I think I have developed an allergy to red wine? Anyone else have this problem?

[Rose in BC]

The last couple times I've had a glass of red wine, including tonight, I get very congested in my sinuses.

 

I hope I don't have an allergy to red wine.

 

The other weird allergy I deal with is garlic. And I love to cook. With garlic I get blazing headaches (which I also seem to get from aspartame lately.)

 

Garlic and red wine . . . I couldn't just have a plain hay fever allergy.

 

I've had the garlic thing for years, the aspartame/red wine thing is recent.

[Nestof3]

No, but I wish I did! I could have refused a few hundred calories just now. :lol:

[Rose in BC]

No, but I wish I did! I could have refused a few hundred calories just now. :lol:

 

That's funny. I was just going to post again to say I'm thinking of doing a test :) . . . but of course you're right about the calories. (I guess I'll go eat some chips :).

[Nestof3]

That's funny. I was just going to post again to say I'm thinking of doing a test :) . . . but of course you're right about the calories. (I guess I'll go eat some chips :).

 

Oh, did I mention I also had some peanuts. They are my favorite combination right now. ugh

[JennifersLost]

Hey Rose -

 

How are things going? I was thinking about you today.

 

I don't have that kind of red wine allergy, but I am really sensitive to the sulfites in wine, so I rarely drink it. It isn't worth the headache.

 

Getting headaches from garlic just stinks, though.

[Peela]

Yes, I have an allergy to the preservatives they put in wines. Its not the wine itself. Cheap wine has given me asthma, and I am not even asthmatic.

Fortunately I dont drink much. If I rarely buy wine, I buy stuff without preservatives (organic usually). But that's less than once a year.

[Rose in BC]

Hey Rose -

 

How are things going? I was thinking about you today.

 

I don't have that kind of red wine allergy, but I am really sensitive to the sulfites in wine, so I rarely drink it. It isn't worth the headache.

 

Getting headaches from garlic just stinks, though.

:)

 

Things are looking up here. My dh did some retraining and has found some work here in town. We don't know how long it will last but it will give him experience in his new training. I am still working full time. Everyday is an adventure and everyday I wake up wondering "what's today got in store for us". . .

[Lucy in Australia]

It probably is the preservatives in the wine. Have you tried preservative-free or organic wine? We found an old Italian guy who makes his own red wine. It's preservative-free, so you need to drink it fairly quickly, and a little lower in alcohol than the store-bought ones. I sometimes get headaches/stuffy noses with regular wines, but this one is great.

[Pippen]

When I was young my allergies were severe and I couldn't tolerate wine or beer. At first it was a little congestion but then it caused headaches so bad that I seriously contemplated a trip to ER.

 

I never drank much to begin with, but gave it up after that. 25 years and thousands of dollars of allergy treatments later, I can drink an occasional glass of wine but I'm still cautious and usually would only have a glass if I'm needing some for cooking.

[jplain]

My mom cannot tolerate garlic, onions, peppers, and wine, especially red.

So I'd say the combination of wine and garlic isn't so strange.

[hsbaby]

I wouldn't say I have an allergy, but I can't drink it anymore. I can feel a headache coming on after just a few sips. Too bad because I love me some good, dark Pinot. I can't stand white wine, so I don't know if I would have the same reaction.

[Tiramisu]

Mom and grandma developed sulfite allergies in middle age. Then, came my time, too. :(

 

I didn't drink red wine for a few years. Then, a month or two ago, I tried an organic wine without added sulfites and I was absolutely fine. Be careful, though, some wines use organic grapes and still add sulfites!!?? Some bottles say "no detectable sulfites," and some don't, but I've been fine with all that don't have them added. The bottle may also say, "no preservatives."

 

My major symptom was a wheezy feeling, but my friend who started getting headaches from red wine was headache-free with the organic, no sulfites-added red wine.

[rafiki]

.

[Nestof3]

I know many people with allergies to the sulfites. I've seen quite a few sulfite-free wines. Well, I guess they have no added sulfites, so I guess you can still have a reaction to these as well.

 

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SULFITE-FREE WINE.

Totally sulfite-free wines are an accident of nature; but wines low in sulfites or free of added sulfites do exist. Let us explain. Sulfites are a natural byproduct of the fermentation process. Fermenting yeasts present on all grape skins generate naturally occurring sulfites in amounts ranging from 6 to 40 parts per million (ppm.).

 

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

so I switched to hard liquor (bourbon and coke zero). ;)

[MamaBearTeacher]

I have these same allergies. They might be related. The wine has sulphites and the garlic has sulphur. Maybe someone who understands chemistry can explain this better. There are other things that have sulphur like broccoli which don't bother me though I think garlic has more sulphur.

[mcconnellboys]

Yes! It's not with every bottle or type of wine I try, but sometimes red wines will knock me for a loop. I think it's some of the sulfates, sulphides, or perhaps some of the additives that occasionally will give me a bad reaction.

[GWOB]

so I switched to hard liquor (bourbon and coke zero). ;)

 

:lol:

 

Rose, I don't know that I could handle an allergy to red wine. That would be very bad here.:grouphug:

[LauraGB]

The sulfites would be my first guess, too. Every once in a while, I'll get a bottle from which I'll drink just 2 glasses, and all the next day I'll feel like I got hit by a truck (when usually I can drink the same amt or more from a bottle from different regions or different grapes/combinations and feel just fine the next day). Which led me to consider the possibility of pesticides. I know some vineyards spray the snot out of their grapes, and I kind of wonder what chemical reaction happens during the fermentation with grapes that are heavily sprayed.

[Rose in BC]

My mom cannot tolerate garlic, onions, peppers, and wine, especially red.

So I'd say the combination of wine and garlic isn't so strange.

 

That's very interesting that your mom has the same combo of allergies.

[Mejane]

The sulfites would be my first guess, too. Every once in a while, I'll get a bottle from which I'll drink just 2 glasses, and all the next day I'll feel like I got hit by a truck (when usually I can drink the same amt or more from a bottle from different regions or different grapes/combinations and feel just fine the next day).

 

Me too, Laura. I can drink a whole bottle of sulfite-free wine and feel fine next day, but a few glasses of preserved wine give me that sulfite hangover.

[Tiramisu]

I wonder if there is a difference between the sulfites that naturally develop in wines and the ones they add. It seems as though there must be from gauging people's reactions to the added sulfites.

[catz]

The last couple times I've had a glass of red wine, including tonight, I get very congested in my sinuses.

 

I hope I don't have an allergy to red wine.

 

The other weird allergy I deal with is garlic. And I love to cook. With garlic I get blazing headaches (which I also seem to get from aspartame lately.)

 

Garlic and red wine . . . I couldn't just have a plain hay fever allergy.

 

I've had the garlic thing for years, the aspartame/red wine thing is recent.

 

Just a thought - has it been the SAME kind of red wine every time? There are a couple brands of red wine that cause problems for me. But if I get "decent" stuff, it's usually fine. The cheaper wines have more impurities.

 

Hope you aren't! I would be very sad without a glass of wine now and again.

 

Edit - I wrote this before reading the thread, so looks like others have had similar experiences. Good to know.

[sparrow]

so I switched to hard liquor (bourbon and coke zero). ;)

 

 

:lol:

 

I went through a Sea Breeze (vodka, cranberry, & grapefruit juice) kick a few months ago.

 

We've cut back our imbibing considerably over the past few months. I started feeling guilty about my desire to unwind with a glass of wine (or 2), or a beer (or 2), every night. Tension Tamer tea has been good for me and our budget :001_smile:.

 

But as for the topic at hand, my husband has found he can't drink wine at all any more. He will always have a headache, even after one glass. We're not sure what exactly is causing it. It can be cheap, expensive, white, red, homemade. If it's wine, he'll get a headache. He has just given up and will typically just drink beer. Or hard liquor :lol:.