Individuals with lower body weights cannot process as much alcohol as individuals at higher weights. She enjoys interviewing medical experts and researchers about their work and is passionate about communicating accurate and relevant health information to the public. Alcohol consumption and risk of pre‐diabetes and type 2 diabetes development in a Swedish population.
- It can help you identify patterns over time and help your doctor identify if you are experiencing migraine.
- Whether the effect is immediate or delayed, you may have a headache after drinking too much alcohol.
- There are multiple ways in which you can prevent and heal an alcohol-induced headache using natural remedies.
- In addition, fructose-containing foods also help metabolize the alcohol content more rapidly.
- If they trigger migraines look for an alternative without alcohol.
You may be able to separate the offending wines from those that don’t trigger a headache. Repeated drinking can lead to liver scarring, known as cirrhosis. Certain inflammatory chemicals increase in the blood and affect various natural hormonal pathways.
How to Treat Alcohol-Induced Headaches and Migraines
In addition to this, people are sometimes more likely to drink more when they are feeling stressed and a little reckless. Certain additives can increase the chance of developing a headache after drinking. People prone to headaches may be at a higher risk of experiencing alcohol-related headaches. A person may experience migraine after drinking if they are susceptible to it.
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 can alcohol cause migraines in more reddening of the skin (« “Asian flush”) and hangovers at lower amounts of alcohol. The effects on other body systems are also important in the symptoms of alcohol intoxication.
Types of Alcohol-Related Headaches
To learn more about all of your migraine treatment options, visit the AMF Resource Library. For help finding a healthcare provider, check out our Find a Doctor tool. Ibuprofen and aspirin can help relieve headaches and pains, but you should avoid acetaminophen. Acetaminophen is toxic to the liver, compounding alcohol’s effect on the organ. When you’ve had too much fun the night before and overindulgence has caught up with you, there are treatments and home remedies for a hangover headache.
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. Individuals who are already prone to have migraine headaches should be especially aware of alcohol-induced migraines. Roughly 3 in 10 migraine sufferers report that alcohol is a trigger at least some of the time.
Be Aware of Liquid Medications
Knowingly drinking nonalcoholic beverages, as I do while watching afternoon Jets games, is not the same as consuming a placebo which you have been led to believe does contain alcohol. The effect I experience on my couch with NA beer is not as strong as it is with real beer, and probably not as strong as it would be if I were in one of those studies. But I was clearly feeling something, and it wasn’t from the trace amounts of alcohol present in some NA beers.
Mounting evidence suggests there may be a connection between migraine and mental health. Anxiety disorders and depression are two of the most commonly reported mental illnesses among people who are diagnosed with migraine. By learning how migraine and mental health impact one another and ways to manage both, you can improve your quality of life. Learn more about the relationship between migraine and mental health in this AMF webinar. The short answer is that while it’s possible for alcohol to cause a migraine attack, it’s often a bit more complicated. In some studies, about one-third of people living with migraine reported alcohol as a migraine trigger (at least occasionally).
For example, drinking even a small amount of alcohol decreases sleep quality. Sleep deprivation can cause negative effects such as increased blood pressure or gastrointestinal discomfort. Migraine typically begins slowly and may increase in severity if left untreated.
Nor was it just the sting of yet another disappointing Jets season. I’ve since had similar experiences while drinking NA beers at bars, and if anything, watching the Jets fumble things would “sober” me up. On the other hand, “beers” like Heineken 0.0 or Athletic Brewing Co. Maybe even though I knew I wasn’t drinking beer with alcohol, my past associations with the beverage were powerful enough to override that knowledge and make me feel like I was drinking. Many of the same tips for preventing a headache after drinking also work for treating one. Hydration and electrolyte replacement is one of the best things you can do to help recover from an alcohol-induced headache.