Beer Allergy Diagnosis???

[HenryHill]

I've noticed years ago the first two beers I slam in the morning make me sneeze.

There is such a thing as being addicted to allergens, I surmise.

 

[Brew-Happy]

After my experiment I did a brief search on PubMed and Allied Health Source yielding very little medical research into beer allergies.

I'll revise my search terms and see what I can come up with. Considering the amount of people who have posted and are allergic to beer in some way, shape or form...I think perhaps a literature review would be fun.

Here is a list found in Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=common+allergens+found+in+beer&hl=en&btnG=Search&as_sdt=2001&as_sdtp=on

These stood out to me:

A case of allergy to beer showing cross-reactivity between lipid transfer proteins

Authors: Asero, Riccardo1; Mistrello, Gianni2; Roncarolo, Daniela2; Amato, Stefano2; vanRee, Ronald3

Source: Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Volume 87, Number 1, July 2001 , pp. 65-67(3)

Publisher: American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology

Abstract:
Background: Lipid transfer proteins (LTPs) are highly conserved proteins present in a broad spectrum of fruits and vegetables that might represent a novel plant panallergen.

Objective: To demonstrate that LTP is an important allergen in beer and that beer LTP cross-reacts with LTP from botanically unrelated plant-derived foods.

Methods: Serum from a patient with clinical allergy to both beer and Rosaceae was studied for IgE reactivity to LTP to several vegetable foods by RAST, ELISA, immunoblot, and inhibition studies.

Results: Patient's serum showed a strong IgE reactivity to LTP purified from peach peel, carrot, and broccoli, and to a 10 kD protein in both apple and peach immunoblots, whereas no reactivity to birch cross-reactive allergens such as Bet v 1, profilin, or carbohydrates was found. In inhibition studies, preabsorption of serum with apple, walnut, hazelnut, peanut, corn, and rice caused a fall of 97%, 20%, 66%, 91%, 94%, and 93%, respectively, of its reactivity to peach LTP. Beer RAST fell from 1.8 IU/mL to <0.1 IU/mL when a patient's serum was preabsorbed with recombinant carrot LTP.

Conclusions: LTP is a relevant allergen in beer. Beer LTP may cross-react with LTP from several other plant-derived foods.

Beer&#8208;induced anaphylaxis: identification of allergens
E Figueredo , S Quirce , A del Amo , J Cuesta , I Arrieta , C Lahoz and J Sastre
Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Servicio de Alergología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Avda. Reyes Católicos, 2, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Correspondence to Dra. Elena Figueredo, Fundación Jiménez Díaz
Servicio de Alergia
Avda. Reyes Católicos, 2
28040 Madrid
Spain
Copyright © Munksgaard 1999
KEYWORDS
barley • beer • cereals • food allergy • immunoblotting • malt
ABSTRACT

Background: We report on a 21&#8208;year&#8208;old atopic woman who developed urticaria, angioedema of the face, and wheezy dyspnea shortly after drinking beer and after eating a corn&#8208;made snack.

Methods: Skin prick tests and specific IgE determinations to beer ingredients and cereal extracts were performed. Immunoblotting inhibition assays were carried out to investigate possible common allergens shared by barley and malt with corn.

Results: Skin prick tests and specific IgE measurements with beer, barley, malt, wheat, corn, rye, rice, and oat flour were positive. Ten pollen&#8208;allergic patients showed negative skin tests to beer. Double&#8208;blind, placebo&#8208;controlled, oral challenge tests with sodium metabisulfite and wheat flour were negative. Immunoblotting demonstrated several IgE&#8208;binding bands at 31–56 kDa in malt and barley extracts, and a major band at 38 kDa in the beer extract. Immunoblot inhibition assays showed that malt extract was able to inhibit most of the IgE&#8208;binding bands in wheat and corn extracts, whereas corn did not produce significant inhibition to barley and malt extracts.

Conclusions: This patient developed type I hypersensitivity to barley/malt and corn. Although she also showed IgE reactivity to wheat and other cereals, no symptoms were elicited upon ingestion of these cereals, probably indicating latent sensitization to them.

Anaphylaxis to wheat beer

Authors: Herzinger, Thomas; Kick, Gerold; Ludolph-Hauser, Dagmar; Przybilla, Bernhard

Source: Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Volume 92, Number 6, June 2004 , pp. 673-675(3)

Publisher: American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology


Abstract:
Background: Despite its worldwide and abundant consumption, beer has rarely been found to cause anaphylaxis. Barley malt contained in lager beers seems to be an important elicitor.

Objective: To report the unusual case of severe anaphylaxis following the ingestion of wheat beer.

Methods: A 59-year-old man experienced angioedema, generalized urticaria, and unconsciousness after ingestion of wheat beer. He tolerated lager beer well. For diagnostic evaluation, skin prick tests, oral challenge tests, and identification of specific IgE antibodies were performed.

Results: Skin prick test results with standard series of common aeroallergens and food allergens were negative with the exception of a 1+ reaction to wheat flour. The results of skin prick tests with native materials were positive for 2 brands of wheat beer and wheat malt shred but negative for baker’s yeast, hops, and a brand of lager beer. Oral challenges with wheat beer or wheat flour elicited urticaria. By CAP-FEIA, specific IgE antibodies to wheat and barley flour but not to hops or baker’s yeast were found in serum. Immunoblot analysis revealed that patient’s IgE was bound to a protein of approximately 35 kDa in wheat extract.

Conclusions: This is the first report, to our knowledge, on anaphylaxis to beer attributable to wheat allergy.

Document Type: Case report

This should get you started. Good luck

 

[homebrewer_99]

I have a co-worker that can not drink my HB without having a reaction.

He drinks beers at the bars without any problem so it's either the hops or the live yeast.

+1,000 on the hops...

 

[Brew-Happy]

I have a co-worker that can not drink my HB without having a reaction.

He drinks beers at the bars without any problem so it's either the hops or the live yeast.

+1,000 on the hops...

What kind of reaction?

My wife once had a reaction to yeast in pizza crust I made (one whole packet was too much apparently ). She had red splotches on her skin and an odd feeling.

My bet is on the yeast. I can get joint issues from my green beer which I attribute to the yeast.

 

[homebrewer_99]

What kind of reaction?

My wife once had a reaction to yeast in pizza crust I made (one whole packet was too much apparently ). She had red splotches on her skin and an odd feeling.

My bet is on the yeast. I can get joint issues from my green beer which I attribute to the yeast.

His throat starts tingling (which makes me think hops) and closes up where he can't breath. He needs his asthma meds immediately.

 

[Brew-Happy]

Immediate type allergy to malt in beer
W. G. VAN KETEL
Department of Dermatology, Free University Hospital, 10O7 MB, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Alcoholic beverages may cause or aggravate
atopic dermatitis (Rajka 1975) and urticaria
(Warin & Champion 1974). Sometimes it seems
that one species of alcohol is involved in these
diseases. A 30-year-old female patient suffering
from atopic dermatitis appeared to be allergic
to an alcoholic "atmosphere".
After entering a bar her face became red.
swollen and itchy after staying for 1 or 2 minutes.
She showed the same symptoms in a
room where visitors were drinking alcohol.
When her husband had drunk a glass of beer,
kissing on the mouth provoked redness and itching
of the lips and surrounding skin within a
few minutes.
When her husband drank any other alcoholic
drink she tolerated kissing without any trouble.
The patient herself tolerated drinking other
alcoholic beverages very well. She refused to
drink any kind of beer because on one occasion
she developed shock after drinking a
mouthful of beer.
A scratch test with beer was performed on
the forearm. The reaction was positive in a
few minutes and appeared to be very strong
after 20 min. The edema around the test site
spread to the upper arm, which became swollen
within 30 min after the test. These symptoms
disappeared after 2 h.
Another female patient aged 45 had recurrent
urticaria especially after drinking beer. An
immediate type scratch test with beer was positive.
A liter of this beer appeared to contain
t40 g malt, 35 g maize and 0.4 g extract of
hops. Scratch testing with these substances (5
and 10 % aqueous extracts) showed positive
reactions to malt. The reactions to solutions of
maize, hops and ethanol 70 % were negative.
When preparing the wort, the extracts of malt,
maize and hops are boiled for 2 h. A scratch
test with a 10 % extract of this mixture appeared
to be positive.
Ten beer drinking controls showed negative
scratch tests to beer. Two controls were tested
with the extracts of malt, maize and hops and
the boiled mixture. All reactions were negative.
Therefore it is unlikely that beer or its components
are histamine liberators.
It is evident that patients with atopic dermatitis
or urticaria may develop immediate type
reactions to beer. Life is not all beer and
skittles!
References
Rajka, G. (1975) Atopic Dermatitis, p. 69.
London, Philadelphia, Toronto: Saunders.
Warin, R. P. & Champion, R. H. (1974) Urticaria,
p. 51. London, Philadelphia, Toronto:
Saunders.

You peaked my interest Imp-atient! I found the above short communication.

I did find an article that I would have to order:

Title: Allergy from certain beer types
Author(s): Teuscher D
Source: DEUTSCHE MEDIZINISCHE WOCHENSCHRIFT Volume: 65 Pages: 59-59 Part: Part 1 Published: 1939

I am concerned that it is in German and I would have to work on the translation Plus, it is from 1939 with no citations since then. Not sure if it would be worth ordering.

 

[Imp_atient]

SWEET! Thanks Brew-Happy...I always go onto the journal databases without thinking of Google Scholar....duh!

Now I have my bed time stories.....or maybe I'll do a scratch test on myself...or maybe not.

Cheers! Oh and that last one you dug up is BLOODY HILARIOUS...honestly, that's a tagline in the making...hmmmm, I wonder how many wives tolerate kissing their husband after he's had a glass of beer...

When her husband had drunk a glass of beer,
kissing on the mouth provoked redness and itching
of the lips and surrounding skin within a
few minutes.
When her husband drank any other alcoholic
drink she tolerated kissing without any trouble.

 

[Imp_atient]

Oh man, it's getting worse. Now if I drink homebrew I wake up early in the morning (between 3 and 5am) with the lungs all clogged and I have to sit there for an hour coughing to wait until it gets better.

This totally sucks...I don't want to have to go to homewinebrewtalk...

See the doc in 2 days.

 

[Hermit]

Oh man, it's getting worse. Now if I drink homebrew I wake up early in the morning (between 3 and 5am) with the lungs all clogged and I have to sit there for an hour coughing to wait until it gets better.

This totally sucks...I don't want to have to go to homewinebrewtalk...

See the doc in 2 days.

Damned. If it weren't for brew I'd be having a hard time cleaning out my basement right now.....

 

[Homercidal]

I also seem to have a mild allergic reaction to beer. So far, without serious experimentation, I seem to have a stuffier nose with higher alcohol beers then with lower. However, I seem to have lots of congestion in general, so I'm not sure if I'm producing more mucus when drinking beer, or just it's just a coincidence.

 

[Suicided1954]

My sinuses get congested when I drink anything with Crystal Hops in it. I love IPA's and can't drink Sierra Nevada Torpedo for that reason. I can drink lots of others with no negative reaction.

 

[Imp_atient]

To follow up, meeting with doc was inconclusive. After taking about a few months with no beer...the problem has subsided so it is likely a cumulative issue however after brewing my first batch in while I can feel the lungs aren't happy after a boil that filled the house with hops/malt fumes, so we'll see. Yay, Canadian health care system.

 

[naughtyco]

I was, and don't take this the wrong way, hoping you get more conclusive evidence. I get red spotches on my neck after drinking homebrew (and fantastic homebrew at that) and worry that I'm allergic to alcohol. I don't have swelling or lung trouble, just ugly red spots all over my neck. I don't think, and I really f'n hope, it's not liver failure like some websites say but I'm going to the doctor to get it checked out.

I really hope I'm not allergic. My world would shatter if I had to give up this hobby.

 

[NorCalAngler]

I was, and don't take this the wrong way, hoping you get more conclusive evidence. I get red spotches on my neck after drinking homebrew (and fantastic homebrew at that) and worry that I'm allergic to alcohol. I don't have swelling or lung trouble, just ugly red spots all over my neck. I don't think, and I really f'n hope, it's not liver failure like some websites say but I'm going to the doctor to get it checked out.

I really hope I'm not allergic. My world would shatter if I had to give up this hobby.

This is fairly common and can be tied to genetics. Apparently people of Asian decent can't break acetaldehyde down (by-product of processing alcohol) so the body reacts to the toxin.

I get it, too, but not all the time. If I'm tired at the end of the day I'm much more likely to become flushed all over my neck after a drink.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

This is fairly common and can be tied to genetics. Apparently people of Asian decent can't break acetaldehyde down (by-product of processing alcohol) so the body reacts to the toxin.

I get it, too, but not all the time. If I'm tired at the end of the day I'm much more likely to become flushed all over my neck after a drink.

This happens to one of my Asian friends every single time he drinks.

 

[ChshreCat]

I have a friend who's father is Japanese and the same thing happens to him. Asian flush. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction