MINNEAPOLIS — Long after getting infected with coronavirus, some people are having new reactions to alcohol, according to a recent study.
In new research published in December, Stanford doctors documented the experiences of four people who experienced long COVID. All of them drank regularly — or often — in social situations, but months or even a year after infection patients reported a shift in alcohol tolerance. Symptoms included headaches and hangovers.
One woman reported feeling like she couldn’t move after a single glass of wine.
“Unfortunately, their social life was suffering as a result of it,” Dr. Tanya Melnik said, recalling the experience of one patient at M Health Fairview Adult Post-COVID Clinic. “They had to overhaul what they do with their friends and family.”
At the Minneapolis-based clinic, only a few long COVID patients have brought up concerns about alcohol intolerance. According to Dr. Melnik, alcohol is not a main concern for most patients (“usually they do have bigger fish to fry, so to speak,” she said) and doctors don’t usually ask about it.
Alcohol intolerance is not included in the current list of long COVID symptoms on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) websites. An NIH spokesperson said in an email that the topic was not asked about or analyzed in the agency’s own research, published in May 2023.
“However, we know that long COVID has more than 200+ symptoms and as our knowledge of the condition grows, it is possible that additional symptoms could emerge,” the NIH statement read.
The CDC did not reply to KARE’s request for a comment.
Stanford researchers recommended a deeper study of this topic to better understand how common alcohol intolerance is for long COVID patients. They also advised doctors to ask their patients about drinking, writing in the study that “this information can provide insights into potential triggers for worsening symptoms and help guide lifestyle management strategies.”
Stanford researchers clarified in their writings that they did not find a “definitive causal link” between long COVID and alcohol sensitivity, due to the limited size of their study.
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