Asian Flush Exposed

Have your heard of a disorder called Asian flush or Asian glow?

Perhaps you may have noticed that you or your friends sometimes turn red in the face after consuming alcoholic beverages. It happens to my friends and I quite often as we are of Asian and part-Asian decent and are particularly prone to this alcohol related disorder.

Asian flush, otherwise known as Asian glow, refers to an alcohol related disorder experienced predominantly, but not exclusively, by people from east Asian countries. That said, there are many people from Caucasian and Indian origins who also experience Asian flush.

Simply put, someone who is suffering from Asian flush will often experience an allergy like reaction after consuming alcohol. This can manifest in the form of a red face, headache, itching, dizziness, difficulties breathing, etc. The reaction will normally begin to come on approximately 20 minutes after the consumption of alcohol and sometimes last anywhere between 1 to 3 hours from the first drink.

The primary cause of these reactions is the body's deficiency of a vital enzyme that is required to breakdown the byproducts of the alcohol metabolism process. It just so happens that one of the byproduct of alcohol metabolism is particularly toxic and when not properly broken down it eventually finds its way into the persons system and causes the toxic reaction we call Asian flush or Asian glow.

This disorder can be particularly embarrassing for the sufferer, especially when it causes a red swollen face when out drinking in public. Aside from the obvious discomfort that it causes, many sufferers are becoming fed up with having to deal with such unattractive symptoms in precisely an environment where they go to so much effort to look attractive in such as a nightclub, a dinner date, or an office work function. From personal experience, I would always spend 1 or more hours getting ready to go out drinking with my friends only to inevitably have all of my efforts ruined by my Asian flush reaction.

Given the annoying nature of this disorder it is no surprise that sufferers these days are desperate for some kind of cure. Many people who seek a solution for Asian flush are told by their medical practitioner that it is a genetic disorder that can not be fixed. However, there have been many developments in the treatment of Asian flush and now we are lucky enough to have some very effective solutions available to us.