Why Does One Beer Give Me a Headache: Understanding Causes and Tips to Avoid Pain

If you’re wondering why you get a headache every time you drink alcohol, this article will shed some light on the matter. We’ll discuss the science https://johnsonandkleven.com/what-is-sober-curious-meaning-benefits-how-to/ behind why drinking alcohol can lead to a headache, as well as some tips on how to avoid it. They may also order additional tests, such as blood tests or imaging studies, to rule out any underlying medical conditions that could be contributing to the headaches.

• You might also want to take over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
• The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test is used by medical professionals to diagnose signs of AUD.
• Get access to anti-craving medications, regular coaching meetings, expert medical advice, digital tools, and more—all from an app on your smartphone.

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This narrowing, known as vasoconstriction, reduces the overall blood flow to our brain. For instance, alcohol byproducts called congeners have been linked to headaches. Dark-colored alcohols like red wine, brandy, and whiskey may contain more of them. We also examine the types of headaches alcohol can trigger and the types of alcohol likely to cause more headaches. Yes, alcohol intolerance can lead to headaches and other symptoms due to the body’s inability to break down alcohol effectively.

Stress

Alcohol has different effects on your body depending on when you drink it. But whether this causes or relieves headache symptoms depends largely on the type of headache. Yawning and fatigue are typical symptoms of prodrome, the first phase of a migraine attack. Other symptoms can include food cravings and difficulty concentrating. If you think you may have migraine, these answers to common questions can help you further investigate this possibility with a doctor. Treatment options vary, from acute treatment to relieve symptoms to preventive treatment to reduce the number of attacks you experience.

When alcohol is consumed, the liver prioritizes processing the alcohol, which can interfere with the liver’s ability to regulate blood sugar levels effectively. Even small amounts of beer can trigger this dehydration process, especially if you aren’t replenishing fluids by drinking water. Dehydration causes the brain to temporarily shrink due to fluid loss, which leads to the pain and discomfort characteristic of a headache. However, a 2019 study found higher rates of vodka consumption among drinkers with frequent migraine attacks. The response to alcohol varies from person to person, and there is no alcohol that absolutely will not cause a migraine or other headache. One hypothesis is that red wine causes migraine due to high levels of certain compounds called flavonols, particularly quercetin.

What Causes an Alcohol Headache and How to Prevent It?

This data suggests that there may be a misperception that drinks containing alcohol cause migraine attacks. This indicates that people with migraine and other headache diseases may be more likely to give up alcohol because they perceive it as a possible migraine trigger. If you’ve ever woken up with a headache after drinking non-alcoholic beer, you’re not alone. Although it’s called “non-alcoholic,” this type of beer can still cause headaches in some people.

This can lead to dehydration, which is one of the main causes of headaches. If your headaches are only caused by post-acute withdrawal syndrome and not by other health problems, they should go away in about 6 months. However, if you had severe alcoholism, it might take a year or more for them to go away. There isn’t a clear answer because it depends on how well your body is healing and if you’ve been able to stop drinking completely.

It’s also worth noting that alcohol-induced anxiety, or ‘hangxiety’, can worsen and even cause headaches in some cases. 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. Ethanol is also a diuretic, meaning it increases urination, which then leads to electrolyte loss and dehydration. Dehydration causes brain cells to contract temporarily, also resulting in headaches.

Could I Have Alcohol Sensitivity or Intolerance Contributing to My Headaches?

Some individuals may have specific sensitivities or allergies to certain ingredients commonly found in alcoholic beverages. For example, histamine intolerance is a condition where the body has difficulty breaking down histamine, a naturally occurring compound in some alcoholic drinks. Identifying and avoiding trigger ingredients can help reduce the likelihood of experiencing alcohol-related headaches.

Congener Levels in Popular Alcoholic Drinks

It’s a direct, predictable reaction from your body telling you something’s up. Headaches from alcohol boil down to a perfect storm of dehydration, inflammation, expanded blood vessels, and totally disrupted sleep. Any one of these is enough to cause some discomfort, but together, they create that all-too-familiar pounding in your head. Hangovers occur when the alcohol levels why do i get headaches from drinking alcohol in your blood drop significantly—frequently the morning after you drink. Hangovers can affect pretty much anyone who has had too much to drink.

In advanced stages of alcohol withdrawal, otherwise called delirium tremens or DTs, patients may even experience confusion, hallucinations, or seizures. If things like these arise, it’s a case of seeing a doctor as soon as possible since DTs have the potential to turn fatal. Within the 12- to 24-hour window, headaches can become more intense as the body continues alcoholism treatment to adjust to the absence of alcohol.

Medical accounts of red wine headaches go back to Roman times, but the experience is likely as old as winemaking—something like 10,000 years. As chemists specializing in winemaking, we wanted to try to figure out the source of these headaches. Beer-induced headaches can stem from several factors, often related to the ingredients and consumption patterns.

This sudden change in pressure can cause discomfort or pain, resulting in a headache. People who are prone to migraines may be particularly susceptible to this phenomenon, as alcohol can be a known trigger for migraine headaches. For many people, drinking a small amount of beer can lead to an unpleasant headache, even if they don’t experience other typical hangover symptoms like nausea or dizziness.