Alcohol and VWD

I’m 29, and have never really drunk much alcohol, but the few times that I have had a full glass of wine, I have either gotten intense abdominal distress, or started bleeding from my gums (after flossing) so badly that I had to stuff cotton balls behind my teeth (and soaked through two of them, anyways).

Ordinarily, my bleeding isn’t anywhere near that bad, so I was wondering if anyone knew if the alcohol would have contributed to either of those symptoms.

Yes, the alcohol probably contributed to what happened. Alcohol can reduce some of the “stickiness” of red blood cells, which can lower the odds of blood clotting.

Since VWD already has clotting issues involved I tend to want to tell you to give up wine completely. Better safe than sorry, yes?

azurelle