Here are some remedies to beat drinking binges and the after effects
Various degenerative changes in the liver and other organs of the body, which happen in the long-term, are well documented but the issue of hangover is termed trivial and pushed under the carpet. But the loss of productivity due to it through legal, social, academic and financial disturbances is as bad as alcoholism itself.
Within an hour of a drinking binge, there are various symptoms like headache, nausea and vomiting, irritability, dizziness, dehydration, bodyache, loss of focus, poor appetite and diarrhoea could occur which are broadly termed as a hangover.
The nature’s way of warning is a hangover and if vomiting starts during drinking it is ideal to stop there and the loss of fluids can be replenished by good water intake. The rapid eye movement during sleep gives our brain the necessary impetus to work the next day but the alcohol in the system interferes; and though people say that they sleep well after alcohol, they definitely do not wake refreshed as the brain does not get the relaxation it desperately needs.
Alcohol acts as a diuretic and pushes out the fluids from the body that leads to a state of dehydration and the loss of water from the brain leads to headache, dizziness, irritability, and incapacity to focus.
Alcohol is a drug and every drug needs to be metabolised and broken down to be removed by the body for preventing its deleterious side effects. The liver and kidneys need more water to break down and flush out alcohol. Since water is not easily available, the tissues of the body (including the brain) are flushed out of water and used for the process. All the consequent symptoms are due to the dehydration that ensues.
A by-product of breaking down, i.e., acetaldehyde also makes one feel very ill. Fermentation process causes appearance of certain substances called congeners, which are richly available in drinks like beer, whisky, brandy and red wine, that tend to interfere with the metabolism of the body whereas the impact is lesser in the distilled alcohol.
Prevention
Needless to say, the best way is to avoid alcohol. Mixing different drinks, drinking on an empty stomach, ingesting fatty foods after alcohol, forgetting to drink water, can all make a hangover worse. Going for another drink or other stimulants like tea or coffee to beat the hangover would only make the condition worse. The best way to beat it is drink a lot of water.
Homoeopathic medicine has good remedies to offer. Nux vomica, Chelidonium, Hydrastis and Ranunculus bulb get rid of the nausea, lack of appetite, diarrhoea, etc. Apocyanum, Apis mel help maintain fluid balance
