Alcohol And Asthma

Asthma is the disease of lungs in which shortness of breath is experienced due to inflammation and spasmodic actions of the cells in lungs. Common symptoms are wheezing, difficulty in breathing, tightness in the chest etc. The disease is caused because of many reasons but it is one of those diseases that once contracted is affected sharply with a number daily actions or surroundings of the patient. May it be smoke in the air or a little congested area, an asthma attack is triggered immediately. Also, anything unfavorable ingested also may help in worsening the situation and should be taken care of and avoided.

One of this unfavorable pairing is that of alcohol and asthma. People who are frequent in their drinking habits and have asthma as well have many a times observed to have a worsening of their asthma after drinking. It seems that asthma alcohol grouping is not a suitable one for these people. Normally it is observed that after drinking the normal asthma symptoms such as chest tightness, wheezing, sneezing and stuffiness escalate; especially the next day and the patients have more need of the inhaler than normal. Some of the patients also complain that the symptoms are worse especially after drinking red or white wine, but that is not proven.

In New York Times an article was published in 2010 which linked asthma alcohol and allergies, thus confirming the suspicions about alcohol negatively affecting the asthma in patients. Now, most of the doctors also recommend the avoiding of alcohol in asthmatic people due to its adverse effects. But the question that arises now is what are the main factors that link alcohol and asthma for the worse?

One of main reasons seen is the existence of a natural product in the alcoholic beverages that bear a resemblance to histamine and is produced during the natural fermentation process. This histamine can cause an allergic reaction in the body as it is the chemical produced in the body when allergic reaction is to be generated. Therefore it can cause inflammation in the air passages and worsen asthma. Also, there are certain chemicals present in many wines and beers that act as preservatives and are called sulfites. Although they are not bad for normal people but can irritate or cause allergy to asthmatic patients. In general, alcohol even in normal increases the occurrence of acid reflux. It is the phenomenon in which the acid in the stomach regurgitates all the way up to the throat and thus causes a burning feeling. This irritates the throat and worsens asthma. Too much of drinking of beer and pop that have carbon dioxide bubbled in it, can cause bloating of the stomach. This may end up in getting the diaphragm being pressed on up against the lungs. This will even congest the area of the lungs and make the already poor breathing even more difficult. Therefore, all the above factors make alcohol not favorable for asthmatic patients.

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