Current medical opinions on alcohol consumption are evolving with research, so it’s important to educate yourself on the effects of alcohol on your health. If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or other dependency issues, there are many resources that are ready to help. If alcohol is a confirmed trigger for your migraine, then avoiding alcohol is the best solution. If you’re unsure whether alcohol is triggering your migraine, keep a detailed migraine journal that includes any foods and alcohol consumed throughout the week. This will be a valuable resource for you and your doctor to start identifying more specific alcohol and migraines migraine triggers.
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- If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or other dependency issues, there are many resources that are ready to help.
- Dr. Michael Yang is a board-certified neurologist and headache specialist at the Gundersen Health System in Wisconsin.
- Keeping a migraine diary can help you understand your patterns of migraines and identify your personal triggers.
While alcohol hangover is a common disorder,10 causing suffering and disability to millions worldwide, there is no direct way to measure it. The HSS, which was used in this study, was developed to provide a useful hangover measure, assessing multiple symptom domains, which do not rely on respondents’ subjective definitions of hangover. Assessing the percentage of drinking occasions after which hangover symptoms allows the HSS item scores to be interpreted as hangover susceptibility or proneness. Dehydration triggers some migraine cases; therefore, drinking plenty of water can help, even after the fact. Drinking water helps replenish your fluids and flush the alcohol out of your system. If you tend to get migraines within three hours or less of drinking, this might work best for you.
- Some potential causes include dehydration, congeners, histamines, tannins, and individual differences in brain receptors.
- Hence, papers that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded.
- While a hangover headache can happen to anyone (usually the morning after drinking too much alcohol), people who experience migraines are more susceptible.
- Every person living with migraine deserves to be seen, heard, and supported.
- It’s essential to build a support network of understanding people who can not only check in on you during an attack but also empathize with your experience.
Causes & Risk Factors
Monitoring your alcohol intake can help minimize the impact of triggers. Drinking in moderation, staying hydrated, and keeping a migraine diary to identify your specific triggers can all help reduce the impact of alcohol on your migraines. To reduce the impact of alcohol on migraines, it is important to monitor your intake.
What’s the best way to treat a migraine headache from alcohol?
Unlike hangover headaches, which develop the following morning, these can happen even with a small amount of alcohol and are a particular nuisance for those prone to migraines. Moreover, alcohol can cause blood vessels in our brain to expand, a process called vasodilation. This change in the body’s internal roadways can trigger migraines in some people. Additionally, it’s important to pace yourself and consume alcohol in moderation. Overindulging can disrupt your sleep patterns and lead to dehydration, both of which are common migraine triggers. Being mindful of your personal tolerance for alcohol and knowing when to stop can significantly decrease the risk of a migraine onset.
When alcohol is a trigger for one’s usual primary headaches, the pain usually occurs within three hours of alcohol consumption. However, a 2019 study found higher rates of vodka consumption among drinkers with frequent migraine attacks. The response to alcohol varies from person to person, and there is no alcohol that absolutely will not cause a migraine or other headache. Migraine causes a specific type of headache that involves neurological symptoms such as light sensitivity and aura. Other types of headaches, including severe headaches, can occur as a result of alcohol consumption. Always drink responsibly—which includes minimizing the chances that alcohol will affect your migraine.
- Alcohol-induced migraine attacks are typically more severe and can occur shortly after consumption or even the next day.
- If you’re experiencing migraine symptoms triggered by alcohol consumption, try these tips to manage an alcohol migraine attack.
- If you decide to avoid alcohol altogether, there are plenty of non-alcoholic alternatives that can still make your social gatherings enjoyable.
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Uncovering Potential Medical Causes of Headaches During Alcohol Withdrawal
By selecting alcohols with lower levels of potential migraine triggers, sufferers may be able to enjoy an occasional drink without the risk of exacerbating their condition. According to the results, 35.6% of patients reported alcoholic beverages as a trigger for headache. While red wine was the most common among these (reported by 77.8% of patients and followed by Sober living house white wine, champagne, and beer), it was a consistent trigger in only 8.8% of patients. Vodka was cited as the least likely to provoke headache (8.5% of patients).