This enzyme is responsible for breaking down alcohol in the body, and if it is not present or is not functioning properly, the body is unable to process alcohol properly. Understanding these causes allows individuals to make informed choices about their drinking habits. At least one small study has shown some hangover treatment benefits from an over-the-counter remedy that contains milk thistle, thiamine, and antioxidants, but more research is needed. Certain supplements and herbal remedies have been touted as hangover remedies, but there is no solid evidence backing up this claim. If you’re feeling queasy, avoid rich, greasy foods and stick to dry, bland foods like toast and crackers.
- Understanding what causes a hangover headache can help you take steps to mitigate the symptoms, plus give you a heads-up on how to avoid another one in the future.
- Effective, 24/7 virtual migraine treatment with personalized care & fast prescriptions from DrHouse online doctors.
- Avoid excessive drinking, as it increases the likelihood of developing a headache.
- With that in mind, here are a few steps you can take that may help limit the risk of headaches while you are consuming alcohol.
- Migraines are a neurological condition characterized by severe headaches, often accompanied by other symptoms such as nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, and visual disturbances.
Migraine and Head Pain After Drinking? How to Avoid Aggravating Alcohol Headaches
However, a headache after drinking will usually resolve itself over time. Experts are unsure exactly how alcohol may cause one type of headache over another. It may be that people have individual differences in brain receptors that influence the brain’s reaction to alcohol. This chemical is a vasodilator, which increases the size of blood vessels in the body. Early effects of alcohol may dull sensations and have an analgesic (pain-relieving) effect.
What are the Side Effects of A Hangover?
Understanding this metabolic process provides insight into why managing intake is so critical for preventing hangover symptoms including those pesky headaches. If you want to avoid a hangover headache, the best thing you can do is think before you drink. It may be that avoiding or moderating alcohol intake is the best decision for you.Talk to your healthcare provider about alcohol use, which can have serious health and social consequences. The only guaranteed way to prevent a hangover headache is to avoid alcohol, or at least drink in moderation. Hangover headaches, with their throbbing pain at the Drug rehabilitation temples and their tendency to get worse when you move, can only reliably be cured with time as your body processes the alcohol.
The Connection Between Wine and Migraine
It is also a good idea to avoid drinking certain types of alcohol, such as red wine, if you find that they cause headaches. If you experience migraine headaches after drinking alcohol, it may be best to avoid alcohol or that certain type of alcohol. Talk with a doctor about ways to identify your migraine triggers and what to do if you develop these headaches. Some alcoholic drinks also have compounds called congeners; they’re naturally found in alcohol as a result of the distilling and fermenting process.
How Can I Treat An Alcohol Induced Headache?
Among alcoholic beverages, wine has quite the reputation as a headache trigger, particularly red wine. That first twinge of a headache can occur within a sip or two, or it may show up several hours later. Most people assume that headaches are linked with drinking too much alcohol, but an immediate alcohol-induced headache can kick in minutes after drinking one drink. Likewise, you can suffer a delayed alcohol-induced headache the following morning even if your alcohol consumption levels were fairly low the night before. It’s such a common phenomenon that research has found one-third of migraine sufferers cite alcohol as a trigger for their migraine headaches. There is also a genetic component involved with who does and doesn’t get migraine headaches after drinking, according to research.
- You may be able to separate the offending wines from those that don’t trigger a headache.
- If you have to stay at an event, at the very least switch your alcoholic drinks for a soft drink.
- Wine is often acknowledged as the most common drink to provoke a headache, but any type of alcohol can do it.
- Health Union reaches millions of people through condition-specific online health communities and a Social Health Network of patient leaders across virtually all health conditions.
Never take acetaminophen (Tylenol) when you drink or when you’re hungover. Acetaminophen makes it harder for your body to process alcohol and can damage your liver. It’s easy to find tons of purported hangover headache “cures” that you can make at home and even buy in stores. But most of them have no reliable scientific research that proves they work.
Understanding the relationship between alcohol consumption and headaches is crucial for anyone who enjoys social drinking. For many, a night out can lead to unexpected discomfort the next day. This discomfort often manifests as a headache, which can range from mild to debilitating. Various factors contribute to this phenomenon, and exploring them can help individuals make informed choices about their drinking habits.
Prevention
If not, it can lead to gastritis, stomach ulcers, and GI bleeding. This will be helpful in guiding conversations with your doctor about your symptoms. You might have tried some alternative therapies, but did you know about these complementary and integrative treatments? For more information why do i get headaches when i drink alcohol on alternative migraine treatments, visit our Resource Library.
How to Know if You Have Migraine or Sinus Headache
This isn’t always possible though and if you are currently struggling with alcohol dependency or addiction, stopping cold turkey could be dangerous. That said, broadly speaking, clear spirits like vodka are considered the least likely to cause a hangover and thus result in an alcohol-induced headache compared with darker drinks. Now, we’re not saying that you should avoid NA beers altogether (they can be super delicious), but if you are prone to headaches, it’s important to drink in moderation and stay hydrated.
- Immediate alcohol-induced headaches are rarer than hangovers, and even a small amount of alcohol might trigger them in people who, for instance, experience migraines.
- A person should try keeping a migraine diary for a few weeks or months to observe trends in their headache patterns.
- Whether alcohol acts as a trigger is really a case-by-case basis for people with migraine.
- Sometimes, social interaction can be healing, even if it increases your risk of winding up with alcohol-related headaches.
Another overlooked aspect is nutritional deficiencies caused by heavy drinking sessions. Alcohol consumption can deplete essential vitamins and minerals like magnesium and B vitamins—nutrients vital for maintaining neurological function and reducing headache severity. For people prone to migraines, even the smallest amount of alcohol can be enough to ruin a fun night out. Ethanol’s diuretic effects can also quickly dehydrate you, and a headache is just one of many symptoms of dehydration. This is because distilled, dark-colored drinks like whiskey, bourbon, and brandy contain large amounts of congeners.