image by: Diana Light For Unsplash+

HWN Suggests

Here's Why Certain Alcohol Makes Your Face Feel Weird

After a glass or two of red wine, in particular, my face would suddenly become bright red—an annoying detail, sure, but the real annoyance was just how hot it felt after drinking. Sometimes, this was accompanied by a slightly stuffy nose, too. Am I allergic to red wine? I would ask myself, only to answer my own question the next time I drank wine with no side effects whatsoever. Then, as soon as I’d experience the flushed feeling again, the same questions arose. I decided to talk to some experts to find out exactly what was happening to my face when I drank alcohol.

read full article

Featured

 Alcohol Flush: Red Face After Drinking? Here's How You Can Stop It

The consumption of alcohol in some individuals causes blotches of erythema on their face and neck region, and sometimes on the entire body. Such an event is called an alcohol flush reaction.

 Asian flush, explained

The science of why alcohol makes so many Asians turn red.

 Get a Red Face After Drinking? You May Have a Higher Risk of Heart Disease

A new study has found that a gene variant that causes a flush reaction after alcohol consumption also increases inflammation and impacts circulation. This finding could explain why individuals carrying this gene variant also have an increased risk of developing a common type of heart disease. The study also identified a common drug that may be able to mitigate this impact.

Articles of Interest

'Asian Flush' Spurs Quest for Cures

When alcohol is metabolized, it is broken down to acetaldehyde. That toxin is broken down further by an enzyme called ALDH2, producing acetic acid. Studies show that an inactive variant of ALDH2, common to many Asians, makes it difficult for drinkers to rid their bodies quickly of acetaldehyde.

Alcohol flushing tied to Alzheimer's

A common mutation that causes facial flushing and inflammation in response to alcohol can lead to biochemical changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease, researchers say.

Do you get red in the face while drinking?

Medicines called histamine-2 (H2) blockers can control flushing. These drugs work by slowing the breakdown of alcohol into acetaldehyde in your blood. Common H2 blockers include: Pepcid Zantac Tagamet. The drugs we commonly call antihistamines (Zyrtec, Telfast and Claratyne) target the H1 histamine receptor and they have no effect on facial flushing caused by Alcohol.

I Tried to Cure My 'Asian Flush' Using an Elixir I Found on the Internet

Every time I drink my face turns bright red. Could a concoction called Before Elixir solve my problem?

Red in the Face

Bright red skin after drinking, caused by dilated capillaries, is almost certainly an example of the alcohol flush reaction, related to the incomplete metabolism of alcohol. The condition is often genetic and is especially common in people of Chinese, Japanese and Korean descent.

Red-faced from drinking? It could be an evolutionary advantage

Lots of people get flushed in the face when they feel embarrassed, but for many Asians it’s the facial flush itself that can be embarrassing. About half of all people of Asian descent share a genetic trait that causes a prompt reddening of the face in response to drinking alcohol — the result of an enzyme deficiency that interferes with alcohol metabolism and causes the temporary build-up in the body of a toxic chemical product.

The Alcohol Flushing Response: An Unrecognized Risk Factor for Esophageal Cancer from Alcohol Consumption

Approximately 36% of East Asians (Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans) show a characteristic physiological response to drinking alcohol that includes facial flushing, nausea, and tachycardia. This so-called alcohol flushing response (also known as “Asian flush” or “Asian glow”) is predominantly due to an inherited deficiency in the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase.

What A Red Face While Drinking Really Means

If your face tends to turn red when you drink, that hot, flushed feeling could be the least of your problems. People who experience facial flushing from alcohol are more likely to have high blood pressure, finds a new study from Chungnam National University in South Korea. Red wine and dark spirits seem to be the most redness-inducing, but all types of alcohol can have an effect.

Why do people with East Asian heritage get flushed after drinking alcohol?

If your face goes red when drinking alcohol, you’re not alone. More than one in three people with East Asian heritage (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) experience facial flushing when drinking beer, wine or spirits.

Why do some wines cause a flushing or redness on the face and neck?

People who have alcohol flush reaction do not have enough of the enzyme that metabolizes alcohol in their bodies. As a result, when they drink alcohol, they get an excess accumulation of acetaldehyde, a component of alcohol, which is responsible for flushing or swelling of the skin accompanied by itching or irritation, headaches and/or light-headedness.

Resources

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Some people who drink alcohol experience an unpleasant phenomenon called the alcohol flush reaction. The primary feature of the alcohol flush reaction is a red face—or flush—but it can also be accompanied by hives, nausea, low blood pressure, the worsening of asthma, or an episode of migraine. Of particular significance, the alcohol flush reaction is linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Some people who drink alcohol experience an unpleasant phenomenon called the alcohol flush reaction. The primary feature of the alcohol flush reaction is a red face—or flush—but it can also be accompanied by hives, nausea, low blood pressure, the worsening of asthma, or an episode of migraine. Of particular significance, the alcohol flush reaction is linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer.