"Drinking Problems May Not Be Strictly Behavioral"

by Daniel J. Schwarzhoff, RLRA*

There was an episode, a few years back, which gave me my first inkling that I was having a totally different experience drinking alcohol than most people I knew. I did not recognize it for what it was but I have come to know it was the result an allergy.

I know what you are thinking. When most people think of an allergy, they think of a malady, which develops when the body's immune system becomes misdirected, and attacks harmless food proteins. But this is an incomplete definition of an allergy. As a result, they may dismiss other potentially lethal substances as harmless when in fact they actually are deadly.

I was at my in-laws, for a holiday dinner, and my father in law
offered "a little wine" around the table. I agreed to some, and he
filled each glass around the table with about 1 inch of sweet red.

I watched, to make sure I wasn't the first to sip, and when I first
did, it was gone.

I cautiously waited a few minutes, so as not to seem too anxious,
and finally asked, "May I have some more wine please". The reply
was, "Oh sorry, that's all there is." It doesn't have to be the
same kind", I said. "Another red or even white will do just fine."

He said, "No that's all there was in the house."

I was thrown into shock. Into panic. Time stood still for what
seemed an eternity and within minutes I was craving a drink so
badly, I knew I just had to get out of there. The nearest saloon was only a short walk away.

I began my finagling pitch; how much work was still on my desk at
the office, how tired I was but still might have to go down to work
for an hour. It's an art form, and it takes time so as not to appear obvious. I think many readers would know what I'm talking about.

But then my wife surprised me with her decision to leave early, and I was stuck, waiting through dessert and then finally departing for home with her; trapped like a rat.

I managed to get home, still white knuckling a craving, but almost two hours had past since that inch of sweet red wine, and its grasp was loosening ever so slightly. I managed to crawl into bed, feeling slightly hung-over, exhausted and traumatized; as if I had drunk an entire bottle of hard stuff, and fell asleep. But before I did, I realized that something strange was going on with me and it occurred to me that had I been able to chain myself to a radiator, or else use every bit of my willpower as I did, these were the only ways I could possibly have made it.

All of this, with only one inch of cheap, sweet, red wine. If I'd had had a full "belt" of alcohol, I can't imagine being able to make it home with my wife that night. Apparently the small amount of alcohol contained in that tiny glass was enough to push my bodily reaction just over the edge. Would an eydropperful of vanilla extract under one eyelid do the same? Probably. If it gets into me, I'm reacting; much the same way as my sister does to strawberries or any product thereof made.

I don't think people who are not allergic to alcohol react this way to it.

When an alcohol allergic person has so much as one drop of alcohol, they experience an exaggerated or pathological reaction to the alcohol that are without comparable effect on the average individual. It is estimated that only ten to fifteen percent of the world's population are afflicted. The exaggerated or pathological reaction manifests itself as a phenomenon of craving. Craving is not a reaction which the average individual experiences when they ingest alcohol. This happens ONLY to alcohol allergic people.

Eating or drinking products containing even small amounts of alcohol, which can be found in many unsuspected products such as cookies, candies, and flavorings, triggers the reaction. Additionally, many restaurants cook using alcoholic products such as rice and grape wines, beer, brandy and bourbon and do not necessarily consider tell their patrons.

When an alcohol allergic person has so much as one drop of alcohol, they experience an exaggerated or pathological reaction to the alcohol that are without comparable effect on the average individual.

There are estimates that at least 30 million Americans suffer as I do, from alcoholic allergy. Thousands more die each year, and thousands more fail to seek treatment for their allergy to alcohol. Consequently they and mostly all those with any human relationship with them at all, suffer incalculable physical, financial and emotional harms.

In the U.S. alone, there are millions of sufferers who live in fear of alcoholic contamination with every bite they take. There are also millions off sufferers who are not aware that they are allergic to alcohol. Alcoholic allergy differs from other allergies because even a minuscule amount of alcohol can be fatal.

The only way for someone who is allergic to alcohol keep from having a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction is to completely avoid foods that contain any alcohol whatever. Unfortunately that means Alcohol-allergic consumers are forced to interpret labels for every food product they purchase, every time they shop or order from a restaurant menu, a frightening and risky process, made even more difficult by the lack of public awareness about the allergy.

Who would guess that common products like Stop & Shop chocolate chip cookies would contain Chocolate Liqueur as a major ingredient? To people like me, this is poisonous contamination. It does kill.

Now I realize there are people who abuse alcohol, and we can all sympathize with that, but that's not what I am taking about. I am talking about people, who if they take any alcohol whatever into their systems, have bodies which react in a way which 90 percent of everyone else does not; and it makes it virtually impossible for them to stop, even though they want to; even though they have to.

For 30 million Americans, alcoholism of this type is not a behavioral problem, it's a physical malady, and they are undiagnosed and untreated. American families deserve to feel confident about the safety of their food.

* Real Live Recovered Alcoholic

© Daniel J. Schwarzhoff suffers from Alcoholic Allergy and is also the founder of The Alcoholic Allergy Foundation (AAF), a 501(c)(3)non-profit organization that raises funds toward raising public awareness of alcoholic allergy. He is also a high energy and humorous speaker and seminar leader who has presented this subject in workshops, seminars and talks throughout the northeastern U.S.