If you think you may have migraine, these answers to common questions can help you further investigate this possibility with a doctor. Treatment options vary, from acute treatment to relieve symptoms to preventive treatment to reduce the number of attacks you experience. There are also behavioral treatment options and lifestyle changes that can help.
In fact, many headache sufferers abstain from alcohol or consume less than the general population. About 29 to 36 percent of people who suffer from migraines say alcoholic beverages bring on their headaches. “It probably depends on what kind of alcoholic beverage you’re talking about,” Martin says. One study showed that red wine was far more likely to lead to a migraine than vodka. We asked the experts about the relationship between drinking and headaches to determine why and how alcohol specifically triggers headaches or migraine attacks. There were a total of 2990 embedded missing days (2990/46,820, 6.4%) resulting in 43,830 days (90 for each individual) eligible for analysis.
How to Establish a Good Relationship With Your Doctor When Managing Migraine
While anyone can experience DAIH, people with migraine are more susceptible. Even a modest amount of alcohol can cause people with migraine to develop a delayed headache or trigger an attack. Additives and can alcohol help a migraine preservatives are known migraine triggers, and they’re not only found in packaged foods. Sulfites are particularly bothersome for migraine sufferers, and they are almost universally used in wine.
Tips for management when the attack is already happening
Red wine is often a bigger problem because of its congener but also its high histamine and maybe even tyramine content. But, as always, different people react differently to different drinks. Alcohol via various mechanisms aforementioned, such as increased oxidative stress, decreased energy, dehydration and more, alcohol also affects the brain. In turn, especially if we are not eating, this can lead to hypoglycemia, low blood sugar, which can also trigger migraine, which is the third mechanism. Figure 2 shows data on two individuals selected at random among those who tracked more than 600 days.
- Likewise, if you normally drink two cups of coffee on a given day, then you go without the coffee, you can have caffeine withdrawal migraines.
- If you’re at risk of violence, remove potential weapons from the sleepwalker’s room and sleep in a separate, locked room.
- If you know a migraine is likely to come on and plan to drink anyway, triptans can help.
- One of the reasons certain types of alcohol may be more likely to trigger migraine attacks is the presence of congeners.
Environmental factors like bright lights, strong smells, and extreme temperatures can also lead to migraine and you might be guessing it by now, they all increase oxidative stress. What you eat matters too; processed and high sugary foods can increase oxidative stress and fasting can lead to energy deficiency. This all sounds terrible, but low or moderate alcohol consumption that doesn’t overwhelm your antioxidant system and detox capacity is usually acceptable.
The commonest type of alcohol-induced headache is the delayed alcohol-induced headache (DAIH), often referred to as a hangover headache. This dehydration can in turn can contribute to triggering a migraine in susceptible individuals. While both can be triggered by alcohol, cluster headaches are a distinct type of primary headache. After reviewing the information above, you might still have some questions about the intricate relationship between alcohol consumption and migraine. Alcohol headaches usually happen after drinking and are often due to dehydration and some other factors.
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- Red wine is often a bigger problem because of its congener but also its high histamine and maybe even tyramine content.
- Consider joining our Move Against Migraine support group on Facebook so you can connect with others who live with migraine.
- However, the timing can vary depending on the individual and the type of alcohol consumed.
- To learn more about all of your migraine treatment options, visit the AMF Resource Library.
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. A migraine each time you have a night out should be a good reason to abstain. While migraine is a common disease that affects 39 million Americans, no two migraine experiences are the same.
These include prescription insomnia medications such as Ambien (zolpidem), Lunesta (eszopiclone), and Sonata (zaleplon). Other data shows that alcohol is more likely to be a trigger if it is consumed during a time of stress. Nancy Rones Zolotorofe, 51, is no stranger to migraines — the kind that start with searing pain behind the eyes that sometimes stretches to the teeth. She knew sleep and weather played a role — two common culprits. And eventually, she made a connection between what she was eating with how she was feeling. The most beneficial plant-based foods for migraines include the most colorful vegetables.
Knowing your own limit on alcohol can help reduce migraine symptoms. This way, you can enjoy social events without worrying about headaches. The day after drinking is key to seeing how different drinks affect headaches, as well as how different mitigation strategies affect you. It’s key to watch how you feel after drinking different types of alcohol. There are many migraine trigger factors that contribute to the same mechanisms as alcohol, thereby making it more likely that the migraine bucket is overflowing. But alcohol also makes you lose water and electrolytes with it, which is another migraine trigger.
It is also important to have open discussions about your alcohol consumption with your health care team. Your team will be able to alert you of any potential interactions between your migraine medications and alcohol, and they can help ensure you are approaching alcohol consumption safely. Be honest with your doctors about your habits and preferences. Remember, your health care providers want to work with you to make your symptoms as manageable as possible. Red wine’s propensity for causing headaches is usually attributed to the sulfates and sulfites it contains. But experts do not link migraine headaches to sulfates and sulfites alone.
When an Alcohol-Induced Headache Strikes
Magnesium supplements may interact with medications for bone health, infections, and high blood pressure. Share a list of your medications with your healthcare provider before starting a magnesium supplement so they can check for potential interactions. Regular consumption of magnesium-rich foods may help maintain adequate levels, though supplements are typically needed to achieve the doses used in clinical studies for headache prevention. Why might the LIFE diet and other ways of eating that include lots of leafy greens be so effective? One theory is that sufficient magnesium in the body can protect against migraines. Magnesium-rich leafy greens like kale, spinach, and Swiss chard can help people consume enough of this crucial nutrient.
Tannins give wine its astringent taste, and they can also contribute to headaches. Tannins can be found in other drinks including, tea, coffee and chocolate. The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry feeling in the mouth when you drink these beverages or eat food high in tannins like unripe fruit.
Use medication
The content on this website is provided for educational purposes only. Relaxation techniques may help ease stress-related migraine episodes, and they may make migraine episodes feel less severe when they do happen. Brandy, red wine, and rum have the highest levels of congeners, while gin and vodka contain fewer of these chemicals. Like other parasomnias (sleep behavioral disorders), sleepwalking happens when you only partially awake from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.
Alcohols like gin and vodka are fermented first from a mash of foods that contain starch and sugar. They are then distilled to increase the alcohol content and this process removes the congeners in the alcohol. Alcohol-induced headaches generally resolve within 72 hours of onset, although they can and many do last for a shorter time period. While these headaches eventually do subside, it is important to talk to a medical provider about headache triggers and develop a plan to minimize them. 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. No matter what you call it—a headache journal, migraine diary, headache tracker—keeping track of your symptoms can be a versatile tool to help better manage your health.
Symptoms
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. 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. However, persistent sleepwalking can lead to daytime fatigue and prevent others from getting a good night’s sleep. See a healthcare provider if sleepwalking involves dangerous activities, happens frequently, or accompanies other symptoms.
On the other hand, if you consume caffeine on a daily basis, your brain becomes acclimated to that dose, Martin says. “Studies have shown that if you normally drink two cups of coffee per day, and on one day, you drink four or five cups of coffee, then you’re more likely to have a migraine,” he says. When it comes to headaches, “caffeine is a two-edged sword,” says Martin, who is also president of the National Headache Foundation. If you have a bad migraine, a stiff cup of coffee or other caffeinated beverage may actually help your headache. In fact, many over-the-counter analgesic medications, such as Excedrin, contain caffeine along with the pain-relieving ingredient. Information and resources shared by FRN are for informational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any type of disease or condition.
As long as you don’t eat meals containing other triggers, this is one of the best things you can do. Try to stick to just a glass or two and eat enough for the food to soak up some of that alcohol. Pontinen said triptans are commonly used to treat migraine once symptoms start. Taking one before drinking isn’t recommended or known to be effective. Beer and hard liquor don’t seem to bother me as long as I am plenty hydrated before I have a drink.