The only certain way to prevent hangover symptoms is to not drink any alcohol at all. If you do plan to drink, however, there are steps that you can take to reduce your chances of getting a hangover.
Most of the unpleasant symptoms experienced during a hangover are caused by alcohol’s diuretic effects, causing the body to become dehydrated, and the toxins that are produced as the liver metabolizes alcohol. With a little planning, the effect of these processes can be greatly reduced.
Preventing a Hangover
The best cure for a hangover is to not get one in the first place. Here are some tips for preventing a hangover.
The Bottom Line
If you drink any alcohol at all you can experience some negative effects the next morning. Generally, the more you drink the greater the chance of experiencing more severe hangover symptoms.
If you drink moderate amounts or alternate during the evening between water and alcoholic beverages, you can reduce alcohol’s dehydration and toxic effects and reduce many of the unpleasant symptoms of a hangover.
What If You Did Nothing?
OK, you ignored all the advice. You did not eat anything before you started drinking, you did not drink moderately, and you did not avoid congeners.
What do you do at this point? Drink water.
Hit the sack, and you know that you are going to pay the price in the morning.
Even at this stage of the process, if you can drink as much water as you can before hitting the pillow, you can significantly reduce the hangover effects caused by dehydration. You may not avoid all of the unpleasant effects, but you will certainly be better off than if you do not drink any water before you sleep.
Roth K. Chemistry of a hangover - Alcohol and its consequences Part 3. Chem Views. 2011. doi:10.1002/chemv.201000089
Swift R, Davidson D. Alcohol hangover - Mechanisms and mediators. Alcohol Health Res World. 1998;22(1):54-60.
By Buddy T
Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism.
