Aim to drink plenty of water before, after, and during alcohol consumption. While some research shows that the correlation between migraines and and headaches might be weaker than once stated, roughly 30% of people who experience migraines report alcohol as a trigger. Nausea and/or vomiting is just one of many symptoms a person living with migraine might experience. Because migraine is a highly nuanced disease, it is important to learn about all possible symptoms that may appear before, during or after a migraine attack, including less common ones such as aura. Keep a record of any symptoms that occur after consuming alcohol and discuss them with your doctor. Identifying your specific food and drink triggers is a key part of any migraine prevention and treatment plan.
Minimizing Migraine Attacks: What I Wish I Knew…
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. Alternative migraine therapies can work alongside traditional treatments to reduce migraine attack frequency and lessen the impact of symptoms. Anton emphasizes that exercise doesn’t necessarily have a direct effect on how alcohol is metabolized, so it shouldn’t be an excuse to start drinking.
Traveling With Migraine – How To Avoid Travel Attacks
If you’re experiencing migraine symptoms triggered by alcohol consumption, try these tips to manage an alcohol migraine attack. Limit your alcohol consumption to moderate levels, sticking to recommended guidelines. For men, this sober house means no more than two drinks per day, and for women, it’s one drink per day.
Key points
If you do drink vodka or gin, be sure to avoid any sugary mixers as they can also trigger headaches. If alcohol gives you headaches, there are steps you can take to prevent them. Drink water with your alcohol to help prevent dehydration, one of the main causes of alcohol migraine triggers. Some may find that small amounts of certain types of alcohol do not trigger migraine. Innovative medical devices such as CEFALY Connected offer drug-free migraine relief. This FDA-cleared device uses external trigeminal nerve stimulation (eTNS) technology to target migraine pain.
- If you’re prone to alcohol-related headaches, try switching to white wine or clear spirits like vodka or gin in moderate amounts.
- But “cutting back” doesn’t necessarily have to mean cutting out.
- If your support system is lacking, consider joining a support group.
- One study found that, six months after participating in Dry January, 40 percent of participants reported drinking less often and having fewer drinks, whereas 10 percent reported the opposite.
- However, these limitations are to some extent discounted by the number of studies included and the cultural diversity of participants.
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. Their global prevalence is estimated at 52% of the population 3. Part of that included going out with friends and consuming some alcoholic beverages. It was a bonding experience for me, and I was never a heavy drinker. 2021 research also linked lifestyle factors with alcohol drinking and smoking to cluster headaches and their severity.
These symptoms may begin within minutes or hours of drinking and vary widely in severity. 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.
A number of experts have recommended revision of the guidelines toward lower amounts, as more studies have linked even moderate alcohol consumption to health risks. Predictably, the alcoholic beverage industry opposes more restrictive guidelines. Due to the inclusion of many study designs, the risk of bias was evaluated using tools adjusted to the type of study. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal tools were used for cross-sectional, cohort and case control studies 63.
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Males should aim to drink two or fewer drinks daily, and females should aim to drink one or fewer. Migraine typically begins slowly and may increase in severity if left untreated. They involve throbbing pain that generally occurs on one side of the head. Those diagnosed with a specific type of headache may be more prone to develop a specific type of headache after consuming alcohol. It has been suggested that a tendency to experience alcohol-induced headaches could be genetic. Migraines in general have been linked to variations in genes, especially those that regulate blood flow to the brain.
Is drinking some alcohol better than drinking none?
Even among the positive studies, potential health benefits are often quite small. In addition, alcohol may reduce the risk of one condition (such as cardiovascular disease) while increasing the risk of another (such as cancer). So it’s hard to predict who might actually benefit and who may be harmed more than helped by alcohol consumption. And the balance of risk and benefit likely varies from person to person, based on individual factors such as genetics and lifestyle factors. In many cases, even moderate drinking (defined below) appears to increase risk.
- These individuals commonly cite wine, especially red wine, as a migraine trigger.
- Certain genes may influence the tendency to drink and alcohol tolerance to quantities of alcohol.
- Learn more about the relationship between migraine and family planning.
- Other types of headaches, including severe headaches, can occur as a result of alcohol consumption.
- In addition to red wine, other alcoholic beverages, including beer, white wine, and liqueur, have also been reported as headache triggers.
Finally, 22 articles 26, 27, 36, 44–62 were retrieved for further analysis. A detailed description of the steps performed during study selection is presented in Fig. Whether alcohol acts as a trigger is really a case-by-case basis for people with migraine.
- Staying hydrated and keeping alcohol consumption to a minimum can decrease the chance of experiencing a headache.
- However, if you do drink, be sure to do so in moderation and stay hydrated.
- It may be worth considering some treatment options to help you manage your symptoms.
- Red wine contains 20 to 200 times the amount of histamine than white wine.
- Many people have experienced a headache after drinking alcohol — especially after drinking too much.
Types of Alcohol-Related Headaches
The end result of continuing to practice these tools is being able to actively participate in my life as a wife, mother, family member and friend. My goal as a migraine advocate, educator, and wellness coach is to help others gain more control over migraine. These clear liquors are less likely to trigger migraines than their darker counterparts.
Talk with a doctor about ways to identify your migraine triggers and what to do if you develop these headaches. Neurologist and headache expert Dr. Belinda Savage-Edwards explains that migraine attacks can occur with little alcohol. “The most common alcohol that triggers a migraine attack is red wine, followed by white wine, champagne and beer,” she says.
Additionally, patients and physicians should consider the latest medical data, in order to avoid the myths about alcohol consumption and primary headaches. Different studies report different findings on which type of wine triggers the most migraine attacks. For example, a European study found that 11 percent of migraine sufferers pointed to red wine as the most common culprit. However, a French study showed that 54 percent of the alcohol-induced migraine attacks came after https://northiowatoday.com/2025/01/27/sober-house-rules-what-you-should-know-before-moving-in/ drinking white wine. Histamine, which may be responsible for triggering migraines, is found in far higher quantities in red wine than in white.
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. ElectroCore is committed to the safety and care of our patients, providers, and employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have implemented several operational enhancements, including home delivery and virtual training, to ensure our patients have uninterrupted access to gammaCoreTM (non-invasive vagus nerve stimulator).
