Allergies/alcohol

[BentYoung]

Hey everyone -

I am so sick of thinking about my Peyronies Disease I could literally throw up (sounds familiar to everyone on here, doesn't it?). Anyway, I have been noticing that I have been getting flush reactions on my neck, back and chest recently after drinking all kinds of alcohol even in very small amounts. Immediately my brain ran rampant and convinced me that this flushing is inflammation/histamines that are most certainly making my Peyronies Disease slowly worse over time. So, I spend over $500 getting allergy tests this past week. I ran a full panel which included things like beer yeast, rye, and other things commonly found in alcohol. I am not allergic to anything food or beverage in the largest panel they could test for (prick testing on your back). They don't have a test for an alcohol allergy itself.

What do we know about allergies/alcohol and the connection to our Peyronies Disease getting worse? I am still convincing myself that I have an allergy of some kind and it is making my Peyronies Disease worse over time. These tests resulting in no peace of mind.        

[Skjaldborg]

Hi BentYoung,

Skin redness while consuming alcohol is not likely due to an allergy.

Alcohol is a known vasodilator, meaning it causes the smooth muscle tissue inside blood vessels to relax and causes them to expand, meaning more blood flows through them. This extra blood flow can make people with fair skin looked flush. This is also why we feel "warm" when drinking: more blood is flowing through the smaller blood vessels near the surface of our skin, bringing heat from deep inside the body to be felt by nerves near the skin surface. This can actually be dangerous in very cold temperatures because your body actually loses heat when you are drunk because it is traveling to the surface rather than staying in the body core.

On the other hand, many people of Asian descent experience flushing and redness due to possessing a gene variant for having more
alcohol dehydrogenase (an enzyme that breaks down booze), which means their bodies are super efficient at breaking down alcohol into acetaldehyde, a chemical which causes redness in the skin.

As for alcohol and Peyronie's, there has been debate on this forum about alcohol consumption and its relation to this disease. Excessive alcohol consumption has negative effects on the body for sure, but studies that factored in alcohol as a variable show no statistical increase of Peyronie's disease (Peyronie's disease: prevalence and association with... [Eur Urol. 2001] - PubMed - NCBI). One thing that should be avoided is having sex while heavily intoxicated. Engaging in penetrative sex with a less than completely erect penis can cause bending and tears which can lead to Peyronie's. Moderation is probably the best approach.

Allergies might be a bit more complex. I got Peyronie's at age 29 after injury but I have zero allergies. Allergies are an inflammatory response, but inflammation alone doesn't cause Peyronie's; it's the out-of-control depositing of scar tissue after injury that causes it. There isn't much information on allergies and this disease.

-Skjald

[BentYoung]

Thanks Skjald - that makes more sense. Excessive anything will do damage, but I'm probably experiencing blood vessel expansion and I'm fair skinned as well  

[james1947]

BentYoung

I am suggesting you to make a basic blood test for red blood cells, white cells and platelets.
Here where I am living they are calling this test "routine hematology test".
I have the symptoms you are mentioned and they are do to high than normal blood counts.
My platelets for example are around 900,000 when the maximum should be 500,000 for Caucasian man.
Do you feel itching also?

James

[BentYoung]

James -

I should look into that, I wonder how much that would be, if insurance covers etc. I am in Arizona. I am a Caucasian man with fair (lightly freckled) skin and blonde/strawberry hair. I don't really have any kind of itchiness at all, but I get hot in the areas where the red blotches show up. This happens randomly though and shows no direct correlation to how much alcohol I consume. One beer or glass of wine can do it or it my fourth or fifth drink can set it off if I am out with friends on a weekend. Honestly, this could be a totally normal reaction to my blood vessels expanding, but Peyronies is making my extra paranoid. The redness is always on my upper chest, neck and upper back - never anywhere else.  

The allergist I went to suggested that without significant itchiness accompanying the redness, she couldn't conclude it was an allergy. She suggested I take an anti-histamine if it gets bad to see if that has an effect, but I don't care to take drugs I don't need. Does this sound like your symptoms?    

[james1947]

BentYoung

Itchiness I have just after shower, especially if the water is not cold (Brrrrrrrrrrrrr).
That was the reason I recommended you to make the blood test. It is simple, cheep and can get it in one hour maximum.
I am proposing you to make the test and let me know the results.

James

[BentYoung]

James -

Is your itchiness due in part to alcohol at all or does this occur always after a shower? Are you on Pentox like I am? Do you think this has an effect at all?  

[james1947]

BentYoung

My itchiness is always after shower, not connected to alcohol.
Being on Pentox helped a lot with the symptoms. Unfortunately I had to stop Pentox four months ago as I was getting more and more severe flue every two months. As you know, one of Pentox side effects is to weaken the immune system. Some people don't feel that, some feel much. I may go back on Pentox in a later stage as I had many benefits from it.

James  

[NeoV]

"Chronic moderate alcohol consumption" linked to penile fibrosis.

Chronic moderate alcohol consumption induces iNOS expression in the... - PubMed - NCBI

Thoughts?  

[james1947]

From the link provided by NeoV:

Moreover, chronic alcohol consumption resulted in decreasing serum testosterone and high density lipoprotein (HDL) levels with increasing cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

I am a moderate chronic alcohol consumer I think, but opposed to the mentioned research, my testosterone is maximum for my age, my cholesterol is 106, triglycerides levels are very low. So maybe the research is true in white rates but wrong for human?

James