Hair of the dog is the worst treatment for a hangover
- Drinking a Bloody Mary or a mimosa to cure a hangover is the worst treatment
- Experts say alcohol will just delay a hangover by masking the symptoms
- Little is understood about what mechanism in particular causes hangovers
We all know the classic hangover cures: a greasy breakfast, maybe an Alka-Seltzer.
Perhaps the most popular is the classic ‘hair of the dog’, powering through the pain with an order of bottomless mimosas.
But a new study has confirmed everyone’s fears: that is actually the worst way to treat your headache, nausea, and general sense of doom.
As good as it feels, researchers say alcohol will only temporarily make you feel better by dulling your senses.
Eventually, your symptoms will come out – possibly even worse.
Drinking a ‘hair of the dog’ to cure a hangover is the worst treatment for it, a new study says
The idea dates back to the 16th century when a cure for a dog bite would be to bleed the wound out and place some pieces of hair from the offending dog directly onto the bite.
And though it didn’t work, it gave rise to the notion that ‘the hair of the dog that bit you’ can fix your dog bite.
In other words, what cures you is what made you sick in the first place.
Or rather, another dose of the alcohol that put you in this dire situation can get you out of the resulting hangover.
Today, we attend boozy brunches with bottomless mimosas and Bloody Marys after a night of drinking. But they are far from an established remedy.
‘There’s no scientific evidence that having an alcoholic drink will cure a hangover,’ said Dr Laura Veach, director of screening and counseling intervention services and training in the Department of Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina.
‘It will, at best, postpone one.’
Hangovers occur following the consumption of ethanol as found in alcoholic drinks.
The causes of a hangover are still poorly understood, but research suggests that there are several factors involved including dehydration and changes in the immune system and glucose metabolism.
The symptoms, usually some combination of headache, thirst, fatigue, dizziness, nausea and general grumpiness, reach their peak when the blood-alcohol level hits zero.
‘Taking a drink the morning after may temporarily make you feel better because you’re putting alcohol back into the system,’ said Dr Veach.
‘But it doesn’t cure the hangover. It just sort of tricks you by masking the symptoms. They’re going to show up eventually.’
Dr Veach said much better fixes include rest, hydration, and aspirin, although they won’t make your hangover go away.
‘The only real cure is time,’ she said.
Dr Veach also strongly advised against drinking a cup of black coffee to sober up.
‘No, all that does is give you a wide-awake drunk,’ she said.
The liver, she explained, detoxifies alcohol in the system and does so at only one rate, which is about one drink per hour.
‘There’s nothing we know of that can speed up that process,’ Dr Veach said.
‘Not drinking coffee, taking a shower, standing on your head, getting slapped, walking around outside in the cold. Nothing.’
When you drink alcohol, it’s absorbed into your bloodstream and distributed throughout your body and causes several negative effects:
1. High blood pressure
According to the Mayo Clinic, drinking too much alcohol can raise blood pressure to unhealthy levels.
Having more than three drinks in one sitting temporarily increases your blood pressure, but repeated binge drinking can lead to long-term increases.
This, in turn, raises your risk of heart damage with complications including stroke, heart attack or heart failure.
2. Affects red and white blood cells
Alcohol also decreases the clotting of red blood cells.
If left untreated, a clot could form to block blood flow in an artery or vein, which can cause a heart attack or stroke.
And for white blood cells, chronic alcohol use reduces their ability to effectively engulf and swallow harmful bacteria.
3. Lowers blood sugar levels
Excessive alcohol use negatively affects the pancreas and the liver, causing them to produce toxic substances that interfere with proper functioning.
When the pancreas and liver don’t function properly, the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) rises, especially because the liver is blocked from releasing stored glucose into your bloodstream.
