As a result, a female’s blood alcohol concentration tends to be higher, making it more likely for females to experience headaches and hangovers. We also examine the types of headache alcohol can trigger and the types of alcohol likely to cause more headaches. However, if you find that your likelihood of getting a tension headache increases with the consumption of alcohol, you may want to avoid drinking if you have chronic tension headaches. This eliminates at least one of the possible triggers of tension headaches. Due to similarities, cluster headaches and migraine headaches often get grouped together.
- About 46% of all chronic alcohol users may eventually develop this condition.
- Include how you felt the prior 48 hours as well as any stress or anxiety you were under at the time.
- Paul is passionate about high-quality addiction treatment and truly believes that, with the right treatment, anyone can recover.
- Like so many other answers to science questions, “it depends.” Body weight and gender are very important factors.
- We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
- A person should eat bland carbohydrates, such as toast, to minimize nausea, improve energy levels, and help return blood sugar to normal.
ADDICTION TREATMENTS
- While there is no magical alcohol that doesn’t cause headaches when consumed in excess, alcohol does vary tremendously from manufacturer to manufacturer.
- These give many types of alcoholic beverages their taste and smell.
- However, it’s possible to have a migraine headache without having had a beer or a glass of wine.
- 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.
- To that end, there are a couple of steps you’ll want to take immediately if you’ve got a pounding headache after drinking.
- Factors such as genetics, metabolism, and overall health can influence how the body processes alcohol and its effects.
2020 research shows that females are more likely to experience hangovers, memory https://ecosoberhouse.com/ problems, and liver disease from consuming alcohol. Vasodilation may trigger migraine attacks in certain individuals. This is especially true for people prone to headaches or migraine without alcohol.
How to Avoid Getting a Headache When Drinking Alcohol
Like so many other answers to science questions, “it depends.” Body weight and gender are very important factors. Certain ethnic groups (Japanese, for example) have a genetically reduced ability to break down acetaldehyde, the main byproduct of alcohol, as it is first processed in the liver. This results in more reddening of the skin («“Asian flush”) and hangovers at lower amounts of alcohol. Additionally, alcohol metabolism can lead to changes in blood sugar levels and dehydration, both of which can contribute to headache symptoms.
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A person should eat bland carbohydrates, such as toast, to minimize nausea, improve energy levels, and help return blood sugar to normal. However, if this is something that you find difficult then there are things you can do to reduce the chances of experiencing an unpleasant headache. 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. She has over a decade of direct patient care experience working as a registered nurse specializing in neurotrauma, stroke, and the emergency room.
As chemists specializing in winemaking, we wanted to try to figure out the source of these headaches. While there is no magical alcohol that doesn’t cause headaches when consumed in excess, alcohol does vary tremendously from manufacturer to manufacturer. Top-shelf brands not only taste better but may also be less likely to prove a migraine trigger. I caution patients to order a specific brand of alcohol when ordering a cocktail rather than relying on well drinks or why do you have a headache after drinking lower-quality brands. The quality of the alcohol consumed may be a factor in whether it triggers a headache.
Let’s look at why alcohol makes your head hurt, what you can do to remedy it, and how to avoid headaches down the road. Early effects of alcohol can dull sensations and have an analgesic effect, but as alcohol leaves the body it can Oxford House have the opposite effect and actually increase sensitivity to pain. Some studies have reported that alcohol can trigger a migraine headache in people who are sensitive to it in as little as 30 minutes — or it could take 3 hours. 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.
Are There Any Strategies to Help Prevent or Reduce Alcohol-Related Headaches?
The alcohol in the blood increases more quickly with liquor than with beer. For example, if a person drinks liquor before beer, they are likely to feel the effects of the alcohol sooner. A person may experience migraine after drinking if they are susceptible to it. Some people may experience an alcohol-related migraine between 30 minutes and 3 hours after drinking.
- Let’s look at why alcohol makes your head hurt, what you can do to remedy it, and how to avoid headaches down the road.
- 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.
- Once in the brain it causes a chemical release that leads to pleasurable feelings, and it lessens inhibitions by depressing certain frontal lobe functions.
- For example, if a person drinks liquor before beer, they are likely to feel the effects of the alcohol sooner.
- The headache is a result of a lagging metabolic step as the body breaks down the alcohol.
Alcohol also affects chemicals and hormones in your brain, such as histamine and serotonin, which contribute to the development of a headache. Congeners are much more likely to result in hangover symptoms, including headaches. Opt for light-colored drinks like vodka to minimize your hangover blues the day after.
Congeners are more likely to produce a hangover or make a hangover worse. But drinking too much alcohol of any color can still make you feel bad the next morning. If you suspect that someone has alcohol poisoning — even if you don’t see the classic symptoms — get medical help right away. Hangovers after a single night’s drinking go away on their own. Talk with your healthcare professional if you’re concerned that frequent heavy drinking may lead to serious problems, such as alcohol withdrawal. There’s no proof that drinking raw eggs or downing hot sauce will get rid of your morning-after migraine faster.
- You may find that one day you can drink a lot of alcohol and not experience a headache at all, yet another day just a few glasses will leave you with a pounding head.
- Conversely, there are many medications that interfere with the breakdown of alcohol and acetaldehyde, worsening the consequences of drinking.
- But other drinks like sparkling wine, beer, and hard liquor may be just as likely, if not more, to cause problems.
Relieving Headache Pain: Preventing and treating migraines and other headaches
In other words, the only real way out of a hangover is through. Drinking more alcohol will likely just prolong your symptoms. Excessive drinking has numerous impacts on your body and mind, ranging from mild to severe. Learn which signs to look out for, and how to care for your well-being. But according to Waterhouse and Devi, the amount of milligrams of sulfites in wine — 20 milligrams in a single glass — are unlikely to be enough to overwhelm the body’s sulfite oxidases. Because every person is different, it helps to hear what tactics (not necessarily evidence based) help others.