Have you ever experienced swelling of your tongue or throat or trouble breathing after drinking beer?Do you think you are susceptible to beer? There are chances you might be sensitive to a particular ingredient in your beer rather than the whole drink.
Homebrewers these days use different ingredientsto infuse flavors to their favorite beverage. However, these ingredients are likely to cause a side effect to the beer lovers like you. Many times, people drink beer either unaware of the fact that it contains an allergen or they discover a new allergy to an ingredient they usually do not consume.
You might be able to eat the ingredients present in beer in your food, but once it is with alcohol, it changes everything. Alcohol makes it easy to absorb allergens from the gut, which lowers the trigger for allergy-like reactions. True beer allergies are unusual. There are so many additives in homebrewthat it is difficult to realize what caused the reaction.
Most of the time, it might just be food intolerance and not a real allergy.
Sometimes, people experience allergic reactions like swelling, difficulty in breathing or swallowing, vomiting, and diarrhea after consuming a beer. They tend to think of it as a “beer allergy,” which might not be the case every time. Many ingredients might be responsible for upsetting your body. To rule out your chances of being allergic to beer, you might try other brands of beer.
For example, people who cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in barley and wheat, or people who have Celiac disease are likely to show adverse reactions tothe ingestion of gluten. Unfortunately, as beer is traditionally prepared from barley, many brands are no-fly zones forthem. It may produce unusual pain in the abdomen, constipation, or diarrhea.
Thankfully, manyhome brewerieshave started manufacturing gluten-free beer using grains like sorghum, rice, or buckwheat.
Common symptoms of intolerance or allergy
The symptoms of food intolerance are generally self-diagnosable. You may experience pain in the abdomen with nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, heartburn, or indigestion. While allergy symptoms also include hives, swelling, or blockage of airways. Severe reactions to allergies can even be fatal.
What to do after you encounter adverse reactions?
There are three possibilities if you experience unusual symptoms after drinking beer.
- If you do not suffer from the same symptoms, after trying another beer variety, then the chances are that you are not allergic to beer. You might be having a food intolerance for a particular additive. You can talk to the craft brewery about its process and ingredients or seek medical help to rule out the substance troubling you. Most cases fall in this likelihood. You can still enjoy beer. All you have to do is pay proper attention to the labels and avoid that ingredient.Home brewerieshave a lot of assorted beer flavors to choose your next favorite drink from.
- If you continue developing symptoms even after trying different brands, you might want to see your physician. For mild itching and hives, an over-the-counter, non-sedative anti-histamine may suffice. But, if you experience severe life-threatening symptoms of anaphylaxis, you must seek immediate medical attention.The odds are that you might have to give up beer entirely and switch to something else.
- If the symptoms persist even after switching from beer to wine, whiskey, or some other alcoholic beverage, you might be allergic to alcohol. Don’t worry, the chances of it are as rare as hen’s teeth. But, if you are one of them, we are sorry that you might not be able to drink alcohol ever again.
Calm yourself down. It might not be as bad as you think it is. Sometimes, you see those symptoms are due to the medicines you take. But, please tell your doctor about the same and get a proper diagnosis done.If you’ve undergone severe anaphylactic reactions, it is essential to know which ingredient caused it. You should also ask your doctor that you need to carry a prescription epinephrine pen. With a little care, you can still enjoy your favorite beverage,wholeheartedly. Cheers!