Wine allergy problems kind of ruin the fun now, don’t they!
See below for more information about wine allergies.
This section also has extensive comments. You can learn a lot by reading about other people’s experiences. Feel free to add your own comments.
This section is about wine and allergies.
People who are allergic to wine may be sensitive to one or more of the following substances:
You will probably find the following comments to be very interesting. Go ahead and read them, and feel free to add your own.
When you are done, you can answer the Allergy Details Wine Survey. I want to find out what wines cause people the most trouble. This will be very helpful to you as more people leave comments.
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Stomach ache from grapes and wine
For my entire life I could eat grapes. And I used to love drinking wine, mostly red. Then I got pregnant with my first child and whenever I ate grapes (or raisins, one time even bread that had raisin juice in it!) I would get this awful stomach ache that would have me doubled over in pain for several hours. After I had my first child, I tried a half a glass of red wine and it gave me the same problem. So now I find that if I eat any grape product I have this problem.
The strange thing is that since I was 9 I couldn’t eat bananas or scrambled eggs (eggs cooked other ways or in baked goods were fine) – they would cause the same stomach ache. When I got pregnant the first time I was able to eat bananas and eggs again and could through my second pregnancy. I just had my second child and now can’t eat any of them without getting a really bad stomach ache that lasts for hours. Wine still causes problems – both red and white, and champagne too.
The strange thing is that occasionally I’ll eat something else that will cause the same stomach ache but it’s inconsistent (one time it was kiwi, another it was watermelon, sometimes pineapple, another time I don’t know what it was). I’m almost afraid to eat fruit!
My doctor says it’s just a food intolerance, but I don’t get it. Why do all these healthy foods cause problems for me? I read the earlier comments about eating a lot of a food and having that cause problems, but I’ve never really done that.
Is there something else that might be going on? Or is there anything I can do to make this better?
# glasses of Red Wine and a BIG headache the next day
Hi, I have noticed that every time I drink 3 glasses of red wine I am exhausted the next day and unable to focus. I will eat dinner and drink 1 glass per hour or maybe 3 glasses in a 4 hour time frame. I am fine the night of and during my socializing but the next day, I am unable to get out of bed and all I want to do is stay in bed. Driving or focusing sets off a panic attack.
I am allergic to wheat and most grains. I will find out tomorrow if I am allergic to yeast as well. But do you have any suggestions on what I could do to be able to drink red delicious wine?
I can not drink beer or hard liquor (all the ingredients in beer make me sick and I get super intoxicated with hard liquor). I am also very sensitive to sugar. I weigh about 113 lbs.
Probably a yeast allergy
Hi Claudia,
I know exactly how you feel. I stopped drinking wine for many years.
I re-introduced it a few years ago and found I could drink a small amount.
Then I started taking Epicor and that may have helped because I’ve found I can have a glass or two.
So my advice to you is:
1) Avoid ALL yeast for at least a year.
2) Try Epicor
This may work as well for you as it did me – or not, can’t promise anything, but I do hope my experience is helpful to you.
I was just tested for allergy to phenol and found that I am allergic to it. This prompted an article about phenol.
It turns out there is phenol and related compounds in wine. This may explain the problems for some people with a wine reaction.
I have not always had issues with drinking but just in the past two years I have had some very bad reactions to wine. I suffered from migraine headaches, stomach cramps, sleeplessness, and nausea. Sometimes the reactions would be so bad that I would spend most of the next day in bed.
I decided to do some research and found that what I apparently had was an allergy to wine. I thought, if it is an allergy, shouldn’t allergy medication work?
So I took a generic version of Claritan and presto, no more symptoms. I take two 10 ml allergy pills a half hour before drinking and I can drink as much wine as I want and wake up feeling refreshed. No more sickness!
I’ve been suffering from hives since March, 2010. It was very severe at first. I eliminated sugar for about a month and symptoms improved. I am constantly on Zrytec at night and take enzymes, but have reactions when I drink any alcohol, especially cheap Merlot wine. Recently, I had no reaction to Cabernat Sauvignon and wondered if it was just a fluke. Whiskey I have immediate reaction with swelling of lips. Chocolate of any amount seems to swell up my lips as well. How do I find out specifically which sugars are triggering the hives or swelling of my lips and eyes at times? I’ve been to an internist, endocrynologist and an allergist and want to figure this out on my own so I don’t incur more expenses. Both of my parents have had sugar related anti-filactic shock being rushed to a hospital so I know its from sugar, but its very hard to eliminate all sugars. Any suggestions?
It sounds more complicated than just a straight reaction to sugar. For example, there is not (normally) sugar in whiskey, as far as I know.
I suggest you avoid refined sugar (it isn’t good for anyone), alcohol (I’m truly sorry to say). Reduce or eliminate refined carbohydrates (anything with flour).
Also, read the Elimination Diet post.
I had a glass of Yellow Tail Shiraz and my face turned red and itchy and I had hives on my face before I could even finish my glass. I was drinking water for most of the day and didn’t eat anything new. It had to be the wine. I have had Yellow Tail Merlot before and many other wines and this has never happened. What could be different about this one wine?
Some of you may be allergic to the preservatives in these wines. Preservatives can be from eggs or fish. A friend used to get migtraines after drinking wine and he found that wines without preservatives caused him no after effects. Some Italian and Argentinian wines have no preservatives. If I am permitted on this site there is an Italian wine called Rimoli with no preservative and costs under $20 usually
About one month ago I ate some red grapes at the same time I was having my evening 7 ounces of red wine. In just a few minutes I developed a gas bloating in my stomach that within 2 hours developed into extreme pain. Vomiting was also part of the problem, but it was insignificant compared to the pain, the worst I have had in my 64 years. My wife took me to the ER. After one hour of waiting to be seen, I rated my pain at a 10+. Any chance the grapes eaten at the same time I drank my usual wine could have caused such a severe pain. I was hospitallized two nights, and we have never really determined the cause of this problem. I was treated for vomiting and pain. We ate the same grapes alone and drank the same wine after the experience with no problem.
It seems like whenever I drink wine anymore, I suddenly feel a tightness in my chest and develop a runny nose and cough. It has happened with Arbor Mist, Red Cat, and even a home-made Chardonay. This has also happened with lemonade vodka. I haven’t really had any other alcohol besides the occasional beer (beer doesn’t seem to bother me) and I mostly drink water or milk. Could this be from an allergy? and if so, what could possibly be common between the wine and vodka that is not with the beer?
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