Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesTreatmentPrevention
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Treatment
Prevention
A cocktail headache is a headache that occurs within as little as three hours after drinking alcohol. It’s not the same as ahangover headache, which occurs the morning after drinking too much. A cocktail headache develops the same evening, and even a tiny amount of alcohol can trigger it.
This article takes a closer look at what is a cocktail headache, more formally known as an immediate alcohol-induced headache.
Verywell / Emily Roberts
Cocktail Headache Symptoms
According to the International Headache Society, a cocktail headache occurs within three hours after a person consumes an alcoholic beverageandresolves within 72 hours. It also includes at least one of the following three features:
How long will a cocktail headache last?It can persist for up to 72 hours from when it starts. Note that to qualify as a cocktail (or delayedalcohol-induced) headache, the pain must start within three hours of drinking. A headache that sets in the next day is a symptom of a hangover.
How long will a cocktail headache last?
It can persist for up to 72 hours from when it starts. Note that to qualify as a cocktail (or delayedalcohol-induced) headache, the pain must start within three hours of drinking. A headache that sets in the next day is a symptom of a hangover.
12 Best Foods for a Hangover and What to Avoid
What Causes a Cocktail Headache?
The mechanism through which alcohol can trigger these distinct headache disorders is not well understood. While the acute widening of blood vessels in the brain (called vasodilation) may explain the cocktail headache, this is likely not the mechanism for hangover headaches (when alcohol levels in the blood have declined to zero).
For a hangover headache, also called a delayed alcohol-induced headache, experts believe that nerve chemicals involved in central pain control, like serotonin, are likely responsible.
The type of alcohol does not seem to affect whether a person gets a headache. While red wine has been described as a dominant trigger of migraines and cluster headaches, white wine, champagne, sparkling wines, and beer have also been linked to headaches.
How to Get Rid of a Cocktail Headache
If you develop a cocktail headache, stop drinking alcohol and go someplace where you can rest comfortably. Drink lots of water to rehydrate your body and help flush the alcohol from your system. A sports drink with electrolytes is also helpful for this purpose.
Try to eat some fruits, herbs, and vegetables that are helpful for alcohol-induced headache recovery. Mango, thyme, ginger, and asparagus are known to contain helpful properties for this purpose.
For pain relief, you can take anon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug(NSAID) such as Advil or Motrin (both are brands of ibuprofen) orAleve(naproxen), although when combined with alcohol, these can put you at risk of stomach bleeding.
Do not take Tylenol (acetaminophen), as doing so will overtax yourliver.
How to Prevent a Cocktail Headache
If alcohol is a headache trigger for you, think before you drink. In other words, the best treatment for a cocktail headache is actually preventing one in the first place. Before consuming a cocktail, ask yourself if it is worth developing a headache over and ruining your celebration or holiday.
If alcohol only occasionally causes you a headache, then moderation or striking that balance (as opposed to abstinence), may be a more reasonable approach. Drinking plenty of water before having a drink should also help ward a cocktail headache off.
Be sure to talk with your healthcare provider about your “cocktail headache” plan. For example, if you experience migraines and notice that alcohol triggers your migraine headache, then taking one of your migraine therapies (for example, atriptan) at the start of your headache may be best.
Headaches Doctor Discussion GuideGet our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.Download PDFEmail AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Download PDF
Email AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Sign Up
Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.
There was an error. Please try again.
Summary
What Is Hangxiety?
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version).Cephalalgia. 2013;33(9):629-808. doi:10.1177/0333102413485658Panconesi A, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcohol as a dietary trigger of primary headaches: what triggering site could be compatible?.Neurol Sci.2012;33 Suppl 1:S203-5. doi:10.1007/s10072-012-1068-zWang F, Li Y, Zhang YJ, Zhou Y, Li S, Li HB.Natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangovers and alcohol use disorder.Molecules. 2016 Jan;21(1):64. doi:10.3390/molecules21010064Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hangover headache.Additional ReadingKrymchantowski AV, da Cunha Jevoux C.Wine and headache.Headache. 2014;54(6):967-75. doi:10.1111/head.12365Panconesi A, Franchini M, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcoholic drinks as triggers in primary headaches.Pain Med2013;14(8):1254-9. doi:10.1111/pme.12127
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version).Cephalalgia. 2013;33(9):629-808. doi:10.1177/0333102413485658Panconesi A, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcohol as a dietary trigger of primary headaches: what triggering site could be compatible?.Neurol Sci.2012;33 Suppl 1:S203-5. doi:10.1007/s10072-012-1068-zWang F, Li Y, Zhang YJ, Zhou Y, Li S, Li HB.Natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangovers and alcohol use disorder.Molecules. 2016 Jan;21(1):64. doi:10.3390/molecules21010064Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hangover headache.Additional ReadingKrymchantowski AV, da Cunha Jevoux C.Wine and headache.Headache. 2014;54(6):967-75. doi:10.1111/head.12365Panconesi A, Franchini M, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcoholic drinks as triggers in primary headaches.Pain Med2013;14(8):1254-9. doi:10.1111/pme.12127
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version).Cephalalgia. 2013;33(9):629-808. doi:10.1177/0333102413485658Panconesi A, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcohol as a dietary trigger of primary headaches: what triggering site could be compatible?.Neurol Sci.2012;33 Suppl 1:S203-5. doi:10.1007/s10072-012-1068-zWang F, Li Y, Zhang YJ, Zhou Y, Li S, Li HB.Natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangovers and alcohol use disorder.Molecules. 2016 Jan;21(1):64. doi:10.3390/molecules21010064Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hangover headache.
The International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version).Cephalalgia. 2013;33(9):629-808. doi:10.1177/0333102413485658
Panconesi A, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcohol as a dietary trigger of primary headaches: what triggering site could be compatible?.Neurol Sci.2012;33 Suppl 1:S203-5. doi:10.1007/s10072-012-1068-z
Wang F, Li Y, Zhang YJ, Zhou Y, Li S, Li HB.Natural products for the prevention and treatment of hangovers and alcohol use disorder.Molecules. 2016 Jan;21(1):64. doi:10.3390/molecules21010064
Johns Hopkins Medicine.Hangover headache.
Krymchantowski AV, da Cunha Jevoux C.Wine and headache.Headache. 2014;54(6):967-75. doi:10.1111/head.12365Panconesi A, Franchini M, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcoholic drinks as triggers in primary headaches.Pain Med2013;14(8):1254-9. doi:10.1111/pme.12127
Krymchantowski AV, da Cunha Jevoux C.Wine and headache.Headache. 2014;54(6):967-75. doi:10.1111/head.12365
Panconesi A, Franchini M, Bartolozzi ML, Mugnai S, Guidi L.Alcoholic drinks as triggers in primary headaches.Pain Med2013;14(8):1254-9. doi:10.1111/pme.12127
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
