Dear doctor;

I had a blackout 3 days ago after consuming 10 bottles of beer. Since that day I feel irritated by the smell of beer. Could there be a problem?

Kenneth

Dear Kenneth,

Was the black out happening for the first time? Did you have an actual fall or was it a sensation of falling? If a fall occurred, how long was it? Was there amnesia after it?

Alcohol intake has been known to induce low blood pressure, thus causing one to pass out. The exact mechanism is not known, but it is presumed to be the blunting of baroreceptor reflexes(that maintain blood pressure) by alcohol. Drinking on an empty stomach would hasten the absorption of alcohol in the blood stream and aggravate the fall of blood pressure.

Allergy to the flavouring agent or any other chemical used in processing of beer can also be responsible for the black out. In this case there may be associated breathlessness, sweating and or skin rashes.

Fainting or syncope could be due to other causes like cardiac rhythm disturbances, low blood pressure due to standing in the same position for a long time, varicose veins, etc.

Regarding irritation on smelling beer, it is undisputed that beer like any other fermented product has a bad smell. If the mind knows that this product had caused sickness just recently, it may have become conditioned to cause repulsion on seeing or smelling it.

Avoid drinking much and worse still on an empty stomach. If this syncopal attack was the first time it was happening and you feel okay now, then there is nothing to worry. But if it is recurrent, it would be good to get the blood pressure and sugar checked.

Dr Rachna Pande  is a specialist in internal medicine at Ruhengeri Hospital