What Are Sulfites?
No idea what I’m talking about when I refer to sulfites? Sulfites are cheeky chemicals, commonly used as preservatives for a range of different types of foods and beverages.
Sulfites are often added to shellfish to prevent discoloring, processed foods to give them a longer shelf-life, and dehydrated fruits and veggies to preserve them. Most annoyingly, however, these chemicals can be found in soft drinks and alcoholic beverages like beer and, of course, wine.
Other product types can contain trace elements of sulfites too, like in some medications where the chemicals work to keep the drugs stable and effective, and cosmetics.
Sulfite Sensitivity?
If you have an allergic reaction after drinking wine with sulfites in it, you might recognize some of the symptoms below (some being more severe then others):
- Skin symptoms: itchy skin, rash, hives
- Digestive symptoms: stomach cramps, nausea, diarrhea
- Respiratory Symptoms: wheezing, cough, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest
The most severe allergic reaction to sulfites, which can be life-threatening, is anaphylactic shock. This is where the person is not able to breath and experiences a drop in blood pressure.
The FDA estimates that the number of total Americans who are allergic to sulfites is fairly low. People with asthma seem to have a higher risk of experiencing a reaction to sulfites. In fact, the entire reason I started looking into allergic reactions to sulfites is that my girlfriend was experiencing a tight chest after drinking red wine.
Are there any solutions or cures available for people who suffer from sulfite sensitivity?
Most people who suffer from sulphite sensitivity are usually self-diagnosed, as it doesn’t return a positive result on allergy tests.
In most cases, health professionals recommend an elimination diet of foods, drinks and products containing sulphites. This may be followed by a food challenge, usually under medical supervision.
That, of course, was the ‘official recommendation’ for sulfite sensitivity available online. What about a solution for those who just want to enjoy an occasional glass of wine without suffering from a tight chest, rashes, aches and digestive problems?
Natural Wines: A Viable Wine Sulfite Sensitivity Cure?
One increasingly popular soloution, that we have spoken about previously on the Sobur blog, is natural, sulfur-free wines.
These natural wines, which are still only a small market, have little or no Sulfur dioxide (SO2) added. This is easier to do with red wines, because the tannin (a stabilizing agent) within the wine acts as a as a natural anti-oxidant. Tannin within the wine means less sulfur dioxide is needed to protect the wine during the winemaking and maturation process.
Alternative Wine Sulfite Allergy Cure
As I mentioned, my girlfriend is a personal sufferer of sulfite sensitivity, so I am trying out different solutions with her as she does enjoy a glass of red in the evening.
Sobur is officially looking into this area too, so you should expect either a partnership to bring a sulfite allergy cure to a worldwide market, or our own custom solution to help solve this problem for our customers. Get in touch with us if you are interested in hearing more.
I suffer an itchy skin rash over my entire body when I drink more than a couple of glasses of red wine. Are you suggesting that SOBUR will counteract the sulfites? I don’t know the date of the information above, hoping you have some new ideas on countering sulfites. Thanks. Dave
How long typically does your rash take to go away??
Our Daily Red Wine is a wonderful option for those with sulfate sensitivity
When I drink some red wines I get a nasty hacking cough either immediately or later when I go to bed. It only happens with some wines eg Shiraz, merlot. Other wines such as Bordeaux, temperanillo are fine for me. I have also just made the connection between itchy eyes and red wine. Last night I had a small glass of Malbec and first had itchy eyes, then itchy all over. Took a antihistamine but today I’ve been left with tightness in my chest. I’m not sure it’s the sulphites in my case because the Reds that I can drink without any problem also have sulphites in. Unless they are at less quantities.?!? Quite confusing, and very annoying.
I may get a hard time breathing sometimes after drinking some wines. It might be a light symptom (thiuggt it could last until the next day), or a really savere one where I can barely breathe (usually, not that bad). What’s interesting is that with some wines I don’t get this at all, but I’m not sure if it depends on the type of wine or the winery and the aditives (like sulfites) in its wines. For instance, I may drink a whole bottle of Malbec and don’t get any symptoms or half of bottle of other types and get a hard time after it.
I have a rash on my face from it. Anyone else have this happen?
No. But I have all the other symptoms identified here. 50 years ago I only found SO2 in fruit juices and cheaper white wines whereas it very difficult to find any wines without it. Generally, I find that Spanish red wines give much less trouble than, for instance, French reds. It’s scandalous that producers are not obliged to show the dosage they have applied.
Yes I do plus swollen lips
My lips too…they itch then dry up and peel
I’m battling with a blotchy red rash on, believe it or not, my right facial cheek. The left one isn’t so bad but I’ve started to notice redness on my cheeks and nose which I’ve started to treat with germoline. Some days are worse than others and I drink cider/beer most nights. This has been bothering me for 12 months now and, as a bloke and a singer/DJ in the public eye I sometimes have to brush my face with the wife’s foundation or talc just to tone the redness down before going out as I’m quite aware of it. Considering becoming a tea-total as I have a feeling it may be something to do with the sulphites in the drink. Great! 🙁
Yes. I have exact same symptoms, plus itchy eyes and dry, cracked lips. I never had a bad reaction to wine in my whole life, but I think i’ve developed an allergy in the past year because my face will develop red itchy hives after a few glasses of white wine.
I personally feel it’s my body’s way of telling me to avoid drinking, as it had become a bit excessive at times during the last two years.
Yes. I have the rash on my cheeks, chin, and around my nose. It stings. Still trying to figure out what wines I can eliminate!
Me ???? I don’t know what to do. I currently am uninsured and can’t afford to see the doctor.
This is an older question but I have been having an itchy blisters rash on my face…the blisters weep then that area gets crusty, cracks and peels. I’ve been under the care of a dermatologist and have tried several treatments. I’m wondering if it has to do with red wine consumption too. Last night I had a wine at a friends house and my face is really itchy and blistered today. I’ve felt it might be wine because last week I was out a lot and drank more than I normally do…4 nights in a row and I’m suffering…..I guess I need to stop drinking reds for a few weeks and see if this clears up…won’t be easy!
Hello There! I highly recomend the üllo wine purifier! Amazing, no rash, no flushed Face, no headaches , no hangover! Try it!
Does ullo really work?? That looks like my only hope as I can’t see giving up wine entirely.
Does anyone suffer from attacks of hives after drinking French red wine. It’s taken me weeks to realise that I have not been bitten extensively but that I have an allergic reaction. I can drink Spanish reds without any problem and this is the first thing ever to affect me.
I start itching around my neck area first, then my lips start swelling and my throat feels like it is closing. This happens even if the wine was used in cooking.
Within 2 or 3 minutes of drinking a sip of wine, my head starts itching on the very top! My sisterinlaw also has sulfite sensitivity and the area below her thumbs on both hands gets very red.
I wish I could have a glass or two like some have said. I can’t drink anything with alcohol or eat anything with sugar alcohol in them. I can’t eat at most restaurants. Even using instant mash potatoes is dangerous for me. Within minutes of taking in something with sulfites inside I know by the burning rash that starts on my right check of my face and it just spreads to my chest. The more I intake the worse the symptoms become. I have even blacked out and woke in a sweat, my body was trying to remove the sulfites by sweating it out. Scariest experience. Now after I accidentally intake sulfites I get my burning rash right away (looks like I got a sun burn in mins) and congestion and feel so sick for days after with gas and chest pains. Out of all the things I am allergic to, this allergy is my lest favourite. Sucks the fun out of life.
I only seem to do this with cheaper blush wines. I can drink white zinfandel with no issues…however the blushes I buy when trying to save a few bucks because they taste similar. The cheap blush has almost killed me and we didn’t know what it was causing me to break out until we read this article! Thank you for your information. Now I lnow how to steer clear of cheaply made blush imitations.
Hi. I’ve only recently developed this allergy to sulphites. Was snacking on dried pears and within an hour stomach started cramping severely, the room Started spinning and i blacked out. Same thing happened when i had a glass of red wine. Started getting hives and intense itching on hands and feet. I stopped having red wine but found that other food products like bottled lemon juice which i see also contains sulphites also affects me. Went fishing yesterday and put some of the bottled Lemon juice on my hands when I got back to remove the smell of bait . I didn’t sleep all night with the hives and itching. I’m trying to find out if anyone has used anything that has helped with the hives and itching.
I don’t even need to ingest the sulphites to have the itching . Skin contact sets it off as well. Even found that detergent and soap containing sulphates also cause the hives and itching. Would be grateful if anyone knows of what to use to stop the hives and itching
I suffer allergic reaction in the form is streaming nose clear mucus enough to fill a swimming pool ???????? ????????♀️ it’s endless. Sometimes this reaction lasts for hours however it can last half an hour to an hour if I stop drinking. It’s socially embarrassing as I need half a loo roll to blow my nose constantly and really not attractive on a night out with friends or a date. I tend to need my inhaler as well with wines I consume in England. When abroad it doesn’t last as long I guess because there are more sulphites needed to get bottles of wine to England. I find the reaction happens with white red and prosecco. But not champagne or spirits or beer. When I drank local wine in puglia which was like syrup and totally different in consistency I had no problem. This reaction to wines only started in the last handful of years. So I think sulfites in wine must be a relatively recent thing?! I have had athsma from birth so the wine industry must have changed what it is doing to the wine at factory level as I haven’t had symptoms until recent years?!
” I guess because there are more sulphites needed to get bottles of wine to England” seriously, do you think they produce different wines for the UK?
I just started getting itchy pustules that appear on random parts of my body a few months ago. I’m wondering if it isn’t that wine growers use Round-up more frequently and it is now getting into the wine. That would explain why it has been affecting more people in just the last few years and also that I used to get similar reactions when I sprayed Round-up on the grass and weeds on my beach in windy weather while wearing shorts. I thought they were spider bites back then.
I’m thinking i am having the same issue. The past 2 months, out of the blue, my lips are getting dry, red and swollen after wine. I’m trying to do a food diary and other foods, specially chips, are causing the same reaction. Need to determine if it’s just wine, or all alcohol. I really hope not! Doctors are at a loss and just say to stop what i think is causing it, easier said than done. Could an antihistamine before wine help? It does not help after wards unfortunately. Has anyone found this to be short term or is this sensitivity permanent?
I just discovered my allergy a couple months ago. I have a hard time breathing and feel chest tightness. It’s not just wine. I get it from foods as well and it’s becoming increasingly hard to eat out.
I’m the same. I just seem to be getting reactions from so many more foods. Sulphur, wheat, preservatives. It’s just getting worst.
I’ve started the gap diet as my naturalpath thinks it might be leaky gut syndrome. So I’m willing to give it a go. I’d love to go back to normal eating and drinking.
It’s really imos ting my life. I’m sorry to hear your struggling too.
Me too. For years I have suffered from an itchy face, bad stomach, heart palpitations while exercising and just not feeling well. I stopped all foods and drinks containing sulfites and within a couple of days feel like a new person. It is difficult as 90% of all foods contain sulfite and increasingly so!!!!! The long term use of sulfite in human food and reactions from sulfite do not look good. Basically we are being slowly poisoned by food suppliers…….
I have the same problems with alcohol, coffee and an endless amount of foods. Do you work to a list of sulphite free foods?
I develop an itch, scaly scalp, rashes on my face, neck and ears. 🙁 Finding it difficult to rule everything out as seem to react to all kinds of things.
Hi. I am amazed after reading all of these comments. Yes I have in the last few years have had trouble while drinking wine. We were out and within a few minutes of drinking a merlo I became noticeably congested. I could not breath through my nose and you could hear the change in my voice. It took about 6 hrs. To get back to normal. I stopped drinking wine and I so miss it. I recently heard about this new spoon they make that has a special filter attached to it. You pour your glass of wine and use the spoon for so many minutes and it takes out the bad stuff so you can drink it. I think it went for $15.00. (Per 1 time use). I suppose for a special occasion it would be nice, but a little steep for my blood. It was advertised on Hallmark Home and Family.
I just had such a severe sulfite reaction I actually thought I was having a heart attack – my chest was so tight – it hurt to breath – the pain went up into my head and caused severe pressure – since I just had wine – I put 2 and 2 together and took an antihistamine and it
I’m the same. I just seem to be getting reactions from so many more foods. Sulphur, wheat, preservatives. It’s just getting worst.
I’ve started the gap diet as my naturalpath thinks it might be leaky gut syndrome. So I’m willing to give it a go. I’d love to go back to normal eating and drinking.
It’s really imos ting my life. I’m sorry to hear your struggling too.