Hangover

So, you just attended the best party of your life last night. You enjoyed a few drinks, hanging out with friends, a few more drinks – was there karaoke and Twister involved? The details are a little fuzzy. Unfortunately, now that you are wide awake, you have one reminder that is all too clear – the pounding headache, nausea, and other symptoms that are welcoming you to the morning-after hangover.

The pain and discomfort that you are feeling is actually the result of several different factors. The blood vessels in your head have started to expand again leaving you with a pounding headache. The diuretic effects of the alcohol have left you dehydrated, furthering your headache and causing thirst and dizziness. Your blood sugar has dropped, leaving you fatigued and shaky. Your stomach is irritated, causing nausea and vomiting.

Unfortunately, there is not a whole lot that you can do during the next eight to 24 hours that is really going to make you feel better – you just have to let the alcohol work its way out of your system. And if your drinking buddies are pounding at your bedroom door swearing that they can cure your headache, then they are wrong. Here is a look at some common “cures” for hangovers.

Your morning standby – the cup of coffee – may help you wake up, but it will not help the hangover. Instead, you will be a wide-awake recovering drunk – not the best feeling in the world.

A shower will wash off the grunge from last night, but does not cleanse the alcohol from your system.

Over the counter pain relievers may help your headache, but they will not do anything for the nausea and other symptoms. Plus, for some people, they can cause more damage than good and leave you feeling worse.

Drinking more alcohol will only make you more drunk.

Exercise might get you out in the fresh air, but it will not remove alcohol from your system either.

If you still feel that your drinking buddies might be in the know on hangover cures, you can always check with your doctor. The British Medical Journal looked at various hangover treatment studies, and found that there were none that were actually effective at preventing or curing a hangover.

So what do you do? At this point, all you can do is ride it out. But you can use it is a lesson of what not to do the next time you are out.

For the next time, practice hangover prevention. Drink slowly, alternate alcoholic drinks with non-alcoholic ones, and know your limit. While you drinking buddies might think you are a lightweight, you will be the one that is feeling better come morning.

Watch which alcoholic beverages you choose. Dark liquors contain more of the chemicals that cause hangovers than the lighter ones, and cheaper alcohols have more than the more expensive varieties.

If you still have a hangover, just do your best to get your body back to normal. Fruit juice and water can hydrate you, and bland foods may help settle your stomach. Avoid too much activity or things that require concentration, and just wait the hangover out.

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