People who say they suffer from ‘Long Covid’ may be more likely to suffer crippling hangovers, a study suggests.
Researchers at Stanford University interviewed people who were experiencing lingering symptoms months after recovering from a Covid infection and found that they all reported more extreme hangovers.
Of the participants, a 49-year-old woman said she had been suffering from long Covid for 11 months and claimed that wine now makes her feel like she “can’t move”.
A 40-year-old woman, who had long Covid symptoms for three months, said she used to have seven cocktails a night but now she can’t even have one.
Based on the results, the scientists concluded: “New alcohol reactions and sensitivity may appear after Covid infection in patients with (long Covid).”
They warned that the virus and inflammation in the body can weaken the blood-brain barrier, which could lead to more severe hangovers because more substances, such as alcohol, can enter the brain.
People who say they have long Covid report severe hangovers after drinking alcohol (file image)
The four patients in the study were recruited from the University of California’s Post-Acute Covid Syndrome (PACS) clinic, which treats people with persistent symptoms of the virus.
The CDC estimates that more than 3.3 million Americans have long Covid, an ill-defined disease that is notoriously difficult to diagnose.
Patients experience a wide variety of complications including persistent fatigue, mental confusion, and inability to continue with daily life normally.
In the Stanford study, the 49-year-old woman told doctors that she used to drink a glass of wine regularly without feeling any side effects.
But now, he said he is experiencing a “bad hangover,” in addition to feeling “overwhelmed,” fatigued, and groggy.
The patient had been suffering from persistent and long-term Covid symptoms for 11 months, including fatigue, shortness of breath and decreased appetite.
She also had type 1 diabetes and breast cancer.
In another case, the 40-year-old cocktail drinker said drinking just one now causes “alcohol poisoning,” causing a severe headache that lasts three days and feeling “terrible.”
The patient also had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a genetic condition that makes tissues more fragile, asthma and high blood pressure.
His long-term Covid symptoms were described as persistent cognitive problems and difficulty breathing.
The subjects also included a 60-year-old man who said he had previously consumed alcohol twice a month without problems.
But now he couldn’t even drink a beer, and the study notes: “The patient experienced chronic, daily headaches characterized by a feeling of tightness in the top and back of the head.”
Long Covid had left him with symptoms such as headaches, cognitive impairment and sleep disturbances for five months. He had no underlying conditions.
The fourth person included in the investigation was a 36-year-old woman with sleep apnea who came to the clinic saying she had been suffering from long Covid for a year.
The woman told doctors she drank socially before contracting the infection, but now even just one drink causes “redness” of her skin.
While more studies need to be done, the researchers hypothesized that hangovers were worse among people with long Covid because the virus and inflammation in the body can weaken the blood-brain barrier.
The blood-brain barrier is a semipermeable membrane that separates circulating blood from brain fluid and the central nervous system.
Normally, when someone drinks alcohol, the chemical can cause this barrier to become increasingly permeable, allowing substances that normally cannot enter the brain, such as toxins and inflammatory chemicals, to reach the brain.
In someone with long Covid, scientists believe there are more inflammatory molecules in the bloodstream, which could lead to more intense hangovers.
While scientists believe long Covid could be linked to greater severity of hangovers, they said more studies were needed due to the small sample size.
They also noted that the results were self-reported and that patients were not asked to demonstrate prior Covid infection or their symptoms after drinking.
But they said they were still suggesting there could be a link between Covid and problems drinking alcohol after an infection.
Their study was published in the journal. Cureus.