While England may not have made it to the final of the World Cup, most of the nation will be avidly watching the remaining football games this week to see whether we make it to third place and who will be taking the trophy home. Regardless of the results – come Monday the UK could be facing a big national hangover. Fear not, because Daniel Fenton, Clinical Director and GP at London Doctors Clinic is on hand to offer practical, GP approved advice to have you feeling meeting-ready in no time.
Take antacids before going to bed
These are an absolute lifesaver for reducing stomach acid and will help you to feel less nauseous the following morning.
Beware of ‘Hair of the Dog’
We’ve all heard of drinking through your hangover , and while this always sounds like a great idea and undoubtedly does kill the pain for a short time, in practice it only makes things worse in a few hours. It makes you more dehydrated, aggregates your stomach and worsens the headache. It also means you are very likely to have a serious drinking problem. It’s better to rehydrate and top up with electrolyte rich sports drinks and ton of water to help you rehydrate and replace the salts and sugars lost by the diuretic effect of alcohol.
Be careful if you’re going for a run
This may well make you feel better after a nights drinking, as it will certainly get the endorphins going and lift your mood. However, you should still be careful if you are planning a run the morning after drinking . If you’ve had a real bender your liver is already feeling pretty beaten up and over exercising can wreck it even more. Make sure you drink a lot of water. The fluid you lose in ‘sweating it out’ needs to be replaced and lot more.
Watch what you eat
Raw eggs do contain some of the essential amino acids the liver uses to digest alcohol so this hangover remedy does have a theoretical basis. Mixed with tomato juice, Worcester sauce, vinegar, salt and pepper and chilli sauce, raw eggs have been glugged by our transatlantic cousins for many years after a big night out. Who knows if it works. The thought of it puts me off drinking – so that may be something.
Stick with clear alcohol
We’ve all experienced the red wine hangover! There are ingredients in many drinks called congeners which do contribute significantly to hangovers and red wine and fortified wines have a lot of them. You probably already know this from experience. Vodka, gin and white rum have less so you may get less of a hangover per unit of alcohol consumed. Think about it though. This is not necessarily a good thing.
Espresso Martinis are not your friend
The addition of caffeine acts as a stimulant and can make you feel really lively whilst cheering. However, one too many caffeine infused drinks will leave you feeling dry as a bone, as caffeine acts as a diuretic and causes you to make more frequent trips to the loo. Dehydration is one of the factors contributing to that morning hang over headache.. so it may be better to keep it simple and have a drink without the caffeine infusion.
by Dr Daniel Fenton, Clinical Director at London Doctors Clinic