While the exact reasons why alcohol triggers headaches are still not fully understood, there are some steps you can take to reduce your risk and enjoy a drink without pain. Keep a diary of exactly what brand you drink, how much alcohol you drink, how you’re drinking it, and if there are any other migraine triggers present — like hormonal swings or weather changes, or certain foods. While there is no magical alcohol that doesn’t cause headaches when consumed in excess, alcohol does vary tremendously from manufacturer to manufacturer.

• Researchers don’t know exactly what causes alcohol-induced migraine attacks.
• The right medicines, combined with self-help remedies and lifestyle changes, might help.
• No differences exist between migraine and tension headache in the frequency of alcohol as a trigger [17, 18, 20, 24–26, 29] (Table 1).
• Certainly, some headache patients cannot tolerate some alcoholic drinks, although not frequently, and perhaps only in combination in the presence of other trigger factors (stress, for example).

Avoiding migraine triggers is one of the only sure-fire ways to avoid migraine symptoms. Or you might be fine until after your blood alcohol level returns to normal. This type of headache can happen to anyone, but people with migraines are more likely to get one. It can happen even if you drink less than people who don’t get migraine headaches. A 2019 study recognized alcoholic beverages, especially red wine, as a migraine trigger factor for people with migraine. Vasodilation may trigger migraine attacks in certain individuals.

Neurological Effects of Alcohol

However, in some countries, the occurrence of alcohol as headache trigger is negligible, perhaps determined by alcohol habits. The frequency estimates vary widely based on the study approach and population. In fact, prospective studies report a limited importance of ADs as migraine trigger. If ADs are capable of triggering practically all primary headaches, they should act at a common pathogenetic level.

Sometimes, migraines don’t plague patients until the next morning, just as their blood-alcohol content level is back to normal. Many people confuse this with a regular hangover https://en.forexdata.info/alcoholic-ketoacidosis-statpearls-ncbi-bookshelf/ until the intensity of the migraine sets in. If, after keeping track, you become convinced alcohol is the problem, then it’s now time to identify the symptoms.

How Alcohol Triggers Headaches

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It is crucial to take medications at the recommended times to ensure maximum effectiveness. Additionally, it is important to communicate with your doctor if you experience any adverse effects or if the medication does not seem to be working as expected. Alternative migraine therapies can work alongside traditional treatments to reduce migraine attack frequency and lessen the impact of symptoms. Light sensitivity is a common symptom of migraine (as is sensitivity to sounds or smells), but not everyone who has the disease will experience it. Identify other symptoms of migraine and find answers to Frequently Asked Questions to help you start the conversation about migraine with your primary care provider. Treatment options vary, from acute treatment to relieve symptoms to preventive treatment to reduce the number of attacks you experience.

Does Type of Alcohol Matter? Which Alcohol Is Best for Headaches?

But there are a few secrets to consuming alcohol without the alcohol-induced headache. Try to eat some fruits, herbs, and vegetables that are helpful for alcohol-induced headache recovery. Mango, thyme, ginger, and asparagus are known to contain helpful properties for this purpose. Many people have turned to abstinence as their preventative measure for reasons stated above.

While some people try to prevent headaches by taking over-the-counter pain medications before drinking, this can be dangerous. When you take a drug such as Tylenol while drinking, there is a potential for severe side effects, including liver damage. Since alcohol has a dehydrating effect, drinking 16 ounces of water between each alcoholic beverage can help offset alcohol-related dehydration. Drinks that include electrolytes, such as sports drinks, can help replace the electrolytes you lose from the diuretic effects of alcohol. Ethanol is also a diuretic, meaning it increases urination, which then leads to electrolyte loss and dehydration.

If you’ve had a tough day at work or a stressful interaction with someone, drinking alcohol might not be the best way of coping. In fact, drinking alcohol to calm yourself down can elevate your risk of triggering a migraine attack or an alcohol-induced headache. Exercise, laughter, or meditation might be better ways to blow off steam. Even people who are not prone Goodbye Letter to Addiction Template Download Printable PDF to headaches will get a headache after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. One or two drinks with food and water over time might be safe for you, but three or more will produce a hangover headache for many people. It’s interesting to note that cocktail headaches are much rarer than hangover headaches, and they can be triggered by variable amounts of alcohol.

However, the research suggests that alcohol may not be the only trigger and may also depend on other factors. Other criteria for a person to have a migraine diagnosis include nausea or vomiting and sensitivity to light or noise. Migraine is more common, affecting around 12% of people in the United States. This leads to excessive urination and dehydration, which may cause a headache after a small amount of alcohol. While there is some research on each possible reason why alcohol causes headaches, study authors have not definitively proven the link between the two.