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Asian Flush / Asian Blush / Asian Glow Community
Discussion and anecdotes about the Asian Flush/Flush/Glow/Red Face (turning red when drinking alcohol), including using H2 blockers (e.g. Tagamet, Pepsid, Zantac) and other products to combat its effects. Hosted by Eric Cheng on http://echeng.com
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Jan 11, 2005: On December 3, 2003, I posted
a message in my web journal about the Asian Blush, which quickly resulted in over 100 very-informative comments. This forum is intended to be an information source for those of us looking for information about why we turn red when we drink alcohol.
April 25, 2006: For now, guests may post new messages. We've gotten some spam, so you now must be registered to post.
NOTE: Please do NOT treat information posted here as medical advice. However, once you've read these forums you'll probably want to get ahold of some Pepcid AC. Please support these forums and
buy pepcid from Amazon.com.
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Question for the group: Has anyone have any experience/feedback on the effectiveness of using generic Famotidine vs. brand-name Pepcid AC? I use Pepcid AC Max (20mg), but see that the generic famo is significantly cheaper. I know that in most cases, the generic is *exactly* the same as the brand name as far as formulation goes.
However, I also know that drinking a real Coca Cola vs. a grocery store generic "Cola" is nowhere near the same. There might not be any worse tasting beverage than generic cola. Yuck! ;-)
tennessee wrote:This forum has been a God-send to me. I am 1/4 japanese and i seem to be the only sibling of 3 that has the Asian Flush. After reading this forum (I read all 20 pages, by the way), I decided to try the Prilosec "cure". I was extremely skeptical, mainly because it seemed too easy, but I decided to try it anyways. I bought the extra strength and took 3 pills (60mg) about 30 minutes before I started drinking. Normally following about 1.5 beers or one hard drink, I am extremely red, and it spreads down my neck and over my chest. After taking Prilosec, I just put down my fifth coke and whiskey and, although I'm a bit warm in the face, there is absolutely NO REDNESS anywhere on my face, neck, or chest. I've previously found that Claritin-D does the job also(mainly due to the vaso-constrictor pseudoephedrine), but it makes me feel extremely dizzy and also results in sleeplessness and an awful feeling the next day. I would suggest Prilosec to anyone who experiences Asian Flush and now, I finally feel like I have control over my drinking without feeling self-conscious. Thanks so much!
You're the first I've heard to try Prilosec vs any of the other H2 blockers. Did you continue using the Prilosec or just the one time 30 minutes before drinking. The reason I ask is that if memory servers, using Prilosec for its *intended* purpose of heartburn reduction, they suggest taking it every day for at least 14 days. That seems like something I'd rather not do. Any particular reason why you opted for that one vs. any of the other H2 blockers?
Steph wrote:uriel wrote:Australian Guy wrote:AUSTRALIAN GUY HERE:
I am an aussie guy and in australia we dont have pepcid. Are there any australians here? Can you get pepcid???
For everyone who can't get Pepcid AC because they're not in the US, this may be a stupid question, but have you tried just getting famotidine or some other H2 blocker under some other proprietary name?
I guess the main problem is that they're mostly by prescription only, but you're probably better off trying to get a doctor prescribe some to you than trying to get a stranger to send you some
Hey Aussie Guy, NZ can't get Pepcid either - I'm getting mine through my doc. Its way cheaper and you get heaps (90 pills (20mg) for around $15). We used to have famotidine under the brand name of Pepzan but its no longer sold here.
In one of my earlier posts I suggested sites like vitaspring.com (I think) that do international delivery. They sell real Pepcid and not some dodgy no-brand stuff (I've never ordered from them tho). Ages ago I ordered some no-brand famo off some website that looked legit... the stuff came from India and half the blister packs were damaged and there was dirt in some of the sealed pill containers!! Yuks... I complained and got my money back tho so no stress there :)
Oh, and from my own experience, only famotidine works, the other H2 blockers like cinetidine or ramotidine or whatever they're called didn't work for me.
I've had similar experience with the other types of H2 blockers. I tried ranitidine (Zantac here in the U.S.) and cimitedine (Tagamet) and both offer some reduction in redness, but clearly famotidine works best--for me anyway.
I'm convinced that as we keep sharing experiences and keep the focus on this, things will only get better on the "Flush" front. Thanks to all who participate.
Australian Guy wrote:AUSTRALIAN GUY HERE:
I am an aussie guy and in australia we dont have pepcid. Are there any australians here? Can you get pepcid???
Like most people on this site - i go red after 1 drink and very red after say 3 drinks - especially if i drink quickly. But i find that after 5 drinks (and if i pace myself) the reddnesss goes away and i can continue drinking and there is not much reddness at all. So - the first say 2 hours i am red, the next 5 hours of drinking i am not red (but i admit by then i am very drunk).
Is anyone else effected like this?? ie. Red then not red????
Now that i am older - my redness affects me when i have to socialise for work - ie. go out to lunch with clients and drink a glass of red wine etc.
Hope to hear from fellow aussies and Red/Non Red people. Tell me your experiences please
Hey there. I'm not Australian (American-born Japanese).
I've noticed this as well, but sometimes I wonder if I'm actually not red or that I'm just less able to notice the redness after so many drinks. Totally serious about that. I've looked in the mirror and thought to myself that I was doing pretty good, only to have someone come up to me and say, "dude, your face is really red!"
Omega Red wrote:Well it's worked okay so far....the pepcid.
however, although I dont get red anymore, I do notice my heart rate increases.
Is it normal?
I do still notice a very slight increase in heart rate, but not nearly as much as when I don't taken any Pepcid at all. If I drink without first taking the Pepcid, I get a pretty scary rapid heart rate. That can't possibly be good for the body when the heart is pounding like that. Years ago before finding out about Pepcid, I've even passed out after a few drinks, most likely because the heart rate and blood pressure was probably skyrocketing.
When I take Pepcid (usually 40mg), it definitely helps. Take Jasko's advice and do your "tests" at home. I did that and have found what my limits are. Better to do that in the comfort of your own home, than to go out in public and have a bad experience.
jasko wrote:^I suppose you're right. Anyway, back to the lecture at hand. Anyone have any personal experience on some alcohols that work better than others? Not getting f'd up wise, but not turning red wise? I hear vodka does well?
Generally I just drink Captain Morgan and Coke.
Let us know what ya'll usually drink- from beer to liqour to wine
For me, beer always has the least reddening effect. I suppose that's because it generallyt takes longer to consume a beer than say a shot of straight alcohol. Even with the famotidine in the system working to offset the buildup of acetaldehyde, overloading *a lot* of straight alcohol in a very sort period of time will overtake the body's ability to eliminate the acetaldehyde (the stuff that makes us red).
All that said, I do drink liquor mixed with either Coke or ginger ale. I just tend to drink it rather slowly. Maker's Mark bourbon is awesome stuff mixed with Coke. I really like the tase of that.
One thing that I have found to almost always make me red (even after the Pepcid) is red wine for whatever reason. I like a good wine, but for some reason I don't have good luck with the flushing.
That does sound encouraging, but I noticed that the information came from 2001. Hopefully the research has progressed since then.
Omega Red wrote:Most social functions have food involved, so I'd like to know the best way to take pepcid/zantac with a meal involved.
I've read the best is to:
-pop pills
-wait ~1 hour
-EAT, no drinks
-then drink
but how long should the wait be AFTER finished eating?
What you've outlined is generally my routine. I still believe there's a correlation to *what* you eat, but for the life of me I can't seem to pinpoint what foods cause more reaction than others. For me, red wine seems to always produce more flushing than beer/liquor. Not sure why though.
As far as waiting, I can usually start drinking immediately after the meal. I think drinking after a big meal slows down the absorbtion of alcohol in general anyway.
doritobreath wrote:Hello all...so I tried the Pepcid AC...works pretty good. Light pinkness, but definitely better than none when eating. I even tried eating dairy after Pepcid, and it worked pretty good. The key is to make sureyou wait at least 30 minutes or so, for me at least. One thing I get in common w/ Pecid is that I notice a tingling feeling in my right forearm, everytime. Anyone get any weird side effets like that?
I don't ever recall experiencing that, but haven't specifically looked for it. Will pay attention in the future and let you know if I see any signs of this. In general, I think it's a good idea to be reasonably observant on this stuff, given the fact there doesn't appear to be any real "scientific" research on the short/long-term effects of using H2 blockers specifically for the purposes of reducing ABlush symptoms. Knowledge is good.
angel wrote:im sorry lol.. i really want someone to send me some.. and i want to know all your storys.. does anyone feel sick when they drink?? and has pepcid prevented you from having the feeling that your sick or watever??? i had like 2-3 beers and i spewed up in front of my dad..
Don't worry about it. I just couldn't figure out what you were asking! ;-)
As for feeling sick, how quickly did you drink your 2-3 beers? Of course everyone has at one time or another had way too much to drink and gotten sick. Although, I have to admit I haven't in *many* years. Try not to drink so much so quickly. When I was much younger, I used to "pound" drinks real quickly and invariably ended up feeling sick. I also think some of this has to do with your age as well. I believe from one of your earlier posts, you said you were kind of young. I'm not encouraging underage drinking, but if you do, just take it easy and slow.
I think that the Pepcid does help with some of the sick feeling. Mostly it helps with the "blushing" of the face (or at least lessens it). However, if you.
angel wrote:im so blazwd\\e\d right now lo;!! dez buttns are werid! so yeah i wanna try it.. cant wait.. can any1 help me?? omg 2morro imma so apoliagizee fotr talkin so much sihit ;ol.. yeah i feel sory gor us!! they shud sell that shut n diarys man.. i wud b a meen customer! lol!!! yeah hu waits to help me?????? :).. omegarad hook it up wid some pills PLEASE.. pepcid please.. thanks
Do you really *always* type/write like this or are you really just messing around? I have a real hard time trying to figure out what you're trying to say. If you're serious about people helping you out, you should try to be serious once in a while.
Steph wrote:A strange thing has happened tonight...
I didn't take any pills, had a glass of wine.
As per usual, I went rosy. This happens with or without pills for my first drink.
Then I had dinner, waited about an hour or so then had a B52.
Not red!
Waited around 30mins and then had a tequila shot
Not red!
Waited around 30 mins then had a glass of wine. (Wine always makes me more red than spirits)
Went a little pink but no throbbing head.
Now why do you suppose that happened?
Yesterday I took 3 pills and had about half a bottle of wine during the night - do you think that its residue tolerance from yesterday? Perhaps the answer is simply to get sloshed every night???
The residual thing makes sense. I have had occasions in the past where there has been no redness for no apparent reason. It's very strange though and I've not been able to come up with any explanation. I do still believe there's a certain food/alcohol/timing combination that either produces a strong reaction or none at all. Unfortunately, it seems almost random!
jasko wrote:Also, how long apart did you take the Pepcid and eat your meal? or was it before?
Sorry, forgot to answer the last question. It was about 30 minutes or so.
jasko wrote:Snuffy wrote:I'm trying out the dairy theory. Tonight I had a big cheeseburger for dinner and had a chocolate shake as dessert. I first took (20 * 20 mg) of Pepcid AC 30 minutes before eating. Just had one beer (Sam Adams) and don't seem to have any redness or ill effects. Without Pepcid, one beer usually makes me red. Will post again with more testing.
I hope you meant 2 * 20mg.... but doritobreathes theory was to not eat anything all day really, and avoid things such as cheese/chocolate shakes. But, regardless. Let us know your results.
Also, how long apart did you take the Pepcid and eat your meal? or was it before?
Yeah, 2 tablets for sure, not 20. Sorry for the typo, that probably would have been a real problem. ;-)
I didn't notice any considerable difference even with having a dairy-rich meal first. Of course, this is only with a (n=1) number of experiments--hardly scientific yet!
Steph wrote:I've been thinking about why we don't process the acetylaldehyde dehydrogenase fast enough, which makes us red. Is there a way to make us produce it faster? The famo slows to alcohol process to acetyaldhyde, right? (Sorry all this chemisty is way beyond me!)
I found in a round-about way this stuff called glutathione. From what I've read, it is best produced by the amino acid cysteine. Apparently this gluta thing is an antioxidant which is good for general health but also very good for the liver. Does anyone know more about this stuff and if it would help us at all? Has anyone tried it?
All you chemistry professionals out there, please let me know what you think. Cheers
Hey Steph.
Yeah, I tried it once. There are a couple of companies who make these "antioxidants". I bought a bottle and gave it a try about a year ago, from this place: http://www.lef.org/newshop/items/item00802.html . This stuff had the glutathione in it and was supposedly designed specifically to reverse the buildup of acetaldehyde we get since our ALDH2 (or whatever) enzymes are all messed up!
Well, IT DIDN'T WORK AT ALL FOR ME. I tried using them exactly per the instructions on at least four occasions to make sure that it wasn't just a fluke. Each time, I had all of the classic "blush" symptoms: beet red, throbbing pulse, somewhat dizzy, generally feeling bad.
Like everyone else, I just want to be able to enjoy a couple of drinks and not have to worry about such bad reactions. I'm not saying this won't work for anyone else out there, it just didn't work for me. I dumped them in the trash.
All that said, I've had very positive results using the famotidine method. So far, that's been my most successful method.
Hope that helps.
Omega Red wrote:Snuffy wrote:I've tried experimenting more with the timing of eating and the Pepcid. I've found that taking the Pepcid AC first (2 * 20mg), wating 40-60 minutes and then eating works best for me. I've found that drinking at the same time as eating tends to bring on the redness. Drinking *after* the meal seems to maximize the effectiveness.
BTW, I'm still testing out the effect of consuming dairy before drinking, but I'll post to the new forum topic Eric created.
Oooo...Have you ever tried eating, then taking the pills, then waiting 40 minutes and then drink? Would the result be any better?
I did try that (only once though), similar to what Steph has also posted.
* 40mg Pepcid
* wait ~ 45-60 minutes
* ate meal (no drink with meal)
* started drinking ~ 10 minutes after the meal
* no redness
Similar experiment
* 40mg Pepcid
* wait 45 minutes
* took additional 20 mg pill (still a little leary of taking 60mg as it exceeds max recommended dosage)
* starting drinking
* no redness
jasko wrote:Snuffy wrote:Drinking *after* the meal seems to maximize the effectiveness.
Effectiveness of the pepcid taking action or the effictiveness of the flush turning you red?
A little of both I think. The Pepcid definitely works and even before I starting using it for "The Blush", drinking after a large meal tended to slow down the onset of the redness/symptoms. Generally, this was just a delayed reaction though. Only on *rare* occasions (pre-Pepcid) was I ever able to have more than 1 beer and not turn red.
I'm trying out the dairy theory. Tonight I had a big cheeseburger for dinner and had a chocolate shake as dessert. I first took (20 * 20 mg) of Pepcid AC 30 minutes before eating. Just had one beer (Sam Adams) and don't seem to have any redness or ill effects. Without Pepcid, one beer usually makes me red. Will post again with more testing.
I've tried experimenting more with the timing of eating and the Pepcid. I've found that taking the Pepcid AC first (2 * 20mg), wating 40-60 minutes and then eating works best for me. I've found that drinking at the same time as eating tends to bring on the redness. Drinking *after* the meal seems to maximize the effectiveness.
BTW, I'm still testing out the effect of consuming dairy before drinking, but I'll post to the new forum topic Eric created.
Snuffy wrote:angel wrote:LOL im not dat weeee im just like any other person who wants to have fun and all.. so can anyone help me out please please please please..
btw.. smoking weed does make you stoopid :P
Angel, relaaaaaaaaxxx, slow down and enjoy the ride a bit. ;-)
Seriously though, I've found that 2 Pepcid ACs (20mg each) taken with a full glass of water about 45-60 minutes before drinking works best. I've found that if you want a *long* time after taking them (1.5 hours or more) tends to make my stomach ache just a bit. Nothing terrible, but like I'm really, really hungry.
I'm still experimenting with eating first, not eating at all, and eating with the first few drinks. More careful observation needed there.
I've also found that Zantac 150 doesn't work as well as Pepcid AC Max Strength. Granted, this is just *my personal* experience. I've been reading this forum since Eric started it a long time ago and see that different things seem to work for different people. Overall though, I think the H2 blockers definitely work. They don't *completely* eliminate the symptoms, but they do make it "livable". The most significant thing is that they all seem to greatly reduce the rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and general "sick" feeling most of us get when drinking. Still some redness, but it seems most can at least enjoy a few drinks without feeling like you'd rather be dead!
Hope that helps!
Sorry, meant to say if you *wait* a long time, not want.
angel wrote:LOL im not dat weeee im just like any other person who wants to have fun and all.. so can anyone help me out please please please please..
btw.. smoking weed does make you stoopid :P
Angel, relaaaaaaaaxxx, slow down and enjoy the ride a bit. ;-)
Seriously though, I've found that 2 Pepcid ACs (20mg each) taken with a full glass of water about 45-60 minutes before drinking works best. I've found that if you want a *long* time after taking them (1.5 hours or more) tends to make my stomach ache just a bit. Nothing terrible, but like I'm really, really hungry.
I'm still experimenting with eating first, not eating at all, and eating with the first few drinks. More careful observation needed there.
I've also found that Zantac 150 doesn't work as well as Pepcid AC Max Strength. Granted, this is just *my personal* experience. I've been reading this forum since Eric started it a long time ago and see that different things seem to work for different people. Overall though, I think the H2 blockers definitely work. They don't *completely* eliminate the symptoms, but they do make it "livable". The most significant thing is that they all seem to greatly reduce the rapid heartbeat, dizziness, and general "sick" feeling most of us get when drinking. Still some redness, but it seems most can at least enjoy a few drinks without feeling like you'd rather be dead!
Hope that helps!
echeng wrote:Hey, guys. I had to restrict replies to registered users only due to some spamming of the forums.
Do I need to close this topic and start a new one? We're up to 375 messages here. :)
I don't think you necessarily have to close it down. With requiring people to register, that should definitely cut down on the spam.
BTW, does anyone have a clue what "angel" posted? LOL ;-)
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