Episodic TTH attacks usually last a few hours but can persist for several days. We spied a paper showing that quercetin is a good inhibitor of ALDH. Quercetin is a phenolic compound found in the skins of grapes, so it’s much more abundant in red than white wines because red grape skins are left in longer during the fermentation process than white grape skins. Primary care physician Monica Kalra, DO, explained that alcohol can cause histamine release, and histamine can cause the widening of blood cells in the brain, which may trigger a migraine attack.
Is alcohol or another component of the drink the trigger?
- No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
- Around 30% of people who experience recurrent migraines report alcohol as a trigger, and 10% of patients cite it as a frequent or consistent trigger.
- While some people try to prevent headaches by taking over-the-counter pain medications before drinking, this can be dangerous.
- The type of alcohol that contributes to migraine varies by the person, which is why journaling can be helpful.
Aim to drink plenty of water before, after, and during alcohol consumption. 2021 research also linked lifestyle factors with alcohol drinking and smoking to cluster headaches and their severity. We also examine the types of headache alcohol can trigger and the types of alcohol likely to cause more headaches. These headaches cause very intense pain that often primarily affects the area behind one eye.
Hangovers
For instance, for some people with migraines, just a small amount of alcohol can lead to a cocktail headache, whereas others can tolerate alcohol at the same level as people who don’t get migraines. If alcohol is a confirmed trigger for your migraine, then avoiding alcohol is the best solution. If you’re unsure Alcoholics Anonymous whether alcohol is triggering your migraine, keep a detailed migraine journal that includes any foods and alcohol consumed throughout the week.
- To do so, it has compounds called sulfite oxidases that create sulfate from sulfite—the 20 milligrams in a glass of wine are unlikely to overwhelm your sulfite oxidases.
- They found limited importance of nutrition, including alcohol intake, in the triggering of migraine.
- This review was performed using a literature search on PubMed from 1988 (date of the first IHS classification) to December 2014.
Is Alcohol a Migraine Trigger?
Many people with headache disorders are not diagnosed and treated. In many countries medications, such as sumatriptan for migraines, are not available. The exact cause of migraine is currently unknown but it is thought to result from the release of pain producing inflammatory substances around the nerves and blood vessels of the head.
Migraine with aura
For example, if a person drinks liquor before beer, they are likely to feel the effects of the alcohol sooner. Many different factors can contribute to a hangover as a result of drinking. Drinks containing more alcohol and congeners may worsen the chance of developing a headache. As a result, a female’s blood alcohol concentration tends to be higher, making it more likely for females to experience headaches and hangovers. However, more recent research indicates no relationship between tension type headaches and alcohol consumption. A 2015 study suggests that the inactivity of alcohol dehydrogenase 2, an enzyme that helps break down alcohol, might contribute to hangover headaches.
The Role of Adherence and Triggers in Headache Management
- Migraine is a symptom of an underlying condition, and one of the elements of a migraine is a headache.
- If they trigger migraines look for an alternative without alcohol.
- The demographic data, measure of alcoholic consumption, and smoking status of the participants were considered as the potential confounders.
- But, similar to adults, migraines in childhood and adolescence can result in missing school, sports and other activities.
Aside from contributing to the flavor of the alcohol, congeners increase the severity and https://ecosoberhouse.com/ frequency of hangover symptoms, including headaches. Congeners tend to aggravate brain tissue and blood vessels, which contributes to headaches. Clear liquors, like white rum, vodka, and gin, have significantly fewer congeners and may cause fewer headache symptoms. Although, as we’ll discuss below, there are other factors that can lead to headaches no matter what form of alcohol you consume. Alcohol-related headaches can be a frustrating experience, especially for those who live with migraine.
Certain additives can increase the chance of developing a headache after drinking. People prone migraines from alcohol 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. Some people may experience an alcohol-related migraine between 30 minutes and 3 hours after drinking. Making sure to drink plenty of water during and after alcohol consumption can decrease the chance of headaches. Genes that play a role in opioid, serotonin, and dopamine systems also influence alcohol sensitivity.
One hypothesis is that red wine causes migraine due to high levels of certain compounds called flavonols, particularly quercetin. This compound might inhibit the body’s ability to break down alcohol, leading to the buildup of a substance called acetaldehyde, which could result in headaches. 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.
The correlation between alcohol and migraines, though, might not be as strong as once reported. A cohort study published in 2022 found that among those with episodic migraines who identified as light drinkers, there was no increased probability of a migraine attack within 24 hours of alcohol consumption. Furthermore, this study found that there was a decreased likelihood of an attack 24 to 48 hours after consumption. Around 30% of people who experience recurrent migraines report alcohol as a trigger, and 10% of patients cite it as a frequent or consistent trigger.
Alcoholic drinks (ADs) have been reported as a migraine trigger in about one-third of the migraine patients in retrospective studies. Some studies found that ADs trigger also other primary headaches. Many studies show that ADs are a trigger of migraine without aura (MO), migraine with aura (MA), cluster headache (CH), and tension-type headache (TH). While data on MO and CH are well delineated, those in MA and TH are discordant.
