7 Effective Home Remedies (Supported by Science)

Written by Stephanie Watson

• Water
• Korean Pear Juice
• Ginseng
• Phyllanthus Amarus
• Carbs
• Pain Relievers
• ‘Hair of the Dog’
• Sleep
• More

If you’ve ever had a few too many drinks on a night out, you know what the next morning can bring. The nausea, headache, parched mouth, and fatigue are telltale signs you’ve got a serious hangover.

Each of these symptoms stems from a different cause. Alcohol disrupts sleep and leaves you groggy in the morning. Drinking widens your blood vessels, which can trigger headaches. Alcohol also irritates the lining of your stomach, leading to nausea and sometimes diarrhea.

For almost as long as humans have had hangovers, we’ve tried to cure them with remedies that run the gamut from vitamin B to pickle juice. Some hangover treatments work better than others, but none is an actual cure. The only way to avoid a hangover is to limit how much you drink or avoid alcohol entirely. And if you find that hangovers are affecting your work or relationships, talk to your doctor about your drinking.

That said, a few hangover remedies can bring you relief from at least some of your symptoms. Here are a few tips to try.

A big glass of water might be the easiest hangover solution. Alcohol dehydrates you by increasing the amount of urine your kidneys make. You also lose fluid when you sweat, vomit, or have diarrhea after a night of bingeing. Dehydration causes symptoms like a dry mouth and headache.

If you drink alcohol, drink water before you go to bed. It will curb the effects of the booze in the morning. Another drink of water when you wake up will help keep you hydrated. Have a sports drink to replace the sodium, potassium, and other electrolytes you’ve lost from vomiting or diarrhea.

Some people say that getting fluids through an IV can help ease hangover symptoms. This method has the informal name of “drip bar.” It can be pricey, and health insurance doesn’t cover the bill. But there’s no need to pay for IV fluids when you can drink a glass of water for free. IVs also carry risks like infection.

Korean pear (Asian pear) juice is an old-school hangover remedy. Research shows that drinking about 7 1/2 ounces helps lower blood alcohol levels and makes hangovers less intense. The catch is, you need to drink it before you have alcohol. Drinking it afterward won’t work.

Researchers say Korean pears might work with your body’s chemistry to break down alcohol faster. Only a couple of studies have been done, which is far from proof that this hangover remedy works. But if you can find Korean pear juice at your local supermarket, it doesn’t hurt to try a glass before you go out drinking.

This root has been a feature of Chinese medicine for thousands of years. Herbalists use it to treat ailments ranging from stress to asthma. In one small study, a drink made from red ginseng cut down hangover symptoms.

An unrelated herb that goes by a similar name, Siberian ginseng extract, also improved hangover symptoms like headache, dizziness, and stomachache. But the Siberian type isn’t the ginseng used in Chinese medicine.

Ginseng is safe for most people. Check with your doctor before using it if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. Some evidence suggests it might affect blood sugar and blood pressure levels.

This medicinal herb grows along tropical coasts. It treats liver, kidney, and stomach ailments. In one small study, taking Phyllanthus amarus extract twice a day for 10 days helped lower blood alcohol levels, ease hangover symptoms, and improve mood in regular drinkers.

You can find extracts made from this herb online and in health food stores. Some of these products go by the name “stone breaker” herb. That’s because it may help reduce risk for kidney stones.

Alcohol lowers your blood sugar. That may explain the dizziness and shaking some people get with a hangover. Your brain needs carbs for fuel. Have a couple of slices of wheat toast or a few whole-grain crackers to bring those blood sugar levels back up to normal. You’ll give yourself an energy boost, too.

An over-the-counter pain reliever will calm a pounding headache. Just be careful how much you take. NSAIDs like ibuprofen and aspirin irritate the stomach, which could make nausea worse. Avoid acetaminophen when you have a hangover. It can worsen the bad effects of alcohol on your liver.

The idea behind this popular hangover remedy is that taking another drink will relieve the effects of the last few you had. 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.

But the truth is drinking again will just throw your body back into the same destructive cycle without giving it time to heal. Experts don’t recommend trying this method.

When it comes to getting over a hangover, time and rest may be the best medicine. Alcohol disrupts sleep. Even if you go to sleep for a few hours after a night of heavy drinking, it won’t be restful. Once you’ve had a glass of water and popped a pain reliever, slip back under the covers and catch up on more restorative sleep.

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Can Anything Help a Hangover?

Live|Can Anything Help a Hangover?

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/well/live/hangover-cure.html

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Products claiming to ward off that morning-after agony are flooding the market. Do they deliver?

Credit…Getty Images

Dec. 14, 2022

The quest to “cure” a hangover, or at least make it significantly less miserable, has eluded scientists and laypeople for years. But it hasn’t stopped them from trying. Today, there is a growing assortment of products — from rebranded age-old remedies to new, specialized formulations — that claim to ease the morning-after symptoms. Alka Seltzer sells fizzing orange tablets designed for “hangover relief.” More Labs’s “holiday drinking hack” is to consume their liquid electrolyte supplement at night, so you “never ruin your morning plans.” You can even buy vitamin B1 patches to slap onto your skin or pills that blend aspirin and caffeine that promise to “solve” brutal hangovers in just 15 minutes.

According to Grand View Research, a market research firm, the hangover cure product category is expected to expand by 14.6 percent each year from 2021 to 2028. The growth “coincides with this deeper interest in our personal biology,” and personal biology hacks, said Emily Moquin, a food and beverage analyst at Morning Consult, a research firm. Hangover cure products — and their buzzy ingredients — lean into people’s desire to harness science and technology to ease their pain. “People are saying, ‘Even if I’m going to have a glass or two of wine, I don’t want to feel the effect at all,’” she said.

Ms. Moquin believes the popularity of hangover products is also part of a larger optimization trend. “It ties into the cultural zeitgeist of productivity,” she said. “People feel like they can’t afford to have an off day.”

Despite the proliferation of hangover cures, many researchers remain skeptical of their claims. “There’s not a huge amount of evidence out there for really anything like a drug to prevent or cure a hangover at the moment,” said Emmert Roberts, a fellow at Stanford University who recently reviewed 21 studies on hangover interventions. Dr. Roberts looked at compounds, such as tolfenamic acid, Korean pear juice and a vitamin B6 analog called pyritinol, available in products and rumored to alleviate hangover symptoms. He found scant evidence that they were actually effective.

What’s more, he said, most research into hangover treatments is of very poor quality; studies tend to involve small sample sizes. “There are a lot of snake oil salesmen peddling products that just don’t pass muster,” he said.

“It’s not what people want to hear,” he added. “But there are things you can do.”

Here’s what contributes to that wretched feeling after a big night out and some science-backed advice for how to lessen the misery.

A hangover is the byproduct of acute alcohol withdrawal. As your body processes alcohol, it breaks it down into acetaldehyde, a colorless chemical compound, said Alexis Supan, a nutrition expert at the Cleveland Clinic. Acetaldehyde is essentially a poison, Ms. Supan said, and as your body struggles to metabolize it, your heart rate rises and you can become nauseous. In addition, alcohol works as a diuretic, occasionally inducing some of the most-dreaded hallmarks of a hangover: sweating, diarrhea, vomiting. Those, in turn, dehydrate your body even further and can cause a pounding headache.

The night of

The standard advice for avoiding or lessening the severity of a hangover is still the best: Drink in moderation, alternate alcoholic drinks with water and try not to drink on an empty stomach.

Your choice of alcoholic beverages also matters. Stick with clear, light-colored options like light beer and white wine, Ms. Supan said. Darker alcoholic drinks, like bourbon, rum, whiskey and red wine, can cause worse hangovers. This is because the fermentation process that darkens them also releases compounds called congeners, which can intensify how poor you feel as your body works to break them down. Sugary cocktails, along with mixers like cranberry juice and sodas, can also contribute to a bad morning, Ms. Supan said. They initially elevate your blood sugar levels, and then, as those levels drop, you feel fatigued and weak.

When you get home, taking aspirin before you go to bed isn’t likely to ward off a hangover altogether, said Dr. Holly Stankewicz, an emergency medicine physician at St. Luke’s University Health Network in Pennsylvania, who has researched hangover prevention. But a pain reliever may be able to lessen aches when you wake up.

The morning after

Hydration is just as important the next day, to help ease a headache and replenish fluids. For most people, simply drinking water or seltzer will be enough; a good practice is to drink fluids until your urine is pale yellow, Ms. Supan said. But if you’re throwing up the morning after, or if you sweat a lot the night before because you were out dancing or in a packed bar, Ms. Supan said, you should probably reach for an electrolyte replacement, like Gatorade or Pedialyte.

True to conventional wisdom, caffeine can help you burst through the fog and grogginess that come with a hangover, Ms. Supan said. A cup of coffee might be just as effective as the caffeine included in some hangover pills.

As for all those recovery drinks and hangover prevention patches, many are essentially vitamin cocktails: A review of 82 hangover products found that 51 contained one or more vitamins that exceeded the daily recommended dose. It’s important to replenish vitamins after drinking, but it’s better to get them from natural food sources, Ms. Supan said. In fact, some of the comfort foods you often crave after a night out are a good choice: A classic diner meal with eggs, home fries, cheese and a bit of ham would supply vitamins B, C and zinc, Ms. Supan advised. “We lose a lot of those things when we’re drinking. We want to try to bump them up the following day.”

Still, if you find yourself weary and reeling the morning after a party, or dreading the coming headache before you go out, shelling out for a hangover healer isn’t likely to do you much harm, experts said. But “just taking a pill probably isn’t going to be enough,” Dr. Stankewicz said. “Time is really the only thing that will make it better.”

Dani Blum is an associate reporter for Well at The Times.

How to get rid of a hangover – Brik Narcological Center

Poor health that occurs a few hours after drinking alcohol – doctors have given this condition the name “hangover syndrome”. Its consequences can be dangerous, even fatal, so it is important to support the body in the fight against intoxication. Specialists of the drug treatment center “Brik” will help you get out of hard drinking, get rid of the symptoms of a hangover.

Hangover symptoms

Signs that your body is poisoned by alcohol can be:

• severe headache that is throbbing;
• thirst, dry mouth, heartburn attacks;
• palpitations;
• increased excretion of urine, violation of the process of urination;
• heightened perception of events taking place around;
• tremor;
• irritability;
• redness of the eyes, hypersensitivity to light, noise;
• lack of appetite.

A hangover can cause you to develop “adrenaline” depression, a state where you feel guilty about doing something inappropriate the day before. Alcohol coding will help to cope with addiction.

Hangover: why it occurs

Once in the body, alcohol turns into substances that, being a poison, cause irreparable harm to health. As a result, dehydration occurs, metabolism and sleep are disturbed.

Hangover dehydration occurs due to a violation of the blood circulation process, its pathological distribution is observed, which leads to such a state, although there is enough fluid in the body, and in some cases a lot, which is manifested by edema, the person swells.

Impaired metabolism is caused by toxins, for the fight against which the body spends a large amount of microelements and vitamins. The very next day after drinking alcohol, there is a lack of them, which causes nausea, rapid breathing. The abuse of alcoholic beverages is evil for the human body. If a person cannot cope with addiction on his own, the specialists of the Brik drug treatment clinic will provide support in the treatment of alcoholism.

How to get rid of a hangover

One of the properties of ethanol is its diuretic effect. Drinking alcohol helps to remove fluid from the body, which, due to lack of water, gets rid of toxins very slowly. As a result, the hangover lasts a very long time. Drinking plenty of water will help prevent this. Water should be drunk in sufficient quantities, in small sips. An effective remedy in the fight against hangover is tea with honey. Although there is no scientific evidence that honey will definitely help, it has healing properties that are effective in combating the effects of alcohol intake. Add kefir to the diet, it restores the functioning of the digestive tract and improves the general condition. The use of brine should be abandoned, due to the high concentration of salt, it will retain water in the body, which will lead to puffiness.

One of the ways to get rid of a hangover is healthy sleep. Try to get a good night’s sleep. If there is no opportunity to relax, a contrast shower will help in the fight against a hangover. Warm water should be replaced by cool, and so on until it becomes cold. After taking water procedures, you need to rub yourself with a towel and relax. Given enough time, a warm bath with a few drops of lavender oil can be an effective detox.

If you suffer from headache attacks and try not to take painkillers, a cold compress applied to the forehead for a few minutes is an effective remedy to help relieve the pain. It is important here not to bring yourself to hypothermia.

Open the windows, fill the room with fresh air. Walking through the alleys of the park near the house will also be effective in combating the symptoms of a hangover.

Breakfast, even if you do not feel like eating in the morning, it is important not to refuse it. However, the composition of a hangover breakfast should be different from the standard. In the morning it is better to drink a cup of strong meat broth with fresh herbs, cook scrambled eggs. Fresh fruits and vegetables are effective in helping the body get rid of toxins.

Sports. If time allows, take a contrast shower, go in for sports. Physical exercise, stimulating the processes of blood circulation, will help to quickly cope with a hangover. The main thing is not to overdo it. It is enough to limit yourself to brisk walking or jogging.

None of the above hangover cures work? Modern medicines will help to cope with alcohol poisoning. Activated charcoal or enterosgel should be taken at bedtime and repeated in the morning.

How to quickly get rid of a hangover

January 1, 2021, 06:30

Hangover is one of the worst consequences of large-scale holidays. And the older the person, the worse it is for him in the morning after the celebration with an abundance of alcohol. Let’s figure out what to do with a hangover and how to avoid it.

What is a hangover

Alcohol is a stimulant that makes a person relax. A hangover is a consequence of alcohol poisoning, which affects both the psyche and physiology. Often, the better a person felt during his drinking, the worse the consequences.

It depends on several factors: the amount of alcohol consumed, the quality of alcohol and the body’s capabilities. The duration of the negative consequences also depends on them: if the human liver can quickly process the components of alcohol, then it will not “sick” for long.

How a hangover appears

The liver is “responsible” for alcohol in the body – it decomposes it with the help of special enzymes to ethanol, after which the substance is transformed into acetic acid. If this chain is passed quickly, the person does not feel the symptoms of a hangover.

However, if the liver has not had time to cope with the amount of alcohol consumed, the body has ethanal, which harms the body more than alcohol. It is because of him that a hangover and the accompanying increase in trips to the toilet, muscle pain and swelling fall upon a person.

Hangover symptoms

Consequences of voluntary poisoning of the body are different for everyone. But there is a list of universal symptoms:

• Vomiting and profuse sweating – this is how the body tries to get rid of toxic substances;
• Headache is a dehydration effect of ethanol;
• Palpitations and pain in the heart are due to toxins;
• High blood pressure and tremors – they appear due to the influence of toxins on the nervous system;
• Feelings of fear and depression – they occur as a reaction of the body to dehydration.

The average duration of a hangover is 8-15 hours, during which the body is cleared of harmful substances. If the negative effects are felt for longer, this is an alarming sign. In some cases, it can turn into hallucinations and panic attacks.

How to get rid of a hangover

Methods of dealing with the consequences of yesterday’s holiday vary depending on the severity of the person’s condition. With a moderate hangover, you can cope on your own, with a strong indisposition, you should contact the specialists

Home treatment

To cope with a mild hangover, you need to overcome its symptoms. This is often helped by drugs that are in almost every first aid kit, and products left after the feast.

Preparations

The best remedy for a headache is liquid: if a person copes with dehydration, then the head will gradually stop “popping”. However, acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin can also help, but you can only take a pill once every six hours.

Important! Remember that the dose of even such familiar drugs for each individual. As a rule, it is calculated based on the weight of a person. Going overboard with hangover pills can only make things worse.

Heart palpitations can be dealt with by restoring the complex of essential trace elements. However, this can be done with the help of special preparations only after consulting a doctor. But activated charcoal and other absorbents help with nausea.

Important! Remember that “Citramon” increases blood pressure, which means it can harm a hangover. “Corvalol” contains alcohol, so drinking it for pain in the heart with a hangover is not recommended.

Some people use succinic acid to treat hangovers. It helps to “digest” ethanol, but at the same time increases blood pressure, acts on the nervous system and stomach. Therefore, it is better to think carefully before using it.

Products

One of the main helpers in the fight against mild alcohol poisoning is lemon. You can get rid of tremor with the help of water with lemon and sugar – while it is better to drink mineral water. Vitamin C, which is in lemon, helps to cope with dizziness.

Traditional methods

Traditional methods of dealing with hangovers have been developed over generations, but this does not mean that they are better than drug treatment. However, they should not be dismissed immediately. Here are some ways to get rid of unpleasant sensations, proven over the years:

• Cucumber pickle – effective due to the presence of salt, potassium and magnesium in it, that is, microelements necessary for the restoration of the body;
• Chicken broth – it helps to restore strength, it is best if the soup is fatty and with vegetables;
• Tomato juice – a drink usually contains salt and vitamins that help to cope with signs of alcohol poisoning;
• Herbal tea – usually drunk with lemon and sugar;
• Soda – a small amount of the substance is advised to dissolve in water and drink the resulting alkaline solution, which will help restore balance in the body.

Emergency

Severe alcohol intoxication requires the intervention of specialists: in extreme cases, you need to call an ambulance or come to the hospital yourself. However, a person who feels very ill needs first aid.

The main thing to do is to wash the stomach or simply induce vomiting, this will get rid of some of the toxins, and also take absorbents, such as activated charcoal. In the hospital, a person will be given the substances necessary for the restoration of the body.

What not to do with a hangover

The first desire of many people after a feast is to get drunk. You should not do this: in this way, a person only delays the manifestation of hangover symptoms and aggravates his condition in the future.

Do not take anti-nausea pills: Vomiting is a way to get rid of toxins. Forbidding him to do this, a person only aggravates the situation and prolongs the effect of the negative symptoms of intoxication.

Even if the past party did not hit the body hard, it is recommended not to play sports. Alcohol worsens the work of the heart, and the additional load on it can aggravate the situation.

Do not take hot showers – this will only increase the load on the heart.