CLEVELAND, Ohio –Skip the pickle juice, greasy breakfasts, “hair of the dog,” and forget herbal supplements — hangovers resist cures. All you can do is manage the symptoms.
Medical experts are blunt: a hangover is the aftereffect of alcohol poisoning, and most folk remedies either don’t work or, like greasy breakfasts, prolong the problem.
The best hangover cure is prevention, said Sybil Marsh, a family and addiction medicine doctor at University Hospitals in Cleveland.
Medical experts say there’s no hangover cure. Treating symptoms is possible, but prevention is the best choice.Paris Wolfe
That doesn’t require total abstinence, but it does mean limiting alcohol intake and staying hydrated. Alcohol is a diuretic, causing frequent urination and dehydration, which leads to thirst, dry mouth, fatigue, headaches and dizziness the next day.
Drinking water before, during and after alcohol consumption is key, Marsh said.
To reduce risk, she suggested a simple 1-2-3 framework that works like this:
1 – no more than one drink per hour,
2 – no more than two drinks per occasion,
3 – at least three alcohol-free days each week.
Sleeping pills are strongly discouraged due to dangerous interactions with alcohol.
If prevention fails, the goal is damage control. If you wake up with a hangover drink plenty of water and eat bland foods such as crackers or toast.
For headaches, ibuprofen may help, but acetaminophen should be avoided because it can interact dangerously with alcohol in the liver.
For nausea or indigestion caused by acetaldehyde — a toxic breakdown product of alcohol — antacids such as Tums or Pepcid may provide relief.
Time is the main remedy.
Marsh stressed that hangovers, or the lack of them, can be warning signs. Frequent severe hangovers, or the ability to drink heavily without feeling one, may signal unhealthy alcohol use and should prompt a conversation with a health care provider.
And those PartySmart herbal supplement capsules sold in the wine department at Heinen’s, at Target and more? Marsh said there’s no guarantee. They may claim to process the acetaldehyde, but even the small print on the product display doesn’t guarantee a solution.