Why does bourbon give me a headache

Can you feel the hangover just thinking about it? Well, I can't. Because, after five years of writing about drinking, I've developed a few tricks to make it through the night—and the next morning—without having to worry about the room spinning. Now, look: this is the type of advice I usually only give to close friends and confidants. But the time is right. Every day, I get pitched on a new miracle hangover remedy, each one more ridiculous than the last.

There is an easy way to avoid a hangover, folks. It doesn't involve taking six pills before you drink and three after, and you don't have to wear a stupid patch on your bicep all night. I've discovered the cure, it's really simple, and i'm going to let you in on it. So, first of all, a warning. This isn't for everyone. If you have a drinking problem, or your nights tend to end in a drunk tank, you need to address that shit with a professional.

But if you're like me—somewhere around thirty, in reasonably good shape, with reasonably good impulse control—there are ten simple rules you can follow that'll save you a lot of headaches. Here they are:. Drink frequently.

I'm sorry, I never said this was easy. Just have a glass of something with dinner. For this reason, never drink on an empty stomach.

Even people who are not prone to headaches will wake up in pain after a night of heavy drinking. One or two drinks with food and water over time might be safe for you, but three or more will produce a hangover for many people. Know your limits and respect them. Keep a diary of exactly what brand you drink, how much you drink, how you're drinking it, and if there are any other Migraine triggers present — like hormonal or weather swings, or certain foods. Remember that triggers are additive.

That will help you know what's safe for you and what isn't. Quantity is definitely a factor in whether alcohol will trigger a headache, and the quality of alcohol probably plays a role as well. We do not know for sure, though, how any specific type of wine or alcohol will affect people with Migraine.

Just like food triggers, alcohol headache triggers are individual, varying from person to person. Tracking your own patterns may allow you to enjoy the party after all. I recall one of my headache patients entering the exam room saying, "Dr. Mathew, thank you so much for your advice. My headaches are so much better. My headaches have been so much better. Although I might have said that this brand of Scotch was my preference, I never recommended she drink it.

This common problem may affect one of the Alcohol-induced headaches are not only subject to those who have a history of misuse or abuse of alcohol.

These types of headaches can strike anyone, of any age and background. An alcohol-induced headache may fall into many categories and whilst they are painful and unpleasant, there are things that can be done to relieve the symptoms. In this article, we are going to talk you through everything you need to know about the alcohol-induced headache as a way to better understand how it is caused and how you can help yourself or someone you love to cope with its effects.

The single main reason that alcohol is the cause of a headache is that it is what is known as a diuretic. In simple terms, this means that it has an effect on the kidneys which causes the level of fluid that you are taking in to become lower than what your body is putting out.

In other words, you will go to the toilet more frequently, but the lost liquid will not be as evenly replaced. This contributes greatly to dehydration, which is the cause of your alcohol-induced headache. Anyone who suffers from regular migraines will know how debilitating they can be, and unfortunately, alcohol can be a huge trigger for this condition. Alcohol is responsible for creating a relaxing effect on the blood vessels.

In turn, this leads to more blood being able to flow into the brain, which can trigger a migraine. It has been seen in many studies all over the world that one-third of those who suffer from regular migraines have noted that alcohol is one of the main things to trigger them off.

The main ingredient in alcohol that is responsible for a sore head is ethanol. There are a variety of reasons why this potent chemical can cause a headache such as its ability to dilate the blood vessels. Alcohol is a diuretic, causing the body to lose vital salts and minerals which help it to function. The ingestion of too much ethanol can cause an unhealthy imbalance of chemicals within the body, which over time may lead to more serious conditions than just a headache. We have already discussed that a migraine is a common headache experienced after drinking alcohol, but the alcohol-induced headache may fall into one of two categories.

This type of headache is less common, but many people may notice the symptoms developing within 3 hours of drinking. However, the headache is known to clear after 72 hours of abstinence. This is the typical headache induced by alcohol. Another type is the delayed alcohol-induced headache DAIH. This hangover headache appears in the next morning after alcohol intake.

At this time the blood alcohol level is falling and reaches zero. The DAIH can be experienced by anyone, but people with migraine are more susceptible.

Furthermore, migraine patients can develop headache with the ingestion of modest amounts of alcohol. All alcoholic drinks can provoke either immediate or delayed headache.

Since alcohol can trigger a migraine attack, in a sense only a small number of migraineurs should drink alcohol. Population-based studies performed in various countries US, Scandinavia, Netherlands, Japan, Italy show that fewer migraine sufferers consume alcohol than those without headaches. Moreover, the more alcohol consumed the less likely the drinker reported migraine and non-migraine headache. This fact may be explained by sufferers of headache giving up alcohol since it is a trigger factor for their headache attacks.

However, an Italian study seems not to support this explanation. In this study, only a very small percentage of non-alcohol consuming female migraineurs reported that alcoholic drinks were a trigger. They concluded that this fact could not explain the large difference in alcohol consumption between migraine and the general public.

Red wine is typically considered the most likely alcoholic drink trigger. In , Littlewood and colleagues showed that ml or ten ounces of red wine, but not vodka with an equivalent alcohol content, provoked headache in red wine sensitive migraineurs.

Migraineurs not sensitive to wine and non-headache controls did not have headaches triggered. They suggested that red wine contains a migraine-provoking agent that is not alcohol. Some studies in France and Italy report white wine as the major culprit. However, there are reports of also spirits, sparkling wine and beer triggering headache. Wine does not need to be ingested in large quantities to produce headache.

In wine sensitive patients the time between drinking red wine and developing headache varied from 30 min to 3 hours. Only one or two glasses at most need be ingested. The fundamental question still remains to be made definitely clear.

Is alcohol or another component of the drink responsible for triggering headache? It remains difficult to answer this question. To provoke a migraine attack a combination of factors may be necessary. Perhaps this combination activates the pathways necessary for headache to become active.