My face and neck go red after drinking even a tiny bit of alcohol

[Titsywoo]

This is a fairly recent thing. I've only noticed it at home when I drink vodka and coke but it might happen when out and I don't realise.

Any ideas? Should I be concerned?

[fuzzywuzzy]

A guy I worked with use to get a flushed face when drinking even a small glass of alcohol. He said it was from an alcohol intolerance.

It didn't seem to hurt him just caused a red face, but he never drank like crazy due to the reaction he had.

[AuntieStella]

Alcohol induced facial flushing isn't uncommon, and I always thought it was an early sign of an intolerance.

[Titsywoo]

Eek! That can't be good.

[ChippyOikInTinsel]

This happens to my friend so she's just got in to the habit of not drinking. Probably very healthy........ but she said when she goes on a date she likes for them to have a drink, one of them needs to be relaxed.

[Chapsie]

Rosacea ?

[Littlefish]

I get this too. I was told it was due to the liver(?) not being able to metabolise the alcohol effectively. Not sure how true that is.

I tend to react to the first drink very quickly, but it then settles down. I only ever have a couple of drinks anyway, partly due to the fact that my face gets ridiculously red and hot!

[lljkk]

Friend lacks enzyme to digest alcohol, so he does that. Lifelong in his case, but I bet it can be acquired thing.

[rubybambini]

It's to do with your genetic make-up. Some people are more inclined to flushing when they drink alcohol, called the alcohol flush reaction. If you want to find out more, you can try doing something like 23andme. There's a piece on the NHS site about a study on flushing and intolerance: www.nhs.uk/news/2013/11November/Pages/Facial-flushing-is-a-sign-of-alcohol-intolerance.aspx

[throckenholt]

I get this (well I used to - haven't drunk for years now). I go very red in the face and feel very sleepy after ingesting very little alcohol - so I tend not to bother now.

I am sure it wasn't as bad when I was younger (eg at University), but certainly from mid 20s on.

[mercifulTehlu]

I get this too, sometimes worse than others. I'm a fairly allergic person and I think it is a kind of alcohol intolerance. I still drink, but not much because the flushing is uncomfortable and annoying.

[Titsywoo]

Hmm. Can it be dangerous? I'm tempted to start experimenting with types of booze to see if I always flush but I'll just stop if it is really bad for me.

[HyacinthBouquetNo1]

Is this not just a beer flush? My DH gets it all the time, i just tease him about it. Thought it was just the alcohol constricting and dilating certain blood vessels allowing blood to rush to the face and extremities

[makemineasnowball]

DH suffers from this and has worked out its something to do with a mix of sugar and alcohol in his case.

If he eats anything sweet prior to or during drinking he goes bright red. When it's really severe his heart starts racing and he gets a terrible headache.

So the way forward in his opinion is to cut out sugar rather than alcohol

[bobsalong]

I get it but only if it's likes meal or party where I'm sitting down in the warm and eating a lot. Usually worse with wine too.

It's a shame because in my days of pre-drinking before a night out I was fine, now I'm too old for that I'm doomed to have a tomato face almost every time I want to get drunk.

[exexpat]

I never used to get this, but in the past few years I have found that most red wine turns me bright red, and other alcohol to a lesser extent. I think there may be some link with menopause/perimenopause (I'm late 40s), but the fact that red wine is worse than anything else may be due to a histamine reaction (red wine contains a lot more histamines than white wine, beer etc). I do have various allergies, but haven't experimented to see if taking an antihistamine before drinking changes anything.

[AuntieStella]

exexpat I've been wondering about alcohol and the perimenopause too. Definitely linked in terms of more hot flushes when I've been drinking (especially red) and currently I've knocked booze on the head totally as it's been giving me headaches.

Which is a wordy way of saying that I think tolerance to alcohol can differ during a lifetime.