I get a headache as soon as I drink

Nowadays, people's living standards are getting higher and higher, and wine has become a daily necessity. Of course, drinking is necessary in some social occasions. Generally speaking, if you drink a moderate amount of alcohol, it will not cause any adverse effects on the human body. However, some people will have headaches when they drink. This is probably due to symptoms caused by alcohol intolerance, tyramine in alcohol, dehydration caused by alcohol, hangover and other problems.

Headaches and alcohol intolerance

Frequent headaches after drinking are often a sign of alcohol intolerance. If this is the case, you will start to have a headache immediately after drinking, accompanied by flushing of the face, nasal congestion or runny nose, red bumps on the skin and other uncomfortable symptoms. This is a genetic defect that prevents the liver from breaking down alcohol, thus causing adverse reactions soon after drinking. Of course, people with liver problems can also get headaches after drinking.

On the other hand, if you are allergic to alcohol, your body will release histamine in response to the allergen (alcohol). During an allergic reaction, the histamine produced can also trigger headaches and other symptoms similar to those of alcohol intolerance.

Tyramine in Alcohol

Chronic headaches can also be caused by tyramine in alcoholic beverages. Alcohol itself contains tyramine, an amino acid that causes headaches in some people due to allergies. A tyramine allergy or intolerance can trigger a migraine after drinking alcohol. Even foods high in tyramine should be eaten with caution, as they can also easily trigger headaches.

Congeners in alcohol can also trigger headaches. The colors and smells of distilled alcoholic beverages are classified as homologues, which are chemicals produced during fermentation. Drinking alcoholic beverages containing large amounts of congeners can induce headaches.

Alcohol and dehydration

Alcohol has diuretic properties, so it causes the body to excrete more water through peeing. Studies have found that the corresponding urine volume for 10 grams of alcohol intake is 100 ml. There is no doubt that excessive urination after drinking can easily lead to dehydration. Dehydration leads to deficiencies in electrolytes such as potassium and sodium. This electrolyte imbalance can also cause headaches. When the body is dehydrated, blood circulation to the brain temporarily slows down. In order to promote blood circulation, blood vessels in the brain expand, which can also cause and aggravate headaches.

Hangover and Alcohol

After a night of partying, you may wake up in the morning with a hangover. This is a group of adverse reactions after excessive drinking. Common hangover symptoms include fatigue, headache, muscle aches and dizziness. Cluster headaches have also been linked to drinking, but most have been linked to specific alcoholic beverages such as whiskey.