What's your tried and tested way to cure hangover? Photo / 123rf
Not everyone has access to IV drips and hangover retreats – but these are the at-home tips that can relieve the pain.
We’ve all been there after a night out: waking up with that dry mouth and pounding head feeling, desperately looking for a quick end to the torture. Interestingly, while hangovers are the most commonly reported negative effect of alcohol use, scientific study into the condition remains a niche interest.
Dr Sally Adams of the University of Birmingham is one of the few academics involved in hangover research and a leading British expert.
“There is so much research on the effects of alcohol on the body but nothing on the effects the following day,” she says. “This is an area that potentially has really serious consequences for physical and mental health. It costs the economy a fortune. It is an under-investigated topic, probably because we look at it in a trivial way.”
Anyone who has suffered a hangover knows that there is nothing trivial about them. Read on to learn more.
As hangovers are not a specific illness but are a combination of different ways your body reacts to excessive alcohol consumption, and as everyone reacts to alcohol in different ways, people experience hangovers in different ways. Genetics also play a role as genes determine how efficiently people metabolise ethanol, which is the form of alcohol found in consumer beverages.
A survey published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism followed 1410 Dutch students with hangover symptoms. It listed 47 symptoms, and the top 10 were:
Also listed were apathy, agitation, gastrointestinal problems, tremors, regret, guilt, depression, anxiety and vomiting.
Symptoms will also depend on how much you’ve drunk and what you’ve drunk. Cask-aged and matured beverages like whisky and cognac, for example, contain complex compounds called congeners.
In his book, Drink? The New Science of Alcohol and Your Health, David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology, writes: “The longer whisky is stored, or aged, the more some of the alcohols will join together to form more complex alcohols called congeners.” It is thought that these may create worse hangovers.
The bad news is, there is no definitive cure. But there is plenty you can do to treat the symptoms.
“If there was a miracle hangover cure, it would have to address all the symptoms,” says Adams, “and it would be very difficult for one thing to address the stomach irritation, the dehydration, the anxiety, the effect on the brain.”
In Las Vegas, Hangover Heaven is a hangover clinic which also sends medics to hotel rooms to deliver a regime of treatments that promises to get even the most debilitated revellers back on their feet within two hours. But the process is not simple. “Patients” are treated with a combination of drugs and therapies which include oxygen, Propranolol, a beta-blocker that slows heart rate, vitamin-infused IV drips, Zofran, an anti-nausea medicine widely used in chemotherapy recovery and Torodol, a powerful painkiller.
But in the absence of prescription meds and IV drips, there are simple measures you can take to treat the main symptoms.
Here are some at-home measures you can take:
This can be in the form of a sports drink or a sachet of Dioralyte. Dr Howard LeWine, from Harvard Medical Publishing, says: “Alcohol promotes urination because it inhibits the release of vasopressin, a hormone that decreases the volume of urine made by the kidneys. If your hangover includes diarrhoea, sweating, or vomiting, you may be even more dehydrated.
“Although nausea can make it difficult to get anything down, even just a few sips of water might help your hangover” he adds.
Nutt recommends: “Take ibuprofen when you go to bed and/or when you wake up, ideally with food as it can be harsh on the stomach lining.”
Heartburn from an irritated stomach can be treated with an antacid such as Alka-Seltzer, which also helps to rehydrate. The XS version also contains aspirin and paracetamol for headaches and pain, and caffeine for drowsiness.
Low mood and anxiety are overlooked symptoms but can also be profound, lasting long after physical symptoms abate.
Adams recommends doing something that is gentle but enjoyable, like watching a comedy. “Psychologically, it helps to do something that is going to make you feel good. Whatever normally helps you if you feel low or anxious, engage in that,” she says.
Alcohol has sedative properties which work for around four hours after which people commonly wake with a headache, feeling alert and unable to get back to sleep. “This is because your brain knows being intoxicated is potentially dangerous,” explains Nutt. “As soon as you started drinking the night before your brain started to change.”
Although it can be hard, try to get a good night’s sleep after a drinking session.
While it may be hard to keep food down initially, it is a good idea to try to eat something. One study investigated the effect of the amino acid L-cysteine on alcohol/acetaldehyde-related after-effects. It concluded a dose of between 600mg and 1200 mg could help with symptoms of nausea, headache, stress, and anxiety.
L-cysteine is found in high-protein food including pork, eggs and cheese. If you can’t stomach a full English, the NHS recommends bouillon soup as a good source of vitamins and minerals, which can top up depleted resources. It is also easy for a fragile stomach to digest.
Carbohydrates such as toast can help replenish depleted blood-sugar levels. Flat Coca-Cola can also be beneficial as it provides carbs, fluid and caffeine.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine evaluated diets for 24 hours before and after excessive drinking. Although it was a small cohort, with results based on the participants describing what they ate, rather than their being fed under supervision, the study did find that people whose food and beverage consumption contained greater amounts of zinc and B vitamins had less severe hangovers.
It might be worth a try but don’t expect miracles.
Some products, such as Myrkl, market themselves as cures. Myrkl contains a range of compounds including “bacteria, L-Cysteine and vitamin B12″ and claims to “contribute to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and helps to support the immune system and contributes to normal energy levels”. Adams is cynical though, as Myrkl is a food supplement, not a medicine, and so can make claims without having to undergo rigorous peer-reviewed testing.
Myth 1: Just drink water. “One of the biggest myths is that water will solve everything, and that a hangover is only dehydration,” says Adams. “Water isn’t a miracle cure.”
Myth 2: Have a drink the morning after. Experts also dismiss drinking more alcohol to alleviate a hangover, a practice commonly known as “hair of the dog”. Nutt describes it “as the very worst thing you can do”.
“You are delaying your hangover by putting alcohol back into your brain,” he writes.
Adams adds: “You are just chasing the drugs.” She says that while reaching for more alcohol the next day may not indicate addiction, the transition from using alcohol to experience pleasure to using it to escape feelings is an unhealthy pattern of behaviour.
Hangovers are a combination of conditions, both physical and psychological, caused by the excessive consumption of ethanol in alcohol.
Different processes in the body contribute to different symptoms which vary in intensity depending on several factors, including the amount and type of alcohol consumed and the circumstances in which it is drunk.
Several factors can contribute to hangover symptoms. Adams explains it here:
Other factors that cause hangovers are inflammation and mitochondrial damage, particularly in the liver. Mitochondria are the energy-producing elements in every cell and are susceptible to damage from the free radicals produced by acetaldehyde.
How long do hangovers last?
This can vary for people and depends on many factors. But generally, hangover symptoms can last 24 hours or longer.
Does drinking water help with a hangover?
Yes, drinking even small sips can help with a hangover. Be wary that drinking water alone won’t “cure” it though. Try to have water with added electrolytes.
Can I be biologically more likely to have a hangover?
Genetics may play a role in how a person reacts to alcohol and experiences a hangover. This is because our genes can determine how efficiently we metabolise ethanol.
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