allergic to rum?

[stephanieg1978]

everytime i drink rum i wake up in the middle of the night very congested and throughout the whole next day...could it be an allergic reaction?

[Dr Rajput]

Hi, welcome to the forum, alcohol is known to cause flushing in some individuals. You are not allergic to alcohol. It causes direct vasodilation of the skin, related either to alcohol directly or its metabolite, acetaldehyde.  Alcohol is oxidized to acetaldehyde in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). This acetaldehyde is further converted to acetic acid by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase. In some individuals due to abnormal or deficient acetaldehyde dehydrogenase will cause accumulation of acetaldehyde which is a potent trigger of flushing.

In addition, fermented alcoholic beverages such as wine contain vasoactive substances (such as tyramine, histamine and sulfites) that contribute to the flushing response. I hope this helped you. Take care and regards.

[jenzbugrulz1978]

I am not a doctor, but I get the same symptoms when I drink any type of beer....congested, sneezy all the next day and have also wondered if I am allergic to hops. Very well possible!

[junglebot]

Yeah, that sounds like a mild allergic reaction.  Do you know if the same thing happens if you drink brandy, rum, single-malt scotch, or bourbon?  If so, you might be having an adverse reaction to the congeners.  If it's just rum, you might be allergic to some of the additives.  For example, most rums use darker sugars than other types of alcohol.  If the same thing happens when you eat molasses, then that's probably what's going on.  Reactions can get worse over time, so you might want to avoid rum in larger quantities.  :(