The Hangover reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Hangover

A hangover, also known as a Spanish headache, is the after-effect following the consumption of large amounts of one drug or another. In particular, it is most commonly associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. For other addictive drugs, the correct terminology is withdrawal.

Veisalgia is the medical term for the condition.

The Symptoms

An alcohol hangover is associated with variety of symptoms. Depending on severity, they may include dry mouth, headaches, irritability, bloodshot eyes, sensitivity to light and noise, or nausea and vomiting.

The Cause

Hangovers are multi-causal. Ethyl alcohol has a dehydrating effect, which causes headaches, dry mouth, and lethargy. This can be mitigated by drinking plenty of water between and after the alcoholic consumptions. Alcohol is also a metabolic poison, and its impact on the stomach lining probably accounts for the nausea. Another factor contributing to hangover is the conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde by the liver by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. This metabolite is probably more toxic than alcohol. Finally there are various nervous effects. The removal of the depressive effects of alcohol in the brain probably account for the light and noise sensitivity. It is also thought that the presence of other alcohols (such as methyl alcohol), by-products of the alcoholic fermentation also called congenerss, exaggerates many of the symptoms; this probably accounts for the mitigation of the effects when distilled alcohol, particularly vodka, is consumed. The amount of tannin in the drink may also have an effect. Sugar also worsens the effect, so that sweet cocktails are infamous for unpleasant hangovers. Nicotine poisoning can often worsen hangovers, as smokers tend to smoke much more than usual while under the influence of alcohol.

Genetics also plays a part, as some people seldom, if ever, suffer hangover symptoms no matter how much they drink.

The amount of flavour compounds in the drink will increase the hangover, so a dark beer, or stout, such as Guinness will produce a worse hangover than drinking the equivalent amount of alcohol diluted in water (basically Vodka, which, if drunk pure, doesn't usually cause strong hangovers).

The psychosomatic nature of hangovers shouldn't be ignored either. If people expect a hangover, they tend to feel one.

The Cures

Common folk medicine has a wide variety of hangover cures. Indeed there appear to be nearly as many ways of curing hangovers as there are of getting drunk in the first place. Essentially all of these hangover cures have one major thing in common, which is that they are nowhere near as effective at curing a hangover as alcoholic drinks are at getting you drunk.

Among the more common (and relatively effective) cures are:

• drink a large amount of water before going to bed, and during the night
• eat pickles, canned fish, or other mineral-rich foods
• drink some (not too strong) coffee
• cabbage leaves or tomato juice
• Cysteine, which is known to assist in processing acetaldehyde
• drink some more (hair of the dog)

A reasonably effective recipe developed by college students at Franklin & Marshall College uses the following.

• 1 liter water
• 2 standard multivitamin supplements
• 2 standard generic aspirin
• 1 tablet of caffeine stimulant (such as no-doze)

Directions: consume all the above together and immediately go to sleep.

As of 2003, the latest fad hangover cure is a Russian pill, sold in Russia as Antipokhmelin (Anti-Hangover), and marketed as RU-21 in the USA. It is also known as the KGB pill due to its supposed use by the KGB to allow spies to keep a clear head while drinking.

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