But that’s only one symptom of over-imbibing, says Marino. Drinking can cause inflammation, gastrointestinal irritation, disrupted sleep and low blood sugar. It also exposes you to acetaldehyde, a toxic byproduct produced when your body metabolizes alcohol, that can damage your cells and tissues.
Unfortunately, no, says Dr. Ryan Marino, a medical toxicologist and an emergency physician at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center. “I wish there was some magic drink everyone could have, but there isn’t.” Ultimately, the only surefire remedy for a hangover is to avoid getting one by drinking in moderation or choosing not to drink. As we get older, our body’s ability to process toxins slows down. As a result, you might be down for the count on less alcohol (and for longer) than before.
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. For people living with heart disease, hangover symptoms such as rapid heart rate and high blood pressure can be dangerous.
- A hangover is a feeling of illness that occurs after alcohol consumption.
- Congeners are chemical by-products of the fermentation process that gives alcoholic drinks their distinctive flavor.
- Other people seem to be able to get away with several drinks, or even a night of heavy drinking, without experiencing much in the way of next-day effects.
- Mild dehydration can give you a headache, dry mouth, and make you feel dizzy and tired — all common symptoms of a hangover.
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT)
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. Time without alcohol use is the only true remedy for a hangover.
How to Ease Symptoms
Alcohol poisoning is a serious result of drinking too much too quickly. It is life threatening and requires immediate medical intervention. While there is no cure for a hangover other than time, it may be possible to reduce the severity of some symptoms. If you have alcohol intolerance, you may have a genetic inability to process the acetaldehyde fast enough. You may feel drunk after drinking even a small amount of alcohol. During a hangover, a person’s attention, decision-making, and muscle coordination can all be impaired.
Nausea and vomiting
Treatment for problems with alcohol is widely available. One strategy that some find beneficial is to alternate between an alcoholic beverage and water. This will help keep you hydrated and, since you would be drinking so much liquid, it may inadvertently keep you from drinking too much alcohol. Congeners are more likely to produce a hangover or make a hangover worse. But drinking too much alcohol of any color can still make you feel bad the next morning.
The liver starts working overtime to detoxify the blood of ethanol and acetaldehyde, and cannot keep blood sugar adequately regulated. Hangovers begin when a person’s blood alcohol level drops several hours after they stop drinking. But much more research needs to be done to verify any supplement or intervention as a legit hangover cure. If you still feel light-headed, have diminished coordination, or if you have a rapid heart rate or a weak pulse, you should seek medical attention. Often, intravenous (IV) fluids can help alleviate the symptoms. But sometimes severe issues, such as vomiting or coughing blood need to be addressed with more intensive medical attention.
Understanding what causes a hangover headache can help you take steps to mitigate the symptoms, plus give you a heads-up on how to avoid another one in the future. Alcohol can direct heavier blood flow to areas in your pancreas known as islets. This causes your pancreas to make more insulin, which can make your blood sugar drop. “Pain relievers like acetaminophen, antidepressants, cholesterol medication, and blood pressure medications are ones you want to be especially careful with,” says Dr. Cox. Lots of people have sensitivities to certain food or chemicals they don’t even know about. You know that a good sleep can help you feel your best in the a.m.
In most people, the body will quickly restore electrolyte balance once the effects of alcohol subside. There is some evidence that vitamin B6 taken before drinking can be mildly helpful. An anti-inflammatory drug called tolfenamic acid has been shown to be somewhat helpful when taken during alcohol consumption.
When ADH production is affected, you may experience a more frequent urge to urinate. If your hydration levels are low, it can lead to a headache or nausea, which characterize dehydration caused by alcohol aa vs na consumption. Although alcohol is known to induce sleep, it’s most likely to cause disrupted sleep.6 This makes you feel worse when you wake up, prolonging and worsening hangover symptoms. According to a recent study, the average duration of an alcohol hangover is 18 hours after stopping drinking or 12 hours after waking up.4 However, several factors influence this timeline. New research focuses on the theory that hangovers involve inflammation.
