What happens when you mix asthma and alcohol?
Research has been mixed with some studies showing benefit of asthma and alcohol and others showing alcohol makes asthma worse. On the benefit side, alcohol may:
- Directly act on the smooth muscle of your lungs causing bronchodilation.
- Decrease airway sensitivity making triggers less irritative to your airways
- Depress your immune system and decrease antibody production
On the other hand, as many as 33% of asthmatics report developing asthma symptoms following alcohol consumption. While a number of different alcoholic drinks caused symptoms, wine was by far the biggest culprit. While sulfites are known to trigger asthma in susceptible individuals and are in high quantities in may types of wine, other components of wine may also cause asthma exacerbations.
If you plan to mix asthma and alcohol in celebration of the new year, you might do better with something you have had before. Make sure you know the impact of asthma and alcohol and, as always, be prepared.
What happens to you when you mix asthma and alcohol? What do you about it? Take our poll and leave a comment here or go to the forum to participate in the discussion.
Happy New Year!!!
Sources:
Learn More About Asthma Research
- Do Asthma Specialists Improve Quality Care in Asthma?
- Asthma Inhaler- Can One Asthma Inhaler Treat My Asthma?
- What Is the Relationship Between Asthma and GERD?
- Find An Asthma Clinical Trial
Lethal combination for me is eating and drinking wine followed by dancing. If you are attending a wedding or other social function and plan on doing anything physically demanding afterward, it might be advisable to to take this into consideration.