There are treatment approaches that can relieve some of the severe effects of a hangover. In addition to getting some rest, you can drink fluids, eat in moderation, and take over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The combination of these physiologic effects of alcohol can cause several of the symptoms of a hangover. While there are differences in how people experience hangovers, these differences are not understood and are not related to resilience or alcohol tolerance. For example, college students tend to drink at higher rates than post-college drinkers. Get professional help from an online addiction and mental health counselor from BetterHelp.
Recovery from Hangovers
Studies suggest that electrolyte changes play only a minor role in the genesis of the alcohol hangover and are caused by dehydration effects. A hangover from alcohol, while unpleasant, is not ordinarily a medically dangerous condition. However, if you have persistent nausea/vomiting or are severely dehydrated, you may require urgent medical attention.
- If you experience frequent hangovers, it may be time to evaluate your drinking habits.
- For example, drinking more alcohol (“hair of the dog”) won’t help a hangover.
- Limiting how much alcohol you drink at one time is the most effective way to minimize the possibility of a hangover.
- This is relatively quickly turned into acetate, then finally into carbon dioxide and water.
- There are high concentrations of congeners in red wine and distilled spirits, for example, and low ones in clear spirits such as vodka.
How can I prevent a hangover (or reduce its severity)?
The alarm blares like a four alarm fire; you crack open your eyes only to be blinded by the glare of daylight. You can replace lost fluids by drinking bland liquids that are gentle on your digestive system, such as water, soda water and isotonic drinks. There are several factors that are known to contribute to alcohol hangover, though they’re probably not a direct cause. It’s a popular yet unproven belief that dehydration is one of the main causes how long does a hangover last of hangover.
Severe Hangover Symptoms
A hangover is a collection of unpleasant symptoms that can occur after drinking too much alcohol. These symptoms typically include headache, nausea, fatigue, sensitivity to light and sound, dizziness, and dehydration. Hangovers result from alcohol’s diuretic effect, which causes dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, as well as its impact on sleep patterns and chemical processes in the brain. The severity of a hangover can vary based on the amount and type of alcohol consumed, individual metabolism, and hydration levels.
TED Talk of the Day
A combination of the toxic effects of alcohol and the withdrawal from the effects of alcohol causes a hangover. Excessive alcohol consumption can cause more than a general feeling of malaise the next day. Extreme alcohol consumption can cause acute alcohol poisoning which can be life-threatening. How much you need to drink to cause a hangover depends on many factors. Some people may only need one or two drinks to get drunk and feel hungover the next day. Others can drink far more and feel minimal symptoms afterwards.
Risk Factors
And the more you drink the night before, the more severe your hangover symptoms might feel the morning after. Most people who get hangovers can diagnose themselves based on their alcohol consumption and symptoms. If you feel sick after consuming alcohol, you most likely have a hangover. Alcohol is the main culprit in a hangover, but other components of alcoholic beverages might contribute to hangover symptoms or make a hangover worse.
Like alcohol, certain over-the-counter pain relievers, including aspirin and ibuprofen, can increase acid release and irritate the lining of the stomach. Proceed with caution when using these medications before or after consuming alcohol. Some people have a headache a few hours after drinking wine — especially red wine. But it’s different from a hangover, which may or may not include a headache. It’s possible that some chemicals in wine and how the body responds to them could result in a headache after drinking wine. More research is needed to find the exact cause of wine headache.
When should I see a healthcare provider?
This affects many of your body’s normal functions, such as breathing, temperature regulation, and heart rate. Alcohol poisoning can be deadly or have serious long-term consequences. When you drink, your body adjusts to the alcohol in your system in order to maintain a normal 8(ish)-hour cycle of sleep. But your body generally eliminates all the alcohol from your system after five to six hours, yet still remains adjusted to the presence of alcohol.
Hangovers begin when your previously raised blood alcohol level drops and nears zero. Dr. Imran Abbasi, DO, UnityPoint Health, offers his advice to help you get on alcoholism your feet faster. Other things you do — or don’t do — when you drink alcohol can affect whether you get a hangover and how bad it is.
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