Alcohol and asthma
Hi again everyone, hope everyone’s surviving the summer heat.
Was wondering, since taking preventative inhalers is still somewhat new to me and its effects supposedly lasts in your system for at least 12 hours- does anyone have any bad reactions after drinking alcohol after taking it?
Obviously I don’t mean take it right after you take the medication.. but say you take the medication in the morning and want a sip of wine later that evening.
I ask because I know I can no longer drink coffee or tea after being on Breo, the jitters turned into a panic attack. But wondering if alcohol will be safe from the same effects since it’s the opposite from caffeine.
Hi. Erin. Great question. I hear you about drinking coffee and tea. The combo of Breo (or, in my case Symbicort) and caffeine does make me feel jittery and tremors. I continue to drink tea, as it is a lower dose of caffeine than coffee. I couldn't imagine going without my morning dose of caffeine. As far as alcohol, I have never had a problem with doing so. The only thing with alcohol that I have noticed is, if you drink too much, it dehydrates you. And it dehydrates your lungs too, and this may cause asthma symptoms. And that is my personal experience. I'm not sure any of this has been studied. Here is an article that discusses food and alcohol: https://asthma.net/triggers/food-wine-sulfites . Does this help? John. asthma.net community moderator.
Hi John, happy to hear that an occasional drink does not cause adverse effects for you! Sometimes you just need a little sip to take the edge off after some stressful days (and BOY do we ALL need a break especially now??)
The article is very helpful, thank you- i had no idea wine contains “histamines”, so now I just have to find something with low histamines since I tend to be very sensitive to side effects of most medications. Hopefully I can drink socially like I did before the pandemic!
My adult onset asthma is now seemingly much better with Symbicort (though I am currently trying a free month of Trelegy, recently approved for asthma, from my Pulmo). I like to drink vodka on the weekends and have had no issues, though a make an effort to down a couple glasses of water before bed. In fact I swear the drinks can ease any lingering asthma symptoms at times, as I do think I have a small anxiety component.
Thanks for sharing your experience with alcohol and asthma. You're smart to drink extra water to stay hydrated. The anxiety component can be hard to deal with at times, but often the first step is just recognizing it - so you're a step up there.
Lyn (site moderator asthma.net)Yes, very good point with the water- I always get headaches after a couple sips of wine and my heart starts racing and staying hydrated usually relieves all that.
Hi Erin - excellent topic - thanks for posting it. I see my colleague, John, has already responded and candidly shared his own personal experience with asthma medications and the use of alcohol.
I, too, have been an asthmatic for most of my life - was even hospitalized for it (several times), in my early 20's. Throughout all the years I've always been on asthma medications in an effort to control and prevent asthma episodes.
Today, I am on Advair and have rescue inhaler, when needed, which is extremely infrequent.
I share all this because throughout all the years, I have never experienced any asthma-related issues when drinking. I've always only been a social drinker but, still, have no untoward asthma effects when drinking.
This may be something you'd want to talk about with your physician - and then proceed accordingly.
What are your continued thoughts?
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
Hi Erin - I hear you! Even though I am not all that fond of wine, I believe there are wines that are available which do not have sulfites. If you do a GOOGLE search using the words 'wines without sulfites', you will see what I mean.
Do you think these type wines might be better for you?
Wishing you well,
Leon (site moderator asthma.net)
See Leon's comment below -- it is possible to find low-sulfite wine! Though, from what I can tell, it's impossible to find a wine that is truly sulfite-free. Sulfites develop naturally during fermentation. That said, there are wines that are so low in sulfites that they may not trigger you. I would encourage you to do some research and if you do try them, stick to small amounts and have your treatments nearby until you know how they affect you. Here's a cool link I found about sulfites in wine: https://www.wines.com/sulfite-free-wine/
Keep us posted! My fingers are crossed you find a nice wine to enjoy. -Melissa, asthma.net team
I will take a diet cola over alcohol any day. Yesterday I got a little jittery from using my inhaler then drinking a diet cola. I guess we have to be aware of how caffeine or alcohol can affect our treatment and condition.
Yeah….. it sucks not being able to drink what you love to drink! I feel like I am living in a cage!
