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Red Wine Migraine and Headache: Causes and Cures

If they find this too challenging, they may have alcohol use disorder, which warrants treatment. Preventing migraine begins with identifying and reducing or eliminating common migraine triggers such as alcohol, dehydration, and certain foods. A person should try keeping a migraine diary for a few weeks to observe trends in their headache patterns. 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. Moreover, people who drink alcohol may not drink as much water, intensifying the water loss. It may also trigger headaches related to headache disorders, such as migraine. Alcohol is identified as an occasional trigger in about a third of people who experience migraine headaches, but it’s only a consistent trigger in about 10 percent of migraine sufferers. But if you’re prone to migraine headaches, you’ll need to be careful about how much you drink.

When I drink wine presently, it’s quite often just red wine, normally only 1-2 half-glasses w/a dinner, with water going with the supper as well. Best case scenario, the medications have diminished recurrence. One companion’s migraines are activated by a few kinds of smells/aromas also, a trigger that is for the most part out of her control. Of course, this study doesn’t take into account other factors such as genetics, body size, and even the type of alcohol being consumed. A tall Caucasian woman drinking a vodka soda may be able to outlast a short and skinny Asian man drinking red wine.

Fear a Massive Headache From Beer? Expert Advice for Relief

A 5-ounce glass of wine (or 12 ounces of beer or a 1.5-fluid-ounce shot) may be OK every now and then, so long as it doesn’t bring on a headache. If it does, you’ll need to drink less or stay away from all alcohol. Histamine, flavonoid phenols, tannins, tyramine, sulfites, and phenylethylamine are all components in alcohol, including beer, that can act as catalysts for Migraine attacks. These components are also found in other reported trigger foods, such as cheeses, dried fruits, processed meats, and fermented foods and drinks.

And it doesn’t always take a full glass of alcohol to cause a migraine. For some, a migraine can start after just a few sips of an alcoholic drink. It all depends on your sensitivity to alcohol and whether you’re already prone to getting migraines. Alcohol-induced migraines also come with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound. Be sure to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your migraine medications and potential interactions with alcoholic beverages. Cutting back on drinking has plenty of benefits, including reducing your likelihood of getting a headache.

Why Do I Get A Headache When I Drink Alcohol?

It not only increases the likelihood of a hangover but also sours the taste of beer, especially home-brewed varieties. Because that’s just what your body wants during a night of long partying, excessive urination. Finally, genetics also plays a role in alcohol absorption and hangover symptoms. Some people are equipped to handle alcohol better than others and are more adept at breaking down byproducts. These people are less likely to experience hangovers, and when they do, the results will be less severe. Liquids rich in minerals and salts such as bouillon offer relief from the dehydration caused by alcohol consumption. Greasy foods help line the intestines which causes alcohol absorption to take longer. Fructose, the naturally occurring sugar from fruits, helps return portions of the body’s chemical balance back to normal following alcohol consumption. Wine and other grape products have been shown to have an endothelium-dependent vaso-relaxing activity, probably via nitric oxide -mediated pathway; ethanol and resveratrol cause no relaxation . Alcohol-free red wine polyphenol extract increases endothelial NO release .

While some report beer as a trigger , others found no association . Since alcohol can trigger migraine and tension headache attack, only a low percentage of headache patients should drink alcoholic beverages. Few and often only descriptive studies exist on this topic, with marked differences in the percentage of consumers perhaps depending on the country habits [19, 24, 26, 31–33] . No differences between migraine and tension headache were reported . 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. These findings suggest that red wine contains a migraine-provoking agent that is neither alcohol nor tyramine . Recently another study group reported a high percentage of patients referring red wine as the most frequent trigger between alcoholic drinks but subsequently it did not report any of them as a trigger . Many studies in different countries show that alcohol is a headache trigger in high percentage of migraine subjects, both in the general population [15–17] and headache clinic population [18–22].

Studies in Asiatic population, similarly to an older study on Italian population, show a smaller percentage of CH patients reporting ADs as a trigger, which may be due in part to different alcohol habits. This great variability appears even considering only CH patients who consume alcohol. People who experience a headache after drinking should not assume that it is a migraine, especially if they have symptoms consistent with other types of headaches. For example, a tension headache may cause pain in the neck or shoulders.

It may take a combination of factors to provoke a migraine attack, and some people’s brains may simply be more sensitive to alcohol than others. The most effective way to prevent tension headaches or a migraine trigger is abstinence. Not drinking is easier said than done for some, but it is the only proven, time-honored way to prevent alcohol-induced headache disorders. In the morning, your liver processes the toxic compounds out of your system. The stress hormone cortisol is spiked in the morning, which causes increased tension Sober Home in the mind leading to headaches or migraines. People who are quickly afflicted by alcohol-induced headaches will likely feel a pulsating sensation, usually on both sides of the head. Physical activity seems unbearable, and people will want to lay down and drink lots of water for at least a few hours before attempting much movement. Delayed alcohol-induced headaches are the most common and are known as the “hangover annoyance.” This reaction occurs 1-2 hours after drinking and can feel more like the mind is throbbing.

But “cutting back” doesn’t necessarily have to mean cutting out. By tracking your attacks and your drinking and working with a doctor, you can figure out the relationship with alcohol that’s right for you . Dr. Crystal recommends keeping a migraine diary on a daily basis. Recording what you’re eating, drinking, and doing before, after, and during an attack can help you pinpoint patterns in attacks and triggers. Tannins are naturally occurring compounds found in grapes, certain fruit juices, and beer. People who suffer with cluster headaches are particularly sensitive to dark beers, according why does alcohol cause migraines to Dr. Aurora. According to Dr. Kevin Moore, PsyD, an addiction specialist, alcohol fools your body into thinking that you’re drinking water, but in reality, alcohol actually poisons the brain cells. Spierings EL, Ranke AH, Honkoop PC. Precipitating and aggravating factors of migraine versus tension-type headache. Migraine triggers, included ADs, can theoretically provoke CSD which can theoretically be responsible for MA, but also for FHM and MO. However, ethanol infusion decreases the propagation rate of CSD, indicating a decline of tissue excitability and in the CSD initiation mechanisms.

Although genetic factors influence the risk of having migraine, environmental triggers can cause episodes or increase their frequency. There has been some research into the effect alcohol has in increasing blood flow to certain parts of the brain, but whether this causes or relieves headache symptoms depends largely on the type of headache. Perhaps this combination activates the pathways necessary for headache to become active. Otherwise, if alcohol is not directly involved in producing headache per se, a substance present in the different alcoholic drinks seems responsible or facilitates the alcohol effect. You could get a headache within 30 minutes to 3 hours of drinking. Some people only sip a glass or two of wine before their head starts to throb.
However, if you already have a headache, it is a good idea to stop drinking. Migraine is a symptom of an underlying condition, and one of the elements of a migraine is a headache. A migraine is headache with other symptoms such as sensitivity to light and sound, nausea, vomiting, aura and more. We know that if we treat the underlying cause, we can make great strides in helping migraine patients live pain-free. People who get migraine attacks during or after drinking should consider reducing or eliminating alcohol.

Know Your Risk

So, it’s possible that a histamine sensitivity could make you more susceptible to a headache when sipping on the red stuff. It might seem obvious, but the best way to avoid a hangover is by limiting alcohol intake. The more that you drink, the stronger and longer-lasting your hangover symptoms will be. Try to drink beer in moderation and stretch out drinking over several hours. By taking proper precautions before alcohol consumption, you can avoid symptoms such as a hangover the following day. You also reduce your chances of more serious problems such as alcohol poisoning. Many people make the mistake of trying the “Hair of the Dog” approach to hangovers.

No difference exists between migraine and tension-type headache.Cluster headache patients have higher alcohol sensitivity (about 50-80%). Triggers of these intense headaches include hormonal changes, stress, certain foods, and yes – alcohol. Alcohol typically triggers two types of headaches in migraine patients, a quick onset attack and a delayed hangover headache. In conclusion, no significant association between alcohol consumption with migraine and tension headache was found in many studies [26, 28–30]. ADs have been reported to trigger the principal types of primary headaches. While the results in MO and CH are in relative agreement, those in MA and TH are discordant. However, if the role of ADs in triggering MA and TH will be confirmed, a common trigger site should be considered. In this case, a direct action at the vascular system is hardly compatible with TH or MA. More plausible is an action at subcortical pain modulatory circuits, which in some way stimulate the neural generator of CH (hypothalamus?) and of migraine aura (cortex?, thalamus?). A food may be likely considered a trigger of a migraine attack If a) a strict time relationship exists between the consumption and the start of headache, or b) that this link is not occasional.

• Like other alcohols, red wine can dilate blood vessels in your brain, which can provoke a headache.
• She has produced a multitude of integrated campaigns and events in the behavioral health and addictions field.
• The degree of alcohol habits perhaps explains these differences.
• The fundamental question remains – is it alcohol or another component of the drink that is responsible for triggering headaches?

Please see your healthcare provider if you are concerned about your alcohol use. Goadsby PJ. Recent advances in understanding migraine mechanisms, molecules and therapeutics. Conte A, Attilia ML, Gilio F, Iacovelli E, Frasca V, Bettolo CM, et al. Sances G, Tassorelli C, Pucci E, Ghiotto N, Sandrini G, Nappi G. Reliability of the nitroglycerin provocative test in the diagnosis of neurovascular headaches. Littlewood JT, Gibb C, Glover V, Sandler M, Davies PT, Rose FC. Red wine as a cause of migraine.

However in vivo studies show that only the ingestion of red wine with alcohol, but not of dealcoholized red wine, provokes arterial dilatation and thus the effect of wine is due to ethanol . Also oral intake of pure alcohol produces significant vasodilatation in man . The principal substances of the alcoholic drinks thought to be involved in headache provoked by alcoholic drinks are successively discussed. 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. Red wine was never a problem for me, the cheaper white wines were.

June is National Migraine and Headache Awareness Month , which is a great opportunity for communities to spread awareness about suffering from headaches and migraine. So with that goal in mind, we spoke to a number of physicians specializing in headache and migraine treatment as well as addiction medicine to find out exactly why drinking may trigger a headache. Dehydration triggers some migraine cases; therefore, drinking plenty of water can help, even after the fact. Drinking water helps replenish your fluids and flush the alcohol out of your system. If you tend to get migraines within three hours or less of drinking, this might work best for you. If both stress and alcohol are migraine triggers for you, combining them won’t do you any favors. In addition to this, people are sometimes more likely to drink more when they are feeling stressed and a little reckless. While this is not necessarily true for everyone, it’s true for so many people that a trend toward abstinence developed among migraine-sufferers.

Motor pathways become overactive, and blood sugar is processed less efficiently in the brain. As more and more ethanol molecules enter the membranes of the nerve cells, sedating effects develop. The effects of alcohol intoxication are relatively predictable based on measured blood alcohol content. This is particularly the case for migraine sensitive people who have Asian flush. This is because higher blood-acetaldehyde concentrations lead to higher histamine levels in the body and a greater chance of triggering migraines. Sugar can deplete levels of B vitamins in the body, and tannins and sulfites can cause a histamine reaction in sensitive people. All of these factors will mean fewer drinks before a headache kicks in.