Hangover syndrome

Probably many people are familiar with the feeling when, some time after a wild party with a lot of alcohol, you start to hate the whole world for the fact that you feel so bad.

This terrible feeling is called a hangover syndrome, and it occurs several hours after drinking alcoholic beverages.

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Causes hangover

The cause of a hangover is the usual intoxication (poisoning) of the body by the breakdown products of alcohol.

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Pathogenesis

When ethyl alcohol enters the human body in large quantities, it simply poisons it. The main load is on the liver, which processes ethanol into carbon dioxide and water. This occurs through a special enzyme, alcohol dehydrogenase. An intermediate product of alcohol breakdown is acetaldehyde. This is a very toxic substance, much more dangerous than ethanol itself. It is acetaldehyde that we owe the symptoms of a hangover. A hangover is a kind of signal from the body about the danger caused by its poisoning.

When consuming large doses of alcohol, as well as with regular intake, the liver can no longer cope with the processing of ethanol. The body begins to use alternative options for removing alcohol, through other enzymes and systems. Thus, the amount of acetaldehyde in the blood increases, it accumulates in the tissues of the body.

Acetaldehyde has the property of influencing the production of dopamine, a hormone responsible for the mental and emotional state of a person. It is dopamine, acting on nerve receptors, that keeps our heart and brain in working order, helps control body weight and its performance. Deficiency of dopamine in the body leads to depression and weight gain.

It gets worse. Alcohol, instead of dopamine, affects nerve cells, replenishing the latter's deficiency. The first stage of alcoholism begins. The lack of dopamine and the alcohol that replaces it causes certain suffering in patients. This leads to psychological dependence. The transition from the first stage of alcoholism to the second signals the possibility of developing a hangover withdrawal syndrome.

The second stage of alcoholism changes the situation. Refusal to drink alcohol increases both the breakdown and synthesis of dopamine. A large amount of dopamine causes reactions of the autonomic nervous system: poor sleep, irritability, excessive anxiety, and increased blood pressure. When the level of dopamine becomes three times higher than normal, a person develops delirium tremens (the third stage).

Acetaldehyde also affects the ability of red blood cells to bind oxygen and saturate the body's tissues with it. This leads to oxygen starvation and the corresponding symptoms of a hangover.

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Symptoms hangover

The symptoms of alcohol poisoning are familiar to some degree to anyone who has ever experienced a hangover. They include:

• Feeling of dry mouth
• Painful headache, dizziness
• Prolonged nausea leading to vomiting
• Lack of appetite
• Hand tremors of varying degrees
• Hyperhidrosis (increased sweating)
• Lethargy, weakness
• Depressive state or aggression
• Indifference to the surroundings
• Shortness of breath due to increased pressure

The severity of symptoms depends on the type and amount of alcoholic beverages consumed. Drinks aged for several years: wine, champagne, cognac, whiskey are more difficult for the body to tolerate than others. And red wine, which contains the histamine-like substance tyramine, drunk in significant quantities, can cause prolonged migraine, vomiting, and increased blood pressure.

Nausea during a hangover is a common occurrence. In this way, the body signals about the entry of dangerous substances into the digestive system, poisoning the entire body. The strength and speed of this symptom depends on the person's health. Thus, people suffering from gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcers, pancreatitis, may experience nausea even with small doses of alcohol.

If nausea occurs, which accompanies a hangover, you need to act immediately. First, you need to induce vomiting by drinking a large amount (about 1 liter) of slightly warm water or a solution of manganese of a soft pink color. Activated carbon in significant quantities (1 tablet per 10 kg of weight) helps well in this situation.

Symptoms such as severe hand tremors, sleep disturbances with insomnia or nightmares, rapid pulse, increased heartbeat, increased blood pressure, aggressive or apathetic state indicate a severe hangover syndrome, which in medicine is called hangover abstinence syndrome. This is a pathological condition characterized by an irresistible craving for alcoholic beverages, especially in the afternoon, and serious disorders of the psychosomatic, vegetative, neurological and psychological spheres of the body.

It is impossible to give a clear answer to the question of how long a hangover syndrome lasts. Hangover symptoms can manifest themselves over several hours. The duration of this condition depends on the speed of metabolic processes in the body, on the quality and quantity of alcohol consumed. In the case of the development of withdrawal syndrome, the duration of symptoms is from 2 to 5 days (the peak occurs on the 3rd day), in severe cases, the effects of intoxication remind of themselves for 2-3 weeks.

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Complications and consequences

Since a hangover is a severe poisoning of the body, if it is repeated regularly and treated incorrectly, it can have unpleasant consequences: disruption of water-electrolyte metabolism, accompanied by vomiting and rupture of the gastric mucosa with the occurrence of gastric bleeding, arrhythmia, prolonged sleep disturbances, due to which a person feels exhausted, has decreased performance, and is depressed.

Alcohol is a strong diuretic, as a result of which it increases the volume of urine, reducing the amount of fluid in the body's tissues, i.e. dehydration occurs. Complications of this process can be hormonal and acid-base imbalances in the body. Alcohol can increase blood pressure, pulse rate, and therefore can cause complications of cardiovascular diseases, sometimes leading to the death of the patient.

The prognosis for long-term regular alcohol consumption and an incorrect approach to treating hangover syndrome is generally unfavorable: binge drinking may occur, which subsequently leads to delirium tremens with hallucinations and other mental disorders and personality degradation.

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Diagnostics hangover

In order to choose the right treatment, a hangover syndrome diagnosis is carried out, including collecting anamnesis and conducting additional tests if concomitant diseases are suspected.

It would seem that even a non-specialist can easily diagnose a hangover. It is enough to establish from the patient or his relatives that he has consumed a large amount of alcohol, and the visible symptoms (excessive agitation, redness of the eyes and skin of the face, dry mouth, shaking hands) will speak for themselves. Complaints of nausea, vomiting and headache can only confirm the diagnosis.

However, it is not that simple. Since many symptoms indicating a hangover syndrome are characteristic of complicated hangovers and other diseases, differential diagnostics are necessary to clarify the diagnosis.

Based on the external examination and anamnesis, the therapist must establish whether the hangover symptoms are a signal for the development of withdrawal syndrome. The occurrence of the latter may be indicated by a longer duration and severity of hangover symptoms, facial swelling, dry skin, deterioration of the scalp, neurological disorders, deterioration in sleep quality, etc.

Manifestations of hangover symptoms may mask the true cause of the malaise. If acute conditions associated with other diseases are suspected, the therapist may recommend consultations with other specialists: a gastroenterologist, neurologist, cardiologist, etc. Additional tests (general and biochemical blood tests, urine tests) and examinations (ultrasound, gastroscopy, cardiogram, EEG and MRI of the brain) may be required.

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Treatment hangover

The effectiveness of hangover treatment depends on the correct diagnosis. If a regular hangover requires only some measures to relieve symptoms, then developing alcoholism, and especially hangover withdrawal syndrome, require radical treatment. At the same time, the sooner the patient seeks help from a doctor, the faster the return to normal life will occur.

Sometimes everything is so obvious that there is no need to go to a medical facility, and sometimes there is no possibility (for example, in rural areas or remote areas of small towns, there are not always hospitals nearby). In this case, it is better to know how to relieve a hangover at home and what medications should be kept in the home medicine cabinet in reserve.

The primary task in treating a hangover is to eliminate the effects of dehydration and regenerate the water-salt balance, which is disrupted by increased excretion of salt in the urine. For this purpose, it is recommended to drink as much water as possible, especially when vomiting. This eliminates the symptoms of dehydration and stimulates the kidneys to excrete alcohol breakdown products.

Products containing a significant amount of enzymes have a positive effect on hangover syndrome. These are various brines, barrel apples, sauerkraut, various fermented milk products, live kvass, as well as juices with a high content of citric acid.

If a hangover is accompanied by fatigue and weakness, doctors recommend more rest or even sleep until the symptoms disappear. Physical activity in the fresh air is recommended to speed up metabolism. However, with tachycardia and high blood pressure, it is better to refrain from this.

In case of a very severe hangover, it is recommended to induce vomiting and wash the stomach with a large amount of water and salt. To reduce the effects of intoxication, take activated carbon, white carbon or a more modern sorbent "Enterosgel", which absorbs all harmful substances in the stomach. They should be consumed no later than an hour before eating and taking medications.

Medicines for hangover syndrome

One of the most common drugs that helps to get rid of some symptoms of a hangover is the well-known "Aspirin" or acetylsalicylic acid. This drug can most likely be found in any drugstore or home medicine cabinet. It has the useful property of relieving pain, so it is recommended for headaches, which are an invariable companion of a hangover. "Aspirin" should be taken after meals, with a significant amount of liquid, 1 tablet no more than 3 times a day.

People with kidney and stomach diseases, bronchial asthma, and those who are prescribed anticoagulants should take aspirin with caution. Taking aspirin may be accompanied by allergic rashes and stomach pain. In such cases, it is better to resort to your usual headache remedies: citramon, citropak, spazmalgon, analgin, etc.

Antiemetics such as metoclopramide, cerucal, motilium, mint tablets and other medications will help relieve nausea during a hangover.

Motilium, like metoclopramide, is taken 1-2 tablets half an hour before meals, as well as before bedtime, but no more than 4 times a day. These drugs should be used with caution by those who have impaired renal and hepatic function, ulcerative gastrointestinal diseases, epilepsy, glaucoma and hypersensitivity to these drugs.

Possible side effects: feeling of dry mouth, constipation or diarrhea, heartburn, sleep disturbances, allergic reactions, feeling of increased heartbeat, irritability, etc. Before using these drugs, be sure to consult a doctor on this issue, and if side effects develop, stop taking these drugs, giving preference to relatively safe mint tablets.

One of the inexpensive and effective hangover medications that are sold in pharmacies without a prescription is "Glycine". It eliminates neurological and brain disorders in the body associated with acetaldehyde intoxication, stabilizes sleep, and reduces cravings for alcohol.

To obtain a stable effect from the treatment, you need to take "Glycine" every hour, 2 tablets for no more than 5 hours. The component of the drug, aminoacetic acid, is found in smaller quantities in the food we are used to, so it is well perceived by the body as a natural stimulant of its natural forces. Contraindication to taking the drug is hypersensitivity to aminoacetic acid. Side effects are weakly expressed and manifest themselves in the form of allergic reactions.

To stabilize the general condition, neutralize the negative effects of alcohol poisoning, improve liver function, as well as to treat hangover withdrawal syndrome and chronic alcoholism, the drug "Medichronal" based on glycine or its analogue "Metadoxil" is indicated.

The dosage and dosage forms of the drug "Metadoxil" depend on the degree of alcohol dependence. In case of common alcohol poisoning, which is the cause of a hangover, the drug is used in the form of injections: from 300 to 600 mg intramuscularly, or intravenously 300-900 mg. Treatment of chronic alcoholism and liver disorders associated with alcohol abuse involves taking tablets 2-3 times a day, 500 mg for 3 months. In case of withdrawal syndrome, preference is given to droppers: 900 mg once a day for 3-7 days.

Metadoxil should be used with caution by people with increased sensitivity to the drug, with Parkinson's disease, and also with bronchial asthma, to avoid bronchospasms. The drug can sometimes cause allergic reactions.

To replenish potassium and magnesium reserves in the body, lost due to the diuretic effect of alcohol, Panangin is used, known to many as Asparkam. To eliminate hangover symptoms, 1-2 tablets are usually enough. But if the symptoms are weak, it is still better to refuse it, since the drug itself has unpleasant side effects similar to hangover symptoms: nausea and vomiting, headaches and stomach pain, etc. In addition, Panangin is contraindicated for people with heart disease and cerebral blood vessels, renal failure, severe forms of myosthenia, excess potassium and magnesium.

In case of heart rhythm disturbances associated with uncontrolled alcohol consumption, Corvalol is recommended. However, toxicologists consider this method of treatment unjustified and even dangerous and advise giving preference to Grandaxin, which does not react with alcohol.

The most effective and fastest way to get rid of a hangover is considered to be IV drips, which deliver the necessary medications and vitamin-mineral complexes directly into the blood.

There are several types of IV drips that help with hangovers and they can have different purposes, such as normalizing blood pressure, water-salt and acid-base balance in the body, saturating with vitamins, minerals and glucose, relieving symptoms of intoxication, maintaining liver and kidney function, etc. They can contain glucose, vitamin complexes containing vitamins B1, B6 and C, calcium chloride, cerucal, zufillin, insulin.

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Folk remedies for hangover

Since hangover syndrome is a common occurrence, and hangover medications are often not at hand, folk healers have not remained aloof from the problem. There are many recipes for alleviating hangover symptoms from products that are frequent guests on our table. Here are some of them:

• Finely chop fresh cabbage and pour kefir over it. Eat the squeezed cabbage completely. This recipe replenishes potassium reserves in the body.
• Anti-alcohol cocktail. Mix a glass of tomato juice and a fresh egg yolk. This cocktail has an enveloping effect and helps remove acetaldehyde from the body.
• Add a slice of lemon, some salt to a glass with ice and pour in some mineral water. Drink slowly. This drink removes nausea and vomiting, and also eliminates the symptoms of dehydration.
• Add 1 tbsp of cereal flakes to 100 g of kefir. Let it sit for a bit and eat it all. This is a recipe for quickly removing harmful substances from the body.

An excellent assistant in the fight against a hangover is bee honey. The use of honey for hangover syndrome is due to its unique properties: bactericidal, anti-inflammatory and tonic.

Due to its composition, rich in vitamins, microelements, glucose and fructose, honey wonderfully relieves symptoms of intoxication, replenishes the lack of vitamins and minerals necessary to combat the effects of alcohol poisoning, improves heart function by replenishing the body with glucose and fructose, improves the functioning of the liver, digestive system, stimulates the immune system.

In folk medicine, hangover treatment is practiced with herbs and berry decoctions. For example, chamomile tea will relieve headaches, improve digestion and sleep. Fresh dandelion leaves or tea from them speed up the removal of harmful substances from the body, help the kidneys and liver, as well as the gall bladder. Fennel tea helps to cope with intoxication and nausea. Decoctions of rose hips, hawthorn (to normalize blood pressure and heart function), cranberries and other berries, which are important suppliers of vitamins that help in the fight against hangovers, have a positive effect on all body systems during a hangover.

Homeopathy has also joined the fight against alcoholism and the accompanying hangover syndrome, creating biologically active supplements both to relieve hangover symptoms and to develop a lasting aversion to alcohol.

For example, the drug "Rekitsen", made from wheat bran and enriched with vitamins and microelements necessary for the body, when it gets into the intestines, helps to remove harmful substances formed during the decomposition of ethanol, and also saturates the body with useful substances, improves bowel function, eliminating dysbacteriosis.

The drug should be taken in powder form 30 minutes before meals from 3 to 16 tablespoons 3-4 times a day. The drug has no contraindications, but if an allergy to the components of the drug occurs, it is better to refuse it. Some side effects may occur: flatulence, a feeling of heaviness and fullness in the stomach, increased stool frequency, which quickly pass and do not require discontinuation of treatment.

"Proproten 100" is a homeopathic medicine that relieves hangover symptoms (hand tremors, indigestion, anxiety, weakness, heart rhythm and sleep disturbances) and reduces cravings for alcohol.

The drug is taken according to the scheme: during the first 2 hours, 1 tablet every half hour, then 1 tablet every hour. If the condition improves, the dosage is reduced to 4-6 tablets per day. Treatment continues for 3-4 days.

The drug has virtually no side effects. Very rarely, short-term double vision occurs. People with hypersensitivity to it should not use this drug.

Homeopathic remedies that have good reviews in the fight against hangovers include "Monastic tea" with a unique composition of 16 herbs that help rid the body of harmful toxins, restore the functions of internal organs damaged by alcohol, improve immunity and mood, and minimize alcohol addiction.

To restore liver function impaired by alcohol intoxication, homeopaths can prescribe the drug "Hepel". It is available in the form of tablets that need to be sucked. Take 1 tablet 3 times a day without chewing. The drug contains milk thistle raw materials. Contraindicated for people with sensitivity to milk thistle and other components of the drug, lactose intolerance. Side effects, occurring in isolated cases, are allergic reactions and mild jaundice. When the drug is discontinued, everything returns to normal.

To get rid of alcohol addiction during withdrawal syndrome, it is recommended to take such dietary supplements as "Alco Barrier" and "Extra Blocker", which cause a persistent aversion to alcohol, allegedly increasing the symptoms of a hangover syndrome. Their effect is generally safe for a healthy body and causes only psychological rejection of the negative sensations associated with alcohol intake.

It is no secret that for effective treatment of conditions associated with alcohol consumption, it is not enough to limit yourself to taking one of the drugs. There is no such panacea for a hangover. Treatment of hangover symptoms should be carried out with drugs in combination with homeopathy, water and air procedures.

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Prevention

As in any other case, the best method of combating the disease (in this case, hangover symptoms and painful cravings for alcohol) is its prevention.

Hangover prevention is a measure to prevent the occurrence of undesirable consequences of drinking alcohol. There are certain rules, following which you can make sure that the upcoming party leaves only pleasant memories, not overshadowed by a hangover syndrome.

1. Try to drink alcoholic drinks that belong to the same category. Mixing different drinks makes the hangover situation more difficult.
2. Don't drink carbonated drinks with alcohol, especially sweet ones.
3. Milk slows down the process of alcohol entering the blood. But you have to drink it beforehand.
4. Drink only quality alcoholic beverages.
5. Dancing and active games will speed up the removal of alcohol breakdown products from the body.
6. Don't start the party with a toast. You need to eat well before drinking alcohol.
7. During and after the feast, drink more water to avoid dehydration.
8. Dark and colored drinks (wine, cognac, etc.) cause a more severe hangover. Try to avoid drinking them.
9. You should raise your glass no sooner than 15 minutes after the previous toast. In between toasts, you should have a good snack, avoiding too much fatty food.
10. Before going to bed after a heavy drinking party, you need to take an anti-hangover complex: activated charcoal (1 tablet for every 10 kg of weight), then aspirin and a couple of no-shpa tablets. This will help avoid a severe hangover the next morning.

Following these recommendations is the only way to prevent a hangover from turning a fun holiday into a real nightmare and causing significant harm to your health.

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