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. It is also important to have open discussions about your alcohol consumption with your health care team. Your team will be able to alert you of any potential interactions between your migraine medications and alcohol, and they can help ensure you are approaching alcohol consumption safely. Remember, your health care providers want to work with you to make your symptoms as manageable as possible. Even a small amount of alcohol can sometimes spur on a migraine attack. One member of MyMigraineTeam shared how many drinks they could have without triggering an episode.
The liver can only break down alcohol in small amounts at a time. The alcohol will continue to circulate in the bloodstream and eventually affect other organs. Researchers have not determined if this is caused by the effects of alcohol on the brain or is the result of thiamine deficiency.
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Because alcohol is a depressant, it suppresses our nervous system. Once the initial effects of alcohol wear off, our nervous system becomes overexcited, leading to anxiety. Because anxiety can trigger or worsen headaches, these two hangover symptoms are often related. Drinking alcohol is a trigger for migraine in some people – one study found around a third (33%) of people who get migraines are sensitive to alcohol.4 Others react to hunger, or certain foods. The best way to find out what triggers your migraine is to keep a journal.
- A migraine is headache with other symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, vomiting, aura and more.
- Whereas other people need both an acute and a preventive treatment plan.
- Medications can help prevent some migraines and make them less painful.
However, what applies to one person with migraine might be quite different for another. If you feel an attack coming on when you’ve had alcohol, stop drinking straight away. Drink plenty of water and take your usual rescue medication such as triptans or pain relief. It’s important to always check the leaflet that comes with your medication just in case it says that you should not mix it with alcohol, or ask your doctor about it when they prescribe it.
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Also, those who get severe headaches when they drink alcohol may want to avoid it. Liver enzymes convert alcohol, or ethanol, to acetaldehyde, a toxic substance, and then to acetate, a harmless molecule that serves the body in various ways. When acetaldehyde is not broken down properly, it can build up in the can alcohol cause migraines blood and cause alcohol flush reaction, which can include headaches. Based on that, researchers theorized that acetaldehyde may also trigger red wine headaches. As a physician, my best advice for decreasing or avoiding alcohol-related headaches is to take steps to change your relationship with alcohol.