People with a variant in this enzyme have issues with metabolizing alcohol and can develop total body flushing or reddening of the skin. I also find hard liquor gives me more of hangover than when I was younger but doesn’t give as much of a headache. The ads we show you may be personalized based on the information that you share. Learn more about the short-term and long-term effects of alcohol. If a headache persists or worsens, visit a doctor for an examination and treatment recommendations. However, the research suggests that alcohol may not be the only trigger and may also depend on other factors.
It affects each person differently with a wide range of disease severity. Some have infrequent attacks, but others may have frequent disabling attacks. Expecting someone to push through or just take your mind off of it is never good advice.
Everything You Need to Know about Alcohol-Induced Headaches
The response to alcohol varies from person to person, and there is no alcohol that absolutely will not cause a migraine or other headache. People who experience a headache after drinking should not assume that it is a migraine attack, especially if they have symptoms consistent with other types of headaches. For example, a tension headache may cause pain in the neck or shoulders. 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.
What’s the best way to treat a migraine headache from alcohol?
If you really want to drink, you may want to find out if any types of alcohol are unlikely to cause symptoms. You can try sips (or other small amounts) of different types of alcohol to see how your migraine reacts. Keep in mind that you may have to deal with several migraine attacks before you can determine what kind of alcohol causes your symptoms.
Explore these Frequently Asked Questions about migraine symptoms to see if you might be experiencing migraine. If you aren’t sure that alcohol is to blame for your headaches, try keeping a diary. Each time you drink, write down the type of alcohol you have, the amount, and if and when you had a migraine. Include how you felt the prior 48 hours as well as any stress or anxiety you were under at the time.
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Remember, your health care providers want to work with you to make your symptoms as manageable as possible. Even a small amount of alcohol can sometimes spur on a migraine attack. One member of MyMigraineTeam shared how many drinks they could have without triggering an episode. “I can usually handle one or two, but that is it,” they wrote.
- Some of them assessed the drinking by daily alcohol intake 44, 45, 47, 48, 55, 58, 59, 62, part of them measured drinking within one week 44, 47, 51, 53, 60, 61 or month 36, 44, 47, 49, 51.
- People who suffer from migraine are more prone to these reactions — even after drinking less alcohol than people who don’t get migraine headaches.
- It affects each person differently with a wide range of disease severity.
- There are sparse reports that ADs are also triggers of less frequent types of primary headache such as familial hemiplegic migraine, hemicrania continua, and paroxysmal hemicrania.
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People who have frequent migraine attacks may wish to consider migraine prevention medications such as topiramate (Topamax), divalproex (Depakote), propranolol (Inderal), or CGRP inhibitors. A 2016 review notes that alcohol may trigger a tension headache, especially if a person also has migraine. The research found that 21% of people with migraine say that alcohol is a tension headache trigger, compared with just 2% of people without migraine. In the same study indicating red wine as a frequently cited migraine trigger, vodka (which is primarily comprised of ethanol and water) was least likely to be cited. “The strongest foods we’ve got a link for are tyramine-containing foods for some individuals who live with migraines,” explains Dr Duane Mellor, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. This compound, which occurs naturally in cheese, can also be found in sweets, chocolate and red wine.
Some odors may activate certain nerve receptors in the nasal passages that may trigger a migraine attack or make worse one that already started. Osmophobia (aversion to odors) is a common symptom of migraine. This condition is called Photophobia, and it is actually one of the criteria used to diagnose migraine. Both natural, bright light and fluorescent or flickering bulbs are problematic, making it difficult to spend time outside or be in an office environment.
You can find additional support from people in your position and those who have already experienced pregnancy with migraine in our Move Against Migraine Facebook group. Finding people whom you can lean on for support can help lift some of the burden of managing migraine before, during and after pregnancy. Our Move Against Migraine Facebook group is full of mothers with migraine who can offer encouragement and support throughout your journey.
A person should try keeping a migraine diary for a few weeks or months to observe trends in their headache patterns. 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.