Alcohol Worsens Hangovers

By Christopher Walker
Dec 31 2010

A new research study released yesterday in the US shows that alcohol is not a cure for a hangover as once believed.

Over the past 100 or more years people have lived by the old adage “hair of the dog that bit you” when it comes to curing a hangover. The adage means that you should get up with a hangover and start drinking again and you will feel better. At least that was the commonly held belief.

The truth, according to the research, is that alcohol can intensify the effects of a hangover. The research study tracked the alcohol consumption of ten men. Through the evening hours the men were instructed to drink alcohol in excess. When they woke up they were to explain their symptoms to the researchers.

Half of the men were given the same alcohol that they had drunk the night before while the other half were given standard fluids and plenty of rest. The first group took three times as long to recover from the hangover as the men of the second group.

Despite this new knowledge, doctors are still uncertain as to why alcohol causes hangovers. The most commonly held belief is that alcohol consumption dries out the body and causes dehydration to set in. The symptoms of dehydration are very similar to that of the hangover.

As such doctors have learned that fluids, non-alcoholic, and rest is the best possible treatment for a hangover that is currently available. Over the counter painkillers may also be helpful.