lacks one of the active enzymes needed to process alcohol, alcohol dehydrogenase, or aldehyde dehydrogenase. Intolerance might be passed down in families; you may have relatives who experience the same issues while drinking alcohol.
Sulfites are preservatives used in alcoholic beverages in most countries; nonetheless, some people may have allergy-like reactions to the preservatives, making them wheeze or sneeze. In addition, some beverages contained in alcohol are allergens that serve as triggers for existing allergies. For example, red wine is more likely to cause a reaction than other alcoholic drinks because wine has a high sulfur preservative content. Common allergens in alcoholic beverages that can flare up allergies in people include barley, gluten, grapes, yeast, wheat. You should check the ingredients before drinking alcohol to see if you’re allergic to any of them.
Bottom Line
If you’ve been asking yourself, why do I sneeze when I drink alcohol? We hope this article answers your question; at ecosoberhouse.com, we are dedicated to helping you understand how to manage alcohol use without any negative effects on your health. Please reach out to us for more information.