Hangovers
The information in this article comes from scientific publications and personal experience

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What They're There For

The Hangover is nature's way of reminding us that alcohol is basically a poison. It is the one thing that stops every one of us from drinking ourselves stupid, every night. The hangover is our bodies physical temperance brake, which applies itself when we have gone too far.

In Britain the limit for driving is 80 mg ( two weak alcoholic drinks, or just over one very strong one )

Up to about 100 mg you are stimulated, you feel like dancing or singing, you are full of " dutch courage ". This is the best area to be when you are out drinking, the time that you enjoy the most. Men will talk openly to their friends about subjects that they are normally shy about.

The too long at the bar dose ( four or five strong drinks )
120 mg At this point you feel very relaxed. You have ceased to be stimulated and now you are getting slightly sedated. Some people are so uninhibited that they might start stripping off, speech is getting slurred.
This is where you start doing stupid things, like drinking beer out of ash trays, smoking cigars when you don't smoke, and men get the " beer goggles ", which makes every ugly woman look like a hollywood sex kitten. Women often get randy at this stage and flirt aggressively with strangers.

Very High Doses Of Alcohol( six to eight strong drinks )

When you move into very high doses of alcohol, the story gets unpredictable, because different people's brains are wired up in different ways. It has more to do with genetics than atmosphere. Some people are sleepy, some pissed off, some emotional or moody, some aggressive, some picking fights. And some people a whole range of trouble.

140 mg At this point you are starting to feel tired and want to sit down. You loose the thread of your conversation all the time, you have poor balance and all your sentences are slurred. You are loosing co-ordination.

150 mg Now you are well on the way, you are hiccupping, the room is spinning, you can hardly walk, and you have forgotten half of what has gone on all night.

The anaesthetic dose ( eight to ten strong drinks )
190 mg You are falling asleep, your cheek is resting on the dance floor, and you don't care that a woman is just about to stick her stiletto heel in your face. Everything is out of focus. You can hardly stand up, but you stagger outside, bouncing off the walls, and you crawl under a car and fall asleep, waking up shivering two hours later. You have picked up a number of bruises, but you'll not know anything about them, until you are sober again!

Any more than this and you are making yourself dangerously ill, if over 200 mg you should be in an ambulance going to casualty to have your stomach pumped.

The lethal dose
A blood alcohol concentration of 500 mg per 100 ml of blood is fatal. This is because the sedative effect causes you to stop breathing. But you would probably have to drink about four bottles of vodka in an hour to realise this fate.

It is a biological fact, that your brain can feel no pain. The brain is the only organ of the human body, which can be surgically operated on, without the patient feeling any sensation at all. Alcoholic hangover headaches are caused by the dehydration of the body. Because alcohol is a diuretic, it causes the body to expel a more fluid than is taken in by the drink!
When this happens, the Brain's fluid, is borrowed by other parts of the body, causing the brain itself to get dehydrated indirectly. As the mass decreases slightly, the tissue which is the membrane covering the brain, the dura,  shrinks, causing pain sensitive filaments, which connect it to the inside of the scull, to be pulled, and scientists think this is what causes the alcoholic hangover headache...

Nausea And Fatigue

Because your kidneys are hormonally dumping water that they normally reabsorb, you are visiting the lavvy far more often, and not only dehydrating, but flushing out loads of essential ions which play critical roles in the body.
Sodium and Potassium ions, are used by your nerves and muscles, and as the later imbalance in these substances work through your body, you start to get tired limbs, especially when you wake up the next day after a heavy session.

Energy Depletion

Alcohol depleted the body's store of energy rich glycogen in the liver, breaking it down into glucose, and flushing that out as well in to the bladder. This leaves you feeling weak and wobbly the next day. And craving greasy foods like bacon and egg.

Vulnerability

When you have suffered a bad hangover and recovered, you have used up most of your body's reserves for the fighting of illness, your natural defences are seriously depleated. You are now most likely to catch a cold, or any other virus that's going around. So don't go hanging about in doctor's waiting rooms. Start stocking yourself back up with the vitamins that you can only get from fruit and veg, and plenty of rest.

1. Meals - Don't leave your evening meal until the last minute, have it 1 or 2 hours early, and then your body will be full of energy and your stomach will not be stuffed with food. Which prevents the ability to drink! And don't eat too much.
2. Bath / Shower - If you are getting ready, and having a bath or shower, than drink a glass of water afterwards. The effect of having a bath or shower, especially a long one ( > 15 mins ), is dehydration. The last thing you need before a drinking session is to start it dehydrated, as you will soak it up like a sponge and get drunk very quickly
3. Line Your Stomach - Before leaving the house, eat a slice of dry bread and drink a glass of milk. This will make the alcohol take longer to pass through your stomach. But be warned, the effects of alcohol in your bloodstream will be spread out and you may be over the limit for longer.
4. Sugary Drink - Before retiring to bed, always drink plenty of water. ( at least a pint is good ), and try to get a can of coke or soft sugary drink on your way home, as this will settle your stomach a little, but too much will leave you feeling bloated.
5. Pace Yourself - If you are in the middle of a long session, try to alternate your drinks with soft drinks. This will make you have no hangover at all if you do it all night. And starting on 15 minutes per pint of beer is always a dangerous game!
6. Chinese Takeaway - Eating a greasy chinese or a curry, on the way home, will often enable you to replace energy and chemicals that your body has lost. It will enable you to get a better night's sleep, as your blood-sugar level will rise, and you can drink plenty of water or cola whilst you eat. Don't eat a very large meal, as this will prevent you from sleeping. Try to wait for an hour before going to bed, as by then the digestion will be well underway, An added bonus is that you won't have to get up in the night as often to empty your bladder.
7. Last Resort - If you feel really bad, its fingers down the throat. Making yourself throw up will often be an instant cure. You will turn a severe hangover in the morning, into just a thirst, quenchable with a cup of tea. Probably. Waste of takeaway though!!
8. Resolve - If you drink a resolve or alca-seltza drink before retiring, this will lessen the effect and rehydrate you slightly. And settle the stomach and all the nice things that it says on the packet
9. Sports Drinks - Some people swear by sports drinks, they contain isotonics, which are supposed to get energy to your bloodstream and muscles quickly. Try drinking them before the drinking session, before bed and even in the morning. They don't work for everybody though, and some people get better results with water!

The only way you are guaranteed to feel better is to wait. If you feel like throwing up don't try any hangover cures, because they'll be money down the drain literally.

Water
The best way to re hydrate. You can increase your body's absorbtion of water by dissolving a small amount of salt and sugar mixture. In practice water will make your tender stomach vomit if you are really bad, best to start your recovery with something fizzy.
Fizzy Drinks
These contain lots of sugar and the bubbles will help your stomach.
Resolve
One of my personal favourites. This finishes of my hangover, in half an hour it's gone. Musn't use too frequently as it contains paracetamol, which can cause liver damage when hung over. Asprin, would be the preferred active constituent. But a great many people are allergic to asprin, and it can cause a delicate stomach to feel nausea.
Bananas
Are packed full of minerals, these will help your later recovery.
Fruit Juice Drinks
Lots of sugar and vitamins, and a good thirst quencher.
Toast & Tomato Soup
These are things that are eisily digested after a chucking up session.
Ginger or Ginger Tea
Good for relieving feelings of nausea.
Porridge
Helps raise and stabilise blood sugar levels
Grapefruit Juice
This helps to detoxify the liver

 1. Jilly Cooper - dirty looking, gap toothed Author
Anadin extra before bed, or masses of water.

2. Sally Gunnell - Athlete
Rainbow Cocktail .. Juice, 2 peeled oranges, 1 lemon, 1 lime, 1 pink grapefruit
( note - as if anybody could drink that, when hungover, the acid in it would make you spew up immediately, she's never been drunk in her life! )

3. Penny Smith - GMTV Presenter Who??
Stay in bed with a pot of custard listening to people talking gently on radio 4

4. Prue Leith - Celebrity Chef (apparently)
A Greasy Breakfast

5. Pa Warsop's Hangover Cure (Thanks to Sarah Saunby)
[taken at your own risk, if in doubt consult your medical practitioner]
Half a tumbler of water, 2 soluble aspirins, Half a teaspoon of citric acid, 3 teaspoons of glucose
Stir well together
When ready to drink, add half teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate and mix until it froths, drink down quick!

This really does work for me. Brought me back from the brink on several occasions!

Diuretics
Diuretics are chemicals that are found in all flavoured drinks. Tea, Coffee, Cola, Beer, everything exept pure water. They cause the body to expel an excess of fluid, an in an extreme case can cause dehydration.
In medicine They use Diuretic drugs to increase the flow of urine.

The Liver
One of the body's largest and most complicated organs. A huge chemical factory, it performs many functions. It is the body's protein factory, as well as the main detox unit, energy store, and metaboliser of cholesterol. Heavy drinkers can damage their liver in 2 main ways.
1) A third of heavy drinkers get alcoholic hepatitis, a serious infammatory condition, but it can get better with abstinence.
2) A fifth of heavy drinkers succomb to cirrhosis. This is a fatal accumulation of scar tissue in the liver, and you don't find out about it until it's too late.

[ Symptoms ] [ Preventing A Hangover ] [ The Morning After Cures ] [ Intro ]
Hangovers
The information in this article comes from scientific publications and personal experience

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[ West Street ] [ Brewing In Sheffield ] [ The Hare ] [ Townies ]