7 steps to cure your hangover
Other things you do — or don’t do — when you drink alcohol can affect whether you get a hangover and how bad it is. If you don’t eat anything and drink on an empty stomach, for example, you may feel worse because your bloodstream will take in the booze more quickly. And if alcohol use disorder runs in your family, you may have certain genes that affect the way you process liquor. It’s possible to reduce hangover symptoms by eating food and drinking plenty of water while you’re consuming alcohol, but there’s only so much you can do to avoid one. These side effects are more likely to be unpleasant than dangerous. You might also notice that there is some overlap between the symptoms of hangover and hypoglycemia, which isn’t completely coincidental.
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- The only surefire way to decrease the symptoms of a hangover is to let them run their course, drink plenty of fluids, relax, and take it easy.
- Every restroom visit that drains fluid out of your system sets the stage for dehydration.
- But if you’ve had too much to drink, you may be harming your body and need to see your doctor for treatment.
- Hangover “patches” are basically vitamin-infused stickers that you apply to your skin before drinking.
- Getting an IV insertion increases your risk that a vein may clot or become inflamed, or the injection site could become infected.
A person must wait for the body to finish clearing the toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism, to rehydrate, to heal irritated tissue, and to restore immune and brain activity to normal. There is no way to speed up the brain’s recovery from alcohol use—drinking coffee, taking a shower, or having an alcoholic beverage the next morning will not cure a hangover. You may notice these effects after you drink alcohol and then sleep for a few hours. Generally, hangovers are characterized by discomfort—and you may want to stay in bed all day. Sometimes, hangovers can be more serious and can cause health issues that require medical attention. Hangovers tend to occur after heavy alcohol consumption.
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Hangover symptoms can last from a few hours to up to 24 hours. Alcoholic beverages contain ingredients called congeners. These give many types of alcoholic beverages their taste and smell. Congeners are found in larger amounts in dark liquors, such as brandy and bourbon, than in clear liquors, such as vodka and gin. That means that you’re just as likely to have blood sugar issues the morning after drinking. And the more you drink, the greater the likelihood of low blood sugar, and the less capable you will be of dealing with it.
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But if you find yourself feeling miserable the next morning, drink some water, take an aspirin if you need one, crawl back into bed to catch up on sleep, and, above all, be patient. Food will help restore your blood sugar and can help you feel better. Eat crackers, toast, or other bland, carb-rich how long do hangovers last foods that are easy on your stomach. Drinking water also slows the rate at which your body absorbs alcohol and keeps your overall blood alcohol level lower. A big glass of water might be the easiest hangover solution. Alcohol dehydrates you by boosting the amount of urine your kidneys make.
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The temporary effects include immediate and delayed effects—a hangover is caused by the delayed effects of alcohol. A hangover is when you have unpleasant physical and mental symptoms after drinking too much alcohol the previous night. Chronic, heavy alcohol use can contribute to a range of health problems, including digestive problems, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, weakened immunity, and neurological problems.
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How much alcohol will cause a hangover?
- And alcohol is a diuretic, which means it makes you pee a lot and lose a lot of liquid.
- You might engage in risky behavior you wouldn’t ordinarily do.
- The name comes from an old folk tale that says the way to treat a dog bite is to cover the wound with hair taken from the dog that bit you.