Asian Flush.

Jul. 8th, 2008 at 8:23 PM

Hey look, I'm not insane! Apparently you don't have to be Asian to have Asian Flush; some Jews get it too ("some people of Jewish descent reveal high levels of acetaldehyde and might experience the alcohol flush reaction as well.").

So there it is. Alcohol is poisonous to me. I can take that reaction (hot, red, dry face) that I've always been merely annoyed by and actually say "No -- I can't drink -- I have a genetic defect." Yaay!

Current Location:The Co-op

Comments

( 12 comments — Leave a comment )

ratphooey

Jul. 9th, 2008 12:51 am (UTC)

I get that, too!

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hopita

Jul. 9th, 2008 12:54 am (UTC)

I drink maybe two or three times a year now, because I simply find this reaction so ... ack. It goes away if I drink a lot (see: my years with H.W.S.R.N.), but, as a general rule, if other folks are drinking, I'm, er, uh, "smoking" instead.

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ratphooey

Jul. 9th, 2008 12:55 am (UTC)

It fades after I metabolize the first drink, then it's fine.

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hopita

Jul. 9th, 2008 01:00 am (UTC)

Me too.

I'm fascinated to see if other people on my friends list have similar reactions.

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pghwob

Jul. 9th, 2008 01:20 am (UTC)

not me, but my mother has that problem. I guess I'm not Jewish enough ;)

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_aqualung_

Jul. 9th, 2008 02:15 am (UTC)

I don't have that problem, and I'm an Asian Jew. Go figure...

Must be an Azhkenazic thing. :-)

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hopita

Jul. 9th, 2008 05:47 am (UTC)

Well, in the Biblical sense, we're all Asian Jews ...

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trappedinabay

Jul. 9th, 2008 06:37 pm (UTC)

It's not limited to Asians and Jews.

See also: gin blossoms.

Is it possible that you have a mild case of rosacea? Alcohol is one of the chief triggers.

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trappedinabay

Jul. 9th, 2008 06:39 pm (UTC)

Ah, here's the link I was looking for:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_flush_reaction

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sabotabby

Jul. 9th, 2008 08:15 pm (UTC)

:( A few of my old roommates (Korean and Chinese) had that. It blows. And yes, just because it's more common in some ethnicities doesn't mean that it's exclusive to them. You haev my sympathies.

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