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What's Your Hangover Remedy?

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By GEOFF FOX, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 31, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Your head feels like it was mistaken for a speed bump.

Your mouth feels like you ate a bowl of cotton balls.

Your stomach feels as rung-out as a used rag, and your soul wishes it was in someone else's body.

If that sounds like your typical New Year's morning (or afternoon), perhaps you're considering trying one of the sure-fire hangover remedies often sold at liquor and convenience stores.

Or maybe you have a trusted, time-honored countermeasure of your own: Cold pizza? Hot shower? Pickled sheep's eye in tomato juice?

Several Pasco County residents recently offered suggestions on how you can drink like Rasputin on New Year's Eve, yet avoid feeling like the loser of a brutal fistfight on New Year's Day.

As owner of the Bourbon Street nightclub and concert venue on U.S. 19 in New Port Richey, Greg Serio's common-sense approach to avoiding a hangover might come as a surprise.

However, the native Clevelander is known for offering advice as straight as his customers like their whiskey.

"I think the only way to really avoid a hangover is not to throw any alcohol down your throat," he said.

Although he owns a popular night spot, Serio said he isn't a big drinker.

"I don't think I've ever prepped myself to not have a hangover," he said. "That never works. But, I never really set out to drink real heavy. The times when I do drink too much I just wind up with a hangover.

"I know they have those pills you can buy. And, I know a lot of my customers will show up and say they had a Bloody Mary at 7:30 a.m. If you keep it going, I guess, you never get a hangover."

Of course, the hair-of-the-dog theory has been around as long as humans have woken up feeling like roadkill after a wild night.

In Dade City, Willa Penn, a bartender at The Osceola Tavern on Seventh Street, learned of a much different approach while working at a clinic.

"The construction workers would come in on Monday morning with terrible hangovers and they'd all want Midol or generic Midol tablets," she said, referring to medicine used to relieve menstrual cramps. "I couldn't figure out why. But, they said it was the best thing in the world for a hangover.

"Two packs and they'd be out the door. The generic kind we had had a lot of caffeine. I tried it once and I'd say it probably does work. Maybe not 100 percent, but it definitely helps."

Robert Gassaway, owner of Village Wine & Spirits on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Wesley Chapel, said copious amounts of water is as important to staying pain-free as consuming high-quality spirits.

He said red wine, in particular, seems to lead to dehydration faster than other alcoholic beverages.

"It certainly dehydrates your body more than white wine and maybe straight spirits," he said. "Drink plenty of water before and after. It also doesn't hurt to take an ibuprofen or Advil before bed, and then in the morning. It helps with inflammation and general soreness.

"That clobbered feeling you have in the morning is because of dehydration. Hydration is the key."

Gassaway said he doesn't sell any of the myriad hangover remedies on the market, but that may change.

"This year we were asked by a few people and it just kind of slipped by," he said. "We didn't get any in stock, but we may need to take a look at that."

Although Gassaway has the right idea about drinking plenty of water, people shouldn't bother with the anti-hangover formulas peddled at liquor stores and other places, said Nancy Finnerty, a family practitioner with Florida Medical Clinic in Dade City.

"None of them work," she said. "The key thing is to keep hydrated, because, basically, that will decrease the concentration of the alcohol. Eating before or while drinking slows down the absorption of alcohol, so indirectly you wouldn't get as drunk. With the hair-of-the-dog method, you're basically hydrating yourself, so that does help."

Finnerty said taking an aspirin or other pain reliever before bed, as well as an antacid, might also make the morning after a happier time.

"But, you're treating the symptoms as opposed to treating the cause," she said. "If you have a sore throat and gargle with salt water, you're only addressing the discomfort. Once you have that much alcohol in your system, all you can do is wait for your body to metabolize it and get rid of it."

So, what does the doctor do?

"I'd like to be sanctimonious and say abstinence is the best policy or drinking in moderation," Finnerty said. "But, if I was worried about a hangover, I'd wake up and make sure I drink lots of water throughout the night. I'd keep a glass by my bed and whenever I'd wake up, I'd drink some more."

HANGOVER ANATOMY

A heavy bout of drinking affects nearly every system of the body for up to 24 hours. Here's a look at the body's reaction to a large dose of alcohol:

•Brain's blood vessels dilate, causing throbbing headache. Dehydration can cause the brain to pull from its lining, intensifying the pain.

•Pituitary gland releases improper amounts of several hormones, disrupting the brain's circadian rhythm (which makes sleep feel less restful) and interfering with normal kidney function.

•Throat and mouth feel dry and scratchy due to dehydration.

•Central nervous system becomes chemically overexcited, causing sweating, tremors and sensitivity to light, sound and touch.

•Muscles become weak from dehydration and low blood sugar levels.

•Heart can become inflamed, start beating with an abnormal rhythm, or even stop beating.

•Liver builds up fatty and lactic acids, impairing the body's ability to metabolize sugar. The resulting low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can cause weakness and mood disturbances.

•Pancreas increases production of digestive chemicals, causing pain, nausea and vomiting.

•Stomach lining becomes inflamed, delaying digestion; excess gastric acid contributes to nausea.

•Kidneys fail to reabsorb water, causing increased urination and dehydration.

Sources: Alcohol Hangover: Mechanism and Mediators, by Dr. Robert Swift and Dena Davidson; Alcohol Health and Research World, Vol. 22 No. 1, 1998; Dr. Fred Freytag, National Headache Foundation; McClatchy Newspapers

Reporter Geoff Fox can be reached at (813) 948-4217 or gfox@tampatrib.com.

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