Hangover Headache

Young man looking uncomfortable with headache and stomach pain, suffereing from a hangover, I suspect.

The severe pain caused by a hangover headache is one of the most common headaches known. This is no surprise as alcohol is consumed by almost every culture on earth. One of the largest headache surveys ever, reported that 72% of people will experience a hangover headache. This effect of alcohol is so well known that it is very rare for someone to ever consult a doctor over this problem.

You do not have to be a heavy drinker to experience a hangover. In fact, very heavy drinkers are less likely to get one. Light drinkers, and people with migraine, are more at risk.

Are there symptoms other than headache?

There are other physical signs in hangover, other than headache. These include diarrhoea, sweating, loss of appetite and feeling shaky. Your heart can race due to an excessive adrenaline drive.

Your attention span is affected during hangover. It is well known that people may have car crashes the morning after a heavy drinking session. This is often due residual alcohol in your bloodstream (in which case you are breaking the law). However, it can be the effects of reduced attention span from hangover itself.

What causes the headache?

There has, in fact, been considerable study of the toxic effects of alcohol. Alcohol may produce the following problems:
  1. Altered cytokine metabolism
    2. This can result in nausea, diarrhoea and create the inflammation in the meninges that produces headache
  2. Alcohol gets metabolised to acetaldehyde
    3. Acetaldehyde is the chemical your liver makes when it tried to digest alcohol. Acetaldehyde will cause the skin to go red, your heart to race, sweating and may make you sick. A drug used to treat alcoholism (Disulfiram /Antabuse)causes your body to build up levels of acetaldehyde if you drink. If you drink while on Antabuse you will get these very same symptoms.
  3. Dehdration by loss of Anti-Diuretic Hormone (ADH) activity
    4. Anti-diuretic Hormone is made in your hypothalamus, and secreted by the pituitary gland. When ADH is active, your body prevents water from being lost into your urine. However, alcohol switches off ADH. This means that you start to pass urine, which usually looks (and is) very dilute. This can make you dehydrated. dehydration can lead to severe headache. This is another important cause of headache.
  4. Disturbed sleep
    5. Although alcohol is usually associated with deep sleep, it actually disturbs natural sleep. Sleep deprivation can result in reduced attention span, nausea and may cause headaches.

People who do not drink alcohol do not get these symptoms - it is the one sure way of preventing hangover!

Why do some people get headache after very small amounts of alcohol?

Young women who has migraine, showing intense headache of an alcohol-induced headache People who have a diagnosis of migraine are very prone to get these headaches. Very small amounts of alcohol can result in a pretty severe headache. In fact a hangover headache after small amounts of alcohol can be the first indication that you have a migraine tendency. Some alcoholic drinks, like red wine, contain chemicals called congeners Congeners give red wine its distinctive flavour. However congeners can produce an inflammatory reaction, which could contribute to headache.

What are the symptoms delayed alcohol induced headache?

The hangover headache starts to appear after you have been drinking, usually once your alcohol levels start to fall. Every unit of alcohol you drink takes about one hour to clear your blood stream. So if you have had 3 pints of beer, this will take about 6 hours for your alcohol level to return to near normal. As your alcohol level falls, you start to get an all-over headache which is throbbing and is typically worse with movement. You may feel nauseated or vomit, and want to stay in the dark (these symptoms are just like a common migraine attack). The pain will usually clear within about 12-24 hours. These headaches can be severe, as in very painful, and may cause the sufferer to lose a day's activities.

Do I need tests to diagnose alcohol induced headaches?

No! The diagnosis is usually obvious and no brain scans are required.

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