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Beer and hard liquor don’t seem to bother me as long as I am plenty hydrated before I have a drink. 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. However, a headache after drinking will usually resolve itself over time. Other criteria for a person to have a migraine diagnosis include nausea or vomiting and sensitivity to light or noise. More research is necessary to understand why some people experience particular headaches and others do not.
When comparing hangover-proneness using the HSS between migraine sufferers and nonsufferers, it seems that migraine sufferers had a higher tendency to suffer from hangover on the first occasions they have consumed alcohol. This tendency attenuated through the years, and during the last year they have a similar tendency as compared with nonmigraine sufferers. Nevertheless, the tendency was higher to develop migraine-like symptoms of the hangover. While alcohol hangover is a common disorder,10 causing suffering and disability to millions worldwide, there is no direct way to measure it. The HSS, which was used in this study, was developed to provide a useful hangover measure, assessing multiple symptom domains, which do not rely on respondents’ subjective definitions of hangover.
Study selection
People who get hangovers that trigger a migraine may also wish to avoid alcohol with high levels of congeners. These are substances that the alcohol manufacturing process produces. Some research suggests that congeners play a role in hangovers, although factors such as inflammation also contribute. Of the 1,547 participants, 783 said that alcohol was a trigger, and 195 were not sure. 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.
Alcohol-Induced Migraine vs. Delayed Alcohol-Induced Headache
Alcohol hangover is a poorly understood cluster of symptoms occurring following a heavy consumption of alcohol. The term “delayed alcohol-induced headache” is often used synonymously. Our objective was to compare alcohol hangover symptoms in migraine sufferers and nonsufferers. If both stress and alcohol are migraine triggers for you, combining them won’t do you any favors.
Symptoms can vary from light sensitivity and dizziness to food cravings or body chills. Explore these Frequently Asked Questions about migraine symptoms to see if you might be experiencing migraine. Light sensitivity is a common symptom of migraine (as is sensitivity to sounds or smells), but not everyone who has the disease will experience it. Identify other symptoms of migraine and find answers to Frequently Asked Questions to help you start the conversation about migraine with your primary care provider.
Relationship between alcohol and primary headaches: a systematic review and meta-analysis
They completed the Headache Impact Test-6 11 and reported whether they typically experience visual aura before their headaches (“Do you typically see flashing/shimmering lights or a blind spot before headache?”). Only a few clinical trials have studied treatment for hangover symptoms. Future studies using specific antimigraine drugs such as triptans, may show efficacy in controlling at least part of the hangover symptoms cluster.
“Our company provides people with migraine a digital platform that allows them to scientifically determine their individual migraine triggers and protectors with the goal of reducing the number of attacks,” Vives-Mestres told MSC in an email. There is likely to be inter-individual variability in the susceptibility to alcohol-induced headaches, and individual risk may vary by genetics, hormones, or other factors that may interact with the risk of a headache. Further research is needed to examine the potential heterogeneity in risk and headache intensity across individuals and to assess how this risk may depend on the timing and amount of alcoholic beverage intake.
A total of 32,911 complete cases including 4679 migraine attacks were analyzed. Most studies point to red wine as a common headache culprit, particularly in people with migraine. These individuals commonly cite wine, especially red wine, as a migraine trigger. Several studies suggest that alcohol, especially red wine, may trigger migraine attacks. The short answer is that while it’s possible for alcohol to cause a migraine attack, it’s often a bit more complicated. In some studies, about one-third of people living with migraine reported alcohol as a migraine trigger (at least occasionally).
- Biogenic amines, sulphites, flavonoid phenols, 5-hydroxytryptamine mechanisms and vasodilating effects are discussed.
- They involve throbbing pain that generally occurs on one side of the head.
- 2020 research shows that women are more likely to experience hangovers, memory problems, and liver disease from consuming alcohol.
- In two cases, questionnaires were supplemented by medical interviews 53, 61.
- Higher alcohol content generally increases the risk of triggering a migraine.
How does excessive urination from alcohol consumption contribute to migraine risk?
However, the study author also cautions that no single factor causes all hangover headaches. Although genetic factors influence the risk of having migraine, environmental triggers can cause episodes or increase their frequency. While migraine is a common disease that affects 39 million Americans, no two migraine experiences are the same.
Consider medical devices
We conducted a test for linear component of trend by determining the statistical significance of a term for the alcoholic beverage intake as linear continuous variable. The exact mechanism behind this observation may indicate that migraine leads to alcohol-avoidance rather than alcohol having a protective role against migraine. However, there is a need to conduct further studies related to primary headaches and alcohol consumption with low risk of bias. Additionally, patients and physicians should consider the latest medical knowledge to avoid perpetuating the myths about alcohol consumption and primary headaches. Additionally, it would be useful to check whether migraine patients enjoy the advantages or disadvantages of less drinking.
Also, the majority of the studies had high or moderate risk of bias. Alcoholic drinks (ADs) have been reported as a migraine trigger in about one-third of the migraine patients in retrospective studies. The studies concerning the role of ADs in triggering various types of primary headaches published after the International Headache Society classification criteria of 1988 were reviewed, and the pathophysiological mechanisms were Alcoholics Anonymous discussed. 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.