University Daily Kansan / Thursday, November 3. 1988
Health
The truth behind hang
overs
From moderation to hair of the dog
By Terry Bauroth Kansan staff writer
Chris Petrick uses a sure cure for hangovers.
Chris Petrick uses a sure cure for hangovers. "I drink alcohol again in the morning, whatever alcohol is available," said Petrick, Park Ridge, ill. junior. "It levels the effect of the hangover.
Donald W. Goodwin, chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said that many myths surround the hangover but that drinking alcohol the morning after was not just a myth, it did relieve hangovers.
- **marr of the dog really does work,** he said.
* "Alcohol irritates the lining of the stomach causing nausea. The cure for most alcoholic vomiting is the inflammation of the stomach and relieves the nausea.*
"However, drinking to cure a hangover is dangerous. Alcohol is so efficient in relieving a hangover, you can get into the habit, and you are just postponing the hangover."
just postpone.
The cause of a hangover is unknown. Goodwin said. But the elements of a hangover are known and they include nausea, diarrhea, headache, depression, jitters, fatigue and having trouble concentrating.
People react to alcohol in different ways. Goodwin said, and each person will come upon his own treatment and suffer upon it from the suffers from. Myths associated with curing a hangover are created in this way.
Myths of hangovers
- Donald W. Goodwin
Myths of mangoes
Tom Jackson, Overland Park junior, drinks a
1.
It may be that some of the treatments that people have worked out for themselves could be beneficial since no one knows the cause of hangovers. '
Med Center chairman of the department of psychiatry
"People respond to alcohol individually," Goodwin said. "It may be that some of the treatments that people have worked out for themselves could be beneficial since no one knows the cause of hangovers."
"I tried it one time and it just happened to work." Jackson said. "Now I do it every time around."
glass of orange juice and a glass of iced tea and takes two Tylenol after a night of drinking to avoid a hangover.
But Goodwin said that no one could be sure that all hangover "cures" were myths.
"And a lot of it is in your mind. If you think it is going to work, then it will."
Drinking a lot of water before bed to prevent dehydration is a common myth, Goodwin said.
"People think that they are dehydrated because they have a dry mouth," he said. "It is just an effect of alcohol on the lining of the mouth. They cannot drink plain water, or the large volume of fluid they've consumed."
Another myth is the belief that drinking one type of alcohol causes worse hangovers than
another, Goodwin said.
This stems from the reaction some people have to a certain alcohol such as red wine. It is similar to bourbon.
"The red wine releases a histamine which dilates the blood vessels in the brain in some people and causes a migraine headache." Goodwin said.
A common belief is that a person can get a worse hangover from drinking bourbon and scissors.
"The fact is when you drink bourbon and scotch straight, you are more likely to have irritation of the stomach producing nausea the next day." Goodwin said.
There has been a sobering up pill advertised, Goodwin said. But it is not legitimate.
"The theory was that if alcohol went away faster, hangover effects would be less unpleasant and, to the extent that people drink to cure a hangover, they would motivation to drink would be less powerful.
"In fact a case could be made that the hangover would be worse if the alcohol disappeared faster."
Minimizing symptoms
However, there are ways to minimize a hangover, such as resting before you drink.
are ways to relieve a hangover.
"The only thing that counts is the alcohol that gets in the blood and if you eat, it is harder for the alcohol to get into the blood. It takes longer." Goodwin said.
And there are ways to relieve a hangover
It makes sense for us to drink water or
for water to cool the soda water calms the
stomach and the aspirin reduces the headache, Goodwin said.
"The best cure for a hangover is to stay in bed, and take two aspirins." he said.
Mary Altenhofen, nurse health educator at Watkins Memorial Health Center, said, "There is no cure for a hangover but time. And the only way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation."
She said that limiting drinking to one serving every hour and a half would keep a person from
The appropriate servings are 12 ounces of beer, five ounces of wine and one and a half ounces of ice.
Other ways to avoid a hangover she said were to;
- eat before and after drinking in order to help alcohol to be absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream.
- stay with one particular drink.
drink one or two glasses of water before you go to bed
To help combat the effects of alcohol the warning of first, close to 10.
get up and eat something such as dry toast
But she warned that there were precautions to take even when going to bed after drinking.
- rest your liver by eating foods that are easy to digest such as fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals
"Try to lay on your stomach or side so if you vomit, it won't aaprate into your lung." Allenboa