Why does champagne give me a headache?

 Does just a glass or two of champagne leave your head pounding? If bubbly is your go-to drink for celebrating but it quickly triggers a headache that puts a damper on the fun, you can relate. Champagne may add festive sparkle to a special event, but that throbbing pain is no joke.

The good news is with a few preventative strategies, you can stop champagne headaches in their tracks and actually enjoy your celebratory bubbly from the first toast to the last. This is especially true for folks who also get reddening skin from alcohol and we'll explain how Asian flush pills can help.

In this article, we'll unpack why champagne goes straight to your head faster than other wines or cocktails. More importantly, we'll provide proven solutions grounded in science so you can raise your champagne flute with confidence, knowing that pesky headache will never arrive.

Why Does Champagne Give Me A Headache? 

So, why does champagne give me a headache? What is it about this low-alcohol content beverage that produces such miserable hangovers?

Some people believe that sulfites, or an allergy to sulfites, is the blame. But despite what you may have suspect, this is likely not true!

"Sulfites can cause allergy and asthma symptoms, but they don't cause headaches," Frederick Freitag, board member of the National Headache Foundation and an associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago told the Wall Street Journal.

But really, the main culprit for champagne headaches — even when only drinking a little — is quite simple: it's the alcohol!

Alcohol is a diuretic that causes your body to urinate at a much quicker rate than when drinking other liquids. Typically, you don't think about staying hydrated when your three glasses of champagne deep. You usually keep drinking, which makes you more dehydrated, which makes the headaches even more painful and noticeable.

In addition to the alcohol content in champagne, you also need to consider the bubbles. The carbonation in champagne makes headaches more noticeable than when drinking other types of alcohol like beer or wine.

In simple terms: the bubbles in champagne contain carbon dioxide, which can increase the pressure you feel in your stomach and forces alcohol out through the lining of your stomach into the bloodstream.

Even though champagne isn't as high in alcohol as some other drinks, it can get you drunker much faster because the carbonation interacts with oxygen flow to your brain.

Hate champagne headaches? You can blame those bubbles!

"Prosecco and Champagne both contain little pockets of carbon dioxide which change how the alcohol flows through the blood stream, helping the body to adsorb the alcohol faster. Once in the bloodstream the Co2 competes with oxygen which is why you might feel a little woozy and rather drunk rather quickly leading to an exaggerated hangover in the form of a pounding head," says Marco Castelanelli, sommelier and founder of Club Vino.

Other Symptoms You May Feel Besides The Champagne Headache

Now that you know why champagne gives you such an unbearable headache, you may be wondering about other symptoms. Like other alcoholic beverages, you should be prepared to feel some negative symptoms after drinking champagne that go beyond a simple headache. Typical symptoms include:

• nausea

• dizziness

• stuffy nose

• headaches

• upset stomach

• bad nights sleep

• feeling hot or flush

• fatigue or tiredness

• red facial flushing or "alcohol flush reaction"

While the most notorious symptom of drinking too much champagne is a headache, you'll definitely feel drowsy and sleepy as well. This grogginess is something anyone who's tried to tackle bottomless mimosas with their friends has experienced - you can practically write off the rest of the day!

Check out the below video from The Daily Hit, all about champagne headaches!

How To Avoid Champagne Headaches

Now, that we've discussed the causes of headaches from champagne, you are probably wondering if there is anything you can do to prevent them. And the most obvious solution is to avoid drinking champagne altogether! But for many of us, that is not an option - we love mimosas, and we love celebrating holidays and birthdays with some bubbly.

Fortunately, there are a few ways you can minimize your negative symptoms from champagne, and hangovers in general. Besides abstaining altogether, here are the best ways to prevent headaches from champagne.

Water

Want to avoid champagne headaches? Drink a full glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have. Even adding just a few cups of water throughout your night can reduce hangover symptoms and the severity of champagne headaches.

A large part of hangover symptoms can be down to being dehydrated. Make sure to drink a few cups of water, or even juice or pop, to help offset dehydration from alcohol. Your head will thank you in the morning!

Food

There's lots of articles about which foods are the best to have before drinking, during drinking, or after drinking alcohol. But really, it just comes down to having food in your stomach. By ensuring you don't drink alcohol on an empty stomach, you can help reduce your hangover symptoms, including getting headaches.

Even just having a light meal while drinking can help. Headaches from champagne doesn't have to be part of your New Years Eve celebration!

Pace yourself

While you might want to knock back a few glasses of champagne quickly, it's best if you take your time. By sipping at your drink for longer, you can slow the pace at which alcohol enters your body.

Why Does Champagne Give Me A Headache? Wrapping Things Up

So, why does champagne give me a headache?

To summarize today's discussion, there is a very specific reason the headaches from champagne are worse than other types of alcohol. It's the bubbles. And, it's also a very easy type of alcohol to overdrink! This combination leads to the notorious champagne headache - along with other hangover symptoms you may be familiar with.

Fortunately, though, we've prepared you with the best tips for avoiding the champagne headache altogether. And if you do find yourself developing one anyway, you can beat it with some water, ibuprofen, and rest.

If you believe your champagne headache is caused by alcohol flush syndrome, you may want to look into this more in-depth - as this is a condition that won't go away on its own. Caused by ALDH2 deficiency, you won't just develop headaches from sparkling wine, champagne, or beer - but any alcohol. And, you'll experience other symptoms such as sweating and turning red - hence, the name: asian flush reaction. Learn more by exploring our blog!