# allergic to alcohol? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 3, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757 "2005-01-03T00:23:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/21 "2005-01-03T15:53:13Z")
Irish guy checking in. We call it the “Irish Tan.” Everyone I know that is light skinned and irish, gets similar symptoms. Granted, it’s much less now that I’ve “aged” a bit. 🙂 Like wine, I get better with age… more groans and aches, but much more mellow. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/22 "2005-01-03T15:54:11Z")
> [@Arwin](#): > > I’m not sure \*you \* do. It could kill you. Any online references? I googled and didn’t find any alcohol flushing = death cites. Yes, I’m sure if I forced down enough alcohol (and you sealed my mouth shut after I tried to puke my guts out) I might die but the whole point of flushing for me is to keep alcohol and me seperate (a 100 ml shot of scotch caused me to puke and I have never touched any alcohol since). For me, the reaction was so quick my friends _still_ bug me about it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/23 "2005-01-03T19:01:58Z")
> [@GusNSpot](#): > > Skipper ( A. Hale) ? Nah. The Professor mentioned his allergy in the episode when two Russian Cosmonauts landed on the island. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/24 "2005-01-03T20:11:31Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > I don’t think people understand just how bad this can get. I don’t just get red cheeks and ears. I go full blown deep red (full body but mostly from my belly button up). I start looking Native Indian and my pulse races (the last time I touched alcohol 7 years ago I took a shot and mentally figured my pulse…it was 23 beats per 10 seconds ~138 beats a min resting). > > I’m 100% Japanese and I know my dad carried the defective gene (my mom’s dad drank a cup of hot sake each night and didn’t turn red). > > I also can get a reaction from alcohol touching my skin but I’m thinking it has more to do with the junk in some drinks than the alcohol itself. Wow, that sounds pretty bad. At worst, my heartbeat quickens and I can feel my pulse throbbing in my face and gums, but it certainly takes more than one shot and I don’t get anywhere _near_ 138 beats/min. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/25 "2005-01-03T21:05:22Z")
> [@wolf in second hand clothing](#): > > Wow, that sounds pretty bad. At worst, my heartbeat quickens and I can feel my pulse throbbing in my face and gums, but it certainly takes more than one shot and I don’t get anywhere _near_ 138 beats/min. It worked 😃 I haven’t touched any strong alcohol for the past 7 years. I’ve sipped some beer and mixed drinks but only enough to gag at the taste of the alcohol (and remind me again why I don’t touch it). My sister also has the same “flushing” problem but she’s much better at drinking than I’ll ever be (she was a fairly decent drinker in her youth). It seems that it’s possible to adapt to it if you do it slowly. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2005, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/26 "2005-01-03T23:37:12Z")
Here, I drink beer regularly with impunity, but a bit of red wine, and I’m likely to be red and swollen in the face for an hour or two. For years it was not this way, but it just krept up over time. I’ve had more serious allergic reactions in other contexts, so I know the signals. So I just drink beer. Don’t mess with a serious allergy. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9d8465/32.png) [@wolf\_in\_second\_hand\_clothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_in_second_hand_clothing)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757/27 "2005-01-04T02:04:14Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > It worked 😃 I haven’t touched any strong alcohol for the past 7 years. I’ve sipped some beer and mixed drinks but only enough to gag at the taste of the alcohol (and remind me again why I don’t touch it). > > My sister also has the same “flushing” problem but she’s much better at drinking than I’ll ever be (she was a fairly decent drinker in her youth). It seems that it’s possible to adapt to it if you do it slowly. If you keep avoiding them, how are future asian generations ever going to build up the resistance that the westerners have? I feel like I’m taking one for the team and helping along my descendants! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/allergic-to-alcohol/282757.md?page=1)