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. To prevent an alcohol-related migraine headache, try sipping your drink slowly or avoiding triggers. Because your body views alcohol as a toxic substance, it’s perfectly normal to experience a headache from drinking alcohol. Alcohol’s effects on your body include dehydration, inflammation, reduced sleep quality, and the buildup of toxic substances—all of which can give you a headache. Scientists are still trying to understand how or why alcohol acts as a trigger for some people who suffer from migraines.

It’s not always what you drank the night before that triggered that morning migraine. People who get hangovers that trigger a migraine may also wish to avoid alcohol with high levels of congeners. These are substances that the alcohol manufacturing process produces. Some research suggests that congeners play a role in hangovers, although factors such as inflammation also contribute.

Acetaldehyde contributes to inflammation in the liver, pancreas, intestinal tract, and brain, among other organs. As a result, people feel malaise (a general feeling of unwellness), fatigue, headache, and other physical symptoms. Tension headaches feel like you have a tight band, like a headband, around your head. They feel different than a migraine and, in some cases, may feel different than a hangover headache.

Alcohol as a Migraine Trigger

Additionally, people with a history of migraines may experience longer-lasting headaches after drinking alcohol. Understanding how long these headaches can last can help you take the necessary steps to prevent or manage them effectively. The correlation between alcohol and migraines, though, might not be as strong as once reported.

They will also find that the headache increases in intensity when any physical activity is taken. In other words, you will go to the toilet more frequently, but the lost liquid will not be as evenly replaced. This contributes greatly to dehydration, which is the cause of your alcohol-induced headache.

Whether Alcohol Is a Migraine Trigger

Delayed alcohol headaches or hangovers generally take hours to start, such as the following day after a night of drinking too much. Do you ever experience throbbing headaches after a night of drinking? Alcohol-induced headaches are common after having a drink or two. They occur due to various factors such as dehydration, changes in blood flow to the brain, and alcohol’s impact on serotonin levels.

• They feel different than a migraine and, in some cases, may feel different than a hangover headache.
• Dehydration causes brain cells to contract temporarily, also resulting in headaches.
• Sometimes, migraines don’t plague patients until the next morning, just as their blood-alcohol content level is back to normal.

Not sure where to start?

Drinking this with mixers such as lemonade or tonic waters can reduce the chances even further. However, it was noted that red wine is the leading culprit when it comes to a headache. One of the most common symptoms of a hangover is a headache. Hangovers occur when the alcohol levels in your blood drop significantly—frequently the morning after you drink. Hangovers can affect pretty much anyone who has had too much to drink. If none of the preventative measures above work or you didn’t know alcohol triggered migraines until after the fact, there are still options available to you.

For most people, a hangover headache will last no more than 24 hours, with many people finding that a good night’s sleep and plenty of water can relieve their symptoms completely. Unfortunately, some may notice that their headache takes a little longer to go away, this could be up to 72 hours. As we have discovered from looking at the types of alcohol-induced headaches, you may experience one from as little as three hours after drinking alcohol.

Can I Prevent Headaches When I Drink?

A delayed alcohol-induced headache is what we commonly call a hangover. Yet, a 2016 study pointed out that estimates vary and the reason that alcohol use might trigger migraine episodes is still unclear. Substances such as sulfites, histamine, and tyramines are found in alcohol and may contribute to headaches as well. It has also been proposed that alcohol triggers an inflammatory response that can lead to a headache. The UK Chief Medical Officers’ low risk drinking guidelines are designed to help all adults keep the health risks from drinking alcohol to a low level. Migraines and their triggers are very individual – what affects one person may cause no problems for the next.

Alcohol is responsible for creating a relaxing effect on the blood vessels. In turn, this leads to more blood being able to flow into the brain, which can trigger a migraine. Migraine is a symptom of an underlying condition, and one of the elements of a migraine is a headache. A migraine is headache with other symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, vomiting, aura and more. We know that if we treat the underlying cause, we can make great strides in helping migraine patients live pain-free.

We recommend taking a look at our patient guides, which include useful information like how to talk to your doctor about migraine. It’s important to stay updated on the latest migraine research and treatment strategies. The American Migraine Foundation Resource Library provides a wealth of articles designed to assist you in understanding your symptoms and treatment options. Did you know that 20% of women say they avoid pregnancy because of migraine? While migraine thankfully does not affect fertility, it can complicate conversations about family planning and infertility treatments.

What Are The Types Of Alcohol Induced Headache?

• Drinking too much can trigger migraines, and possibly other types of headaches—such as cluster headaches and tension headaches—in people who are already susceptible to these issues.
• For example, wine may be a trigger for some but whiskey may not have an influence.
• Receiving a formal migraine diagnosis is the first milestone when working with your doctor to identify a personalized and effective treatment plan.
• He has been personally battling chronic migraine since his teenage years.

If you’re at home, channel your inner mixologist and try some of these mocktail migraines after drinking alcohol recipes from Alicia Wolf, aka the Dizzy Cook. They are delicious, and you won’t experience a beer headache — a win-win. One way to limit your risk and stay social is to order a migraine-friendly ginger ale in a beer glass. There’s no foam top, but it can pass for a beer at a glance. Bars and restaurants are also good these days about having mocktails on their menu or being willing to make you one even if it’s not on the menu.

As you may recall, any kind of alcohol will eventually dehydrate you. Dehydration is one of the reasons why you get a headache after drinking. If your body already lacks the optimal amount of fluids for your body, the headache will come on a lot faster.

If they trigger migraines look for an alternative without alcohol. So it’s best to make alcohol the single, isolated factor and journal what triggers each migraine. Whenever one comes on, jot down what you last ate, how much sleep you got, what the current environmental factors are, and anything else that may help you to find out what the cause is. This will help your doctor isolate the cause of your migraine and your triggers.

The body converts the ethanol in alcohol that we drink to a chemical that can trigger headaches. Many people may also develop headaches due to the dehydrating effects of alcohol. Remember, the best way to completely avoid alcohol-related headaches is by moderating or abstaining from alcohol consumption.

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 until the intensity of the migraine sets in. A cocktail headache is a headache that occurs within the same evening of drinking alcohol. Unlike a hangover headache, cocktail headaches can be caused by even small amounts of alcohol. If you develop a cocktail headache, take care to rest and nourish your body with water, electrolytes, and a healthy fruit or vegetable snack if possible.

While this is not necessarily true for everyone, it’s true for so many people that a trend toward abstinence developed among migraine-sufferers. In fact, one Dutch study found that 25% of people who suffered from migraines had stopped drinking because it was either an actual or potential trigger. Avoid alcoholic and sugary drinks when you have migraine, especially during an attack. Dark liquors and red wines may be particularly harmful due to their sugar, sulfate, tannin, and histamine content. Since the research on alcohol as a migraine trigger is limited, and everyone’s body metabolizes foods and drinks differently, it can be helpful to tune into what yours is telling you. The length of alcohol-induced headaches varies from person to person and depends on these factors.