[cannedpeaches]

do you guys get asian blush when you drink? i heard that if you take a tums before consuming alcohol you can avoid getting red..

[fightforfreedom]

whats asian blush?>???

[i<3ramen]

if you take pepcid ac it helps. tums im not so sure about. but all it does is just covers the lining in your stomach and such so you don't absorb as much alcohol

[hishari]

Yeah i always look like a tomato
And I don't know how to avoid it.

[addicted2kdrama]

if you take pepcid ac it helps. tums im not so sure about. but all it does is just covers the lining in your stomach and such so you don't absorb as much alcohol

I would avoid doing this. That's so bad for your health.

[<3 Kim]

Doesn't it depend on the person? Like when I drink I don't turn red :/

[Rykerz]

There is nothing you can do about it and even if there are product that says it can i doubt it will be any good for you

but ofcos there is nothing wrong with going red when you drink it doesn't mean you are weak or anything so dont let it bother you too much

[ttlsel]

I second that, What is asian blush??

[des monstres]

whats asian blush?>???

it's normally referred to as the 'asian glow'

[fantasian]

like the poster before said, you can try using pepcid/zantac which alot of people have said to have work for them.

you can google pepcid and asian blush and you'll read alot of testimonies.

it doesnt seem to do any harm, but then again its up to you.

[Eugene Dammrod]

it's normally referred to as the 'asian glow'

Also known as alcohol flush reaction. It's when the face reddens from alcohol consumption.

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

[chipmunkvoice]

i take zantac before drinking. works for me :x

[Meenuh]

i found myself explaining the whole asians and alcohol thing a fair few times over the christmas period so i thought it'd make for a good general knowledge thread here.

most people know that there are asians that go red at the whiff of a light beer but there are some who only vaguely know why so i thought i'd raise some awareness ... i ended up using too many brackets and explanations so i put some unnecessary science content into spoiler tags...

basically, if you're asian and, like me, and you never really figured out what was so great about alcohol, then you're likely to be a part of the 50% of asians who find alcohol repulsive.

yes, half (reflecting dominant inheritance) of the asian population lack an enzyme, ALDH2 (due to a missense mutation), that detoxifies acetaldehyde, a toxic intermediate product in alcohol metabolism. when we drink, the toxic acetaldehyde rapidly accumulates in our blood and is not broken down effectively, causing us to get the trademark "asian blush", along with an accelerated heart rate and hangover symptoms such as throbbing headache, short breath, and nausea/vomiting. in fact, a popular treatment for alcohol addiction (antabuse) actually simulates what it's like to be one of us mutant asians by blocking ALDH2 activity and therefore causing the same acetaldehyde buildup and unpleasant symptoms that people like us experience when we consume alcohol - these symptoms are supposed to be off-putting enough to outweigh any enjoyable qualities of alcohol (negative reinforcement) and eventually curb their addicitions. we actually have it worse than someone on antabuse - for us, the concentration of acetaldehyde is about 12x normal whereas the concentrations for regular people on antabuse are only 5 - 10x normal.

given our social environment, virtually being on antabuse permanently is often viewed as a handicap, but at the end of the day it's a protective mutation. bear in mind that acetaldehyde is a known carcinogen, so the risk of getting cancer is much greater for people lacking ALDH2 if they drink as much as others.

this was in the 20+ forums. i'm quoting it because it explains everything.

[JAExiLL]

I get it pretty bad, but it's never deterred me from drinking. I know some girls that take Pepcid AC before they drink and it prevents those symptoms. I just keep drinking, and pay for it later.

[adak]

I got the asian glow gene from my dad but that's never stopped me from drinking XD. I wouldn't those meds to stop the flush either, mainly because the primary function of those meds isn't for flush prevention

[supertammie]

I second the pepcid ac trick. I learned it from one of my sisters who is a bartender.

[suzzah]

ZANTAC
(although it's a drug for stomach ulcers it prevents the redness from coming out + no added side effects (i work at a pharmacy and asked the pharmacist)).
I'm not too sure if it's available outside of australia though.

[superdupersally]

well... I just go with it. either the other people are tipsy too or we are in pretty a dark place so (:

[moomoocows]

Is there a possible way to minimize the effects of asian glow? I normally don't drink much cause I turn bright red like a tomato right after two sips of alcohol. I also shiver like crazy and my heart beats so fast I can feel every beat. This becomes a hassle for me cause I can't drink socially like at company events and gatherings without people thinking I am a total alcoholic slob. I know there is no cure for this, but is there remedies to decrease the problems? I prefer not to take pepcid ac cause i rather prefer not to take any medications.

And what puzzles me is if 50% of Asians all have this problem, does this mean every other asian in Asia is bright red when they drink? At a club/bar/pub, is it normal to see them red all over? What do they do to prevent this?

[LoliTzAl]

o-o You just revived a 2 years old thread.

Anyhow There is a trick i learned from one of my friend, Drink a lot of water Before in  between and after your alcohol party. This trick helped me with the asian blush or redness, the side effects of alcohols (headache, balance control etc)

I used to get really wasted after 3 shots of tequilla and couple of ron-cola (vodka + coke)

After I tried out my friend's trick I drank 6 shots of tequilla, half bottle of vodka (pure vodka the coke ran out since i came late) And afterward I woke up No headache at all.

I usually drink 2 litters of water in the total journey