Dehydration caused by alcohol consumption is considered a potential factor that may trigger migraines in susceptible individuals. Chemical imbalances, the presence of other ingredients in alcoholic beverages (such as histamine), and individual sensitivities can also play a role. It is important to note that not everyone who experiences migraines will have them triggered by alcohol.
Table 1.
The response to alcohol varies from person to person, and there is no alcohol that absolutely will not cause a migraine or other headache. Similarly, a 2019 study investigating the differences in clinical features of cluster headaches between 131 drinkers and nondrinkers in Japan discovered that alcohol triggered a cluster headache in 57% of participants. Always drink responsibly—which includes minimizing can alcohol cause migraines the chances that alcohol will affect your migraine. Current medical opinions on alcohol consumption are evolving with research, so it’s important to educate yourself on the effects of alcohol on your health. If you are struggling with alcohol abuse or other dependency issues, there are many resources that are ready to help.
Alcohol Use as a Comorbidity and Precipitant of Primary Headache: Review and Meta-analysis
Same‐day alcohol intake (Yes/No), and quantity of each type of alcoholic drink had 4.7% missing values. Headaches are one of the most common neurological symptoms related to the sensation of pain 1 and cause a decrease in patients’ quality of life 2. Headache disorders are classified according to the third edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD) 4, 5 as either primary headaches, secondary headaches or neuropathies and facial pains 4, 6.
- Curiously, in some countries, the percentages of alcohol or wine as migraine triggers were negligible, 6.1 25 and 1.4% 26, perhaps depending on the degree of alcohol habits.
- In fact migraine patients can have headaches triggered by alcoholic drinks such as wine within a few hours or the next morning after the alcohol intake (hangover headache?), with the confounding effect of sleep on the interval determination.
- If both stress and alcohol are migraine triggers for you, combining them won’t do you any favors.
- Alternative migraine therapies can work alongside traditional treatments to reduce migraine attack frequency and lessen the impact of symptoms.
- Often patients who use the N1-Headache app are very motivated and are keen to identify their triggers,” he said.
In addition to these factors, there are some individuals who are more predisposed to experience headaches during alcohol withdrawal due to a series of genetic factors. This might include a history of chronic migraines, personal sensitivity to changes in brain chemistry, or a series of other pre-existing conditions that will vary from person to person. Understanding these interconnected physiological and neurological mechanisms provides insights into why headaches are a prevalent symptom during alcohol withdrawal. Stress can cause a spike in headaches even when alcohol or alcohol withdrawal isn’t factoring into the equation. Combine the added stress of quitting drinking with the other neurological causes of headaches during alcohol withdrawal and the severity and frequency of headaches can easily become unbearable.
Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.27 The Biomedical Research Alliance of New York (BRANY) IRB granted full waiver from informed consent on 10 October 2019. Other criteria for a person to have a migraine diagnosis include nausea or vomiting and sensitivity to light or noise. Relaxation techniques may help ease stress-related migraine episodes, and they may make migraine episodes feel less severe when they do happen.
How to Establish a Good Relationship With Your Doctor When Managing Migraine
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. The tables below group alcohol types by the amount of these additives. Migraine is more common, affecting around 12% of people in the United States. This leads to excessive urination and dehydration, which may cause a headache after a small amount of alcohol.
However, if the role of ADs in triggering MA and TH will be confirmed, a common trigger site should be considered. In this case, a direct action at the vascular system is hardly compatible with TH or MA. More plausible is an action at subcortical pain modulatory circuits, which in some way stimulate the neural generator of CH (hypothalamus?) and of migraine aura (cortex?, thalamus?).
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Criteria to recognize habits for alcohol consumption was various in almost each study. 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. Additionally, there were cases 56, 57 where division was based on never, current or past drinking. More accurate calculation with amount and various types of alcohol was also conducted in studies 26, 27, 45, 54. Only few studies 46, 48,49,50, 52 provided the data about the period in which alcohol drinking was considered and measured.
- Several studies suggest that alcohol, especially red wine, may trigger migraine attacks.
- Knowing your migraine triggers is important because avoiding those triggers can reduce your total number of migraine attacks.
- The most common headache trigger is stress, which releases certain chemicals in the brain that cause vascular changes.
- The best program for you depends on your personal preferences and needs.
Ninety-five participants (14%) met the IHS criteria for episodic migraine with or without aura. Those who were included in this study had episodic migraine and self-identified as low dose alcohol consumers. The number of drinks you have, what you’re drinking, and what’s going on in your life may be the primary culprits rather than alcohol itself. Neither the interaction term nor the presence of migraine on day‐2 were significant and they were removed (one at a time) from the final model (Model 2).
- Figure 2 shows data on two individuals selected at random among those who tracked more than 600 days.
- Ninety-five participants (14%) met the IHS criteria for episodic migraine with or without aura.
- A migraine is headache with other symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, vomiting, aura and more.
- Patients sometimes have a tendency not to admit their drinking habits 90.
Alcohol and headaches
As a result, a female’s blood alcohol concentration tends to be higher, making it more likely for females to experience headaches and hangovers. Meanwhile, 2020 research showed that 95% of participants experienced alcohol-induced headaches. A 2016 study showed that alcohol consistently induced migraine in 10% of people. People who cannot stop drinking should talk with a doctor about treatment for alcohol use disorder, which is a serious but treatable condition. A 2015 study suggests that the inactivity of alcohol dehydrogenase 2, an enzyme that helps break down alcohol, might contribute to hangover headaches. However, the study author also cautions that no single factor causes all hangover headaches.