It’s also possible that other factors or combinations of factors can trigger migraine. Keep track of what you drink, when you drink it, and what food you consume along with it, in order to discover exactly how alcohol affects your migraines. You may be surprised to find some other triggers that have been hiding behind alcohol for years. Drinking alcohol is a trigger for migraine in some people – one study found around a third (33%) of people who get migraines are sensitive to alcohol.4 Others react to hunger, or certain foods. If you suffer from migraines, you will learn to recognise which particular symptoms affect you.
The Role of Medication in Easing Alcohol Withdrawal Headaches
Of the studies included in our analysis, 19 were based only on questionnaires while five included interviews with patients. However, these limitations are to some extent discounted by the number of studies included and the cultural diversity of participants. A 2019 study recognized alcoholic beverages, especially red wine, as a migraine trigger factor for people with migraine.
- While some people may experience migraine headaches after drinking alcohol, others may not.
- No matter the exact percentage of migraine episodes that occur after drinking — be those red or white wine or other alcoholic beverages — the truth is that any alcohol can cause a migraine.
- They registered to use the platform between October 2014 and March 2018, and subsequently tracked their symptoms and risk factors for at least 90 of 120 days after registration.
- Learn more about the relationship between migraine and family planning.
- Certain genes may influence the tendency to drink and alcohol tolerance to quantities of alcohol.
Think you have a drinking problem?
Migraine sufferers consume less alcohol, especially beer and liquors, and are more vulnerable to migraine-like hangover symptoms than nonsufferers. The finding that the tendency to develop migraine attacks affects the hangover symptomatology may suggest a similarity in pathophysiology, and possibly in treatment options. Whether or not alcohol is a common migraine headache trigger is debatable.
Studies on red wine-sensitive subjects, in order to show a mediation of induced headache by some types of 5-HT2 receptors, give inconclusive results 42. In this light, direct or indirect (by 5-HT release) stimulation of 5-HT2 receptors was supposed to be the mechanism of headache induced by some serotonergic agonists (60, for review). Sulphites have not been shown convincingly to lead to headache in individuals with sulphite sensitivity. Sulphites are considered to be the cause of red wine intolerance, particularly asthma 51.
Generally, the studies on alcohol-induced headache have not carried out the distinction between the immediate and delayed alcohol-induced headache, which in migraine patients can be partially artificial and difficult to perform 8. Some studies report that alcohol provokes headache within 30 min to 3 h; principally the red wine 9–11. Others consider an evaluation period of 6 12 or 24 h 13, while some affirm that headaches appear frequently the next morning/day 10, 14. Data were analyzed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics, Version 20 software.
- We discuss the role and mechanism of action of alcohol or other components of alcoholic drinks in relation to alcohol-induced headache.
- Nevertheless, the tendency was higher to develop migraine-like symptoms of the hangover.
Types of Alcohol-Related Headaches
The more alcohol consumed, the more the risk of these problems increases. Regardless of the percentage of people affected, it is clear that the effects of alcohol can result in migraine episodes for some people. Wine (more red than white) and other grape products have been shown to have an endothelium-dependent vaso-relaxing activity, probably via nitric oxide (NO)-mediated pathway; ethanol and resveratrol cause no relaxation 62.
Migraines (especially those with aura that hit frequently) increases your risk of developing certain cardiovascular conditions. Therefore, those who suffer from frequent migraines could benefit from a drink a day, such as a small glass of red wine (which boasts more heart-healthy compounds than other alcoholic beverages). Roughly a third of migraine sufferers say that alcoholic beverages can trigger their migraine attacks. A tenth of migraine sufferers say alcohol is a frequent or consistent trigger. According to the American Migraine Foundation, internationally, about 10 percent of people with migraine report a frequent link between alcohol and headaches.
- Being aware of the likely symptoms can help you be prepared for what is to come or allow you to be ready to care for a loved one as they attempt to remain alcohol-free.
- However, there is a need to conduct further studies related to primary headaches and alcohol consumption with low risk of bias.
- Some people only sip a glass or two of wine before their head starts to throb.
- Mixed models obtain the differences between each individual effect and the population estimates, thus estimates from Table 4 can be adjusted to provide an individualized model for each user.
In cases of conflict between authors in terms of the inclusion of a particular paper, the fourth researcher (MWP) decided upon a solution to the problem following discussion. Often, alcohol-induced headaches also have characteristics that resemble your usual headaches, such as migraines, because alcohol is a trigger for these chronic headache conditions. As dehydration can cause headaches, staying hydrated when consuming alcohol is key. Aim to drink plenty of water before, after, and during alcohol consumption. Many different factors can contribute to a hangover as a result of drinking.
Adaptation, Tolerance, and the Risk of Headaches
The majority of cohort studies were within the range can alcohol cause migraines of 3–7 points, thus receiving a high risk of bias 52, 55, 58. A detailed description of risk of bias assessment for the cohort studies is presented in Table 3. In cross-sectional studies, six out of the 11 had a high risk of bias 46,47,48, 51, 56, 60, because they received fewer than 6 positive answers.
Results
Drinking even a small amount of alcohol can trigger headache symptoms in certain individuals. These symptoms may begin within minutes or hours of drinking and vary widely in severity. Migraine episodes can be a periodic inconvenience, or they can be debilitating. The most severe migraine attacks may last up to 3 days or longer and make it impossible to do anything. Preventing migraine begins with identifying and reducing or eliminating common migraine triggers such as alcohol, dehydration, and certain foods. A person should try keeping a migraine diary for a few weeks or months to observe trends in their headache patterns.