Hangover headaches

Hangover Headaches: an introduction

Headaches that come the day after consuming alcohol are called hangover headaches or alcohol-induced headaches.

Alcoholic beverages contain ethanol. Ethanol is clear, colorless with a sweet flavor and a smell that some people find pleasant. Ethanol is made by fermenting sugars. When a person drinks an alcoholic beverage, the ethanol is quickly absorbed in the stomach. The ethanol is distributed into the bloodstream and then into the brain’s nerve cells. The ethanol is distributed throughout the body, as it circulates 90 percent of the ethanol is processed by the liver.

Ethanol is a drug that acts on the brain, liver, kidneys, heart, stomach, blood vessels, hormones and other bodily systems. Ethanol also serves as a depressant and suppresses certain brain functions.

Initially the ethanol in alcohol makes most people feel relaxed and happy. More alcohol causes more enthusiastic behavior, which is typically followed by blurred vision and reduced inhibitions.

How alcohol causes headaches

Chemicals in alcohol, such as tyramine and histamine are believed to interact with brain chemicals. These events can lead to headaches and in some people trigger migraines. The headaches usually occur the next morning after drinking alcohol, when the alcohol level in the body falls. People who suffer from migraines are more likely than the average person to experience hangover headaches.

One 2004 study of 1,122 people found that men are more likely to experience alcohol headaches than women.

Symptoms of alcohol intoxication

Slurred speech
Difficulty walking steadily
Slowed reaction
Confusion
Blurred vision
Disturbed sensory perceptions
Difficulty waking up
Vomiting
Memory black outs
Difficulty concentrating
Hiccups
Unreliable perceptions

Dangerous symptoms of excessive alcohol consumption

Coma
Slowed breathing
In some cases, death

Diagnosing hangover headaches

The International Headache Society lists two types of alcohol-induced headache: immediate and delayed.

Immediate alcohol-induced headaches have the following characteristics:

Headache with at least one of the following features and that meets the criteria in B and D
1. Head pain on both sides of the head
2. Most of the pain is located in the front of the forehead
3. Throbbing or pulsating pain
4. The pain is made worse by physical activity
Consuming an alcoholic beverage
Headache develops within three hours of drinking an alcoholic beverage
Headache goes away within three days

Delayed alcohol-induced headaches have the following characteristics:

Headache with at least one of the following features and meets the characteristics described in C and D
1. Head pain on both sides of the head
2. Pain is mainly in the front of the forehead
3. Head pain is pulsating or throbbing
4. The pain and discomfort worsens with physical activity
Drinking a modest amount of alcohol by a migraine sufferer or an intoxicating amount by someone who doesn’t suffer from migrains
Headache surfaces after the alcohol level in the blood begins to decline or is reduced to zero
Headache gets better within three days

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References

http://www.springerlink.com/content/djume6k9hd5prkjb/
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/neurology_neurosurgery/conditions_main/hangover_headache.html
Chemical of the Week Ethanol; Shakhashiri; Feb 2009
20% food triggers--Clinical Presentation and Treatment of Migraine; Clinical Therapeuticcs; Skaer 1996
Alcohol and migraine: trigger factor, consumption, mechanisms A review; J Headache Pain; Panconesi 2008
Study of 500 migraine sufferers-- The Diet Factor in Pediatric and Adolescent Migraine; Elsevier Science Millichap 2003
TOWARD A RATIONAL UNDERSTANDING OF MIGRAINE TRIGGER FACTORS; Headache; Martin 2001