Certain ethnic groups (Japanese, for example) have a genetically reduced ability to break down acetaldehyde, the main byproduct of migraine after drinking alcohol alcohol, as it is first processed in the liver. This results in more reddening of the skin (““Asian flush”) and hangovers at lower amounts of alcohol. Your trusted professionals are your best resource for getting medical advice when it comes to limiting the negative effects alcohol has on you, your life, and your migraine.

Migraine vs. alcohol-induced headache

Over time you may be able to identify triggers and patterns that can help you manage migraine onset and symptoms. Symptoms of postdrome can mimic those experienced during the prodrome phase. However, they may also include dehydration, body aches, abdominal issues, and other debilitating symptoms. In 2022, experts from Stanford University explained that before dietary interventions can be recommended bigger studies are required.

• Moore, who sought treatment in 2012, thanked two unnamed people she “barely knew” for delivering something of an ultimatum to her to turn her life around.
• Avoiding drinking is the best way to prevent an alcohol-related headache.
• Tracking your own patterns may allow you to enjoy the party after all.
• However, more recent research indicates no relationship between tension type headaches and alcohol consumption.
• If you develop a cocktail headache, stop drinking alcohol and go someplace where you can rest comfortably.

Hangover Headaches and Herbal Remedies

One of the six case–control studies was assessed as having a high risk of bias 49, two a low risk of bias 50, 62 and three a moderate bias risk 53, 54, 61. If you’ve been diagnosed with migraine and you have questions about drinking alcohol or anything else related to the condition, it can help to talk to others who understand. Red wine can also cause a rise in the level of a type of brain chemical called serotonin (5-HT) in the blood.8 This has been linked to migraine headaches, though once again, the relationship is poorly understood. An older 2014 study compared 95 people with migraine with 597 people without migraine.

Treating a hangover headache

Many people believe that alcohol (particularly red wine) is a major trigger of migraine-related headaches — but the effect may not be quite as strong as most people think. Sulphites are often blamed for causing headaches too (though not migraines specifically),9 and white wine usually contains higher levels of sulphites than red wine. If you suffer from migraines, you will learn to recognise which particular symptoms affect you. These may include experiencing an ‘aura’ as a warning symptom that a migraine is coming on – this might mean experiencing disturbed vision – such as seeing spots or zig-zag lines. Nausea (a feeling that you might vomit) or vomiting and sensitivity to bright light or sound are also widely reported migraine symptoms. If you develop a cocktail headache, stop drinking alcohol and go someplace where you can rest comfortably.

It may also help eliminate triggers that tend to co-occur with drinking, such as dehydration and sleep deprivation. Whether aboard a cruise ship or on land at a swanky city bar, it can be tempting to enjoy a few rounds to get into vacation mode. But booze—and sugar, which is abundant in mixed drinks—can leave you parched, and dehydration is a common migraine trigger.

“A lot of people will have to take something if they’re going skiing up in the Colorado mountains because of the high altitude,” he explains. Prof. Gisela Terwindt, neurologist-biologist at Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands reports that 30% of migraine sufferers find certain foods triggering. The difficulty is that different foods can be triggering for different people.

Could changing your diet help to prevent migraines?

• If you’ve been diagnosed with migraine and you have questions about drinking alcohol or anything else related to the condition, it can help to talk to others who understand.
• Vasodilation may trigger migraine attacks in certain individuals.
• People who drink alcohol regularly, or those who are taking certain specific medications that affect liver enzymes, may metabolize alcohol more quickly, having fewer problems with intoxication and hangover as a result.
• Hangover headaches, with their throbbing pain at the temples and their tendency to get worse when you move, can only reliably be cured with time as your body processes the alcohol.

Again it depends on how much was consumed, how dehydrated you became, nutritional status, ethnicity, gender, the state of your liver, medications, etc. Some of these effects are caused by ethanol itself, and others are from an even more toxic byproduct of its metabolism called acetaldehyde. This chemical builds up in the blood as the liver breaks down the alcohol into a form that can be eliminated from the body. While not a disease we treat at the Johns Hopkins Headache Center, delayed alcohol-induced headaches are extremely common, disabling and costly to society. This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Types of Alcohol-Related Headaches

And there’s one person in particular who has helped along the way. Brolin, now 56, was eventually inspired to get sober in 2013 when, after a night of drinking, he visited his 99-year-old grandmother on her deathbed. Realizing how much of his life was still ahead of him, the Milk actor told the outlet he decided to live differently moving forward. Once you’re at your destination, Dr. Singh suggests getting at least six to eight hours of consecutive shut-eye each night, especially if that’s what you typically do at home. If it’s hard for you to sleep well while you’re away, consider popping a melatonin, doing a bedtime meditation, or even treating yourself to a massage one night, she says.