Anyone that has ever suffered from a hangover has heard of taking a little “hair of the dog” as a hangover cure. The name comes from the longer phrase “hair of the dog that bit you” and it means to consume something that caused a hangover in order to relieve it. Some also refer to it as the beer hangover cure, because that’s their drink of choice. It’s a relatively common practice and for many, even yields positive results. So, does a beer hangover cure work?
Why Beer Hangover Cures Seem to Work
A scientific study shows that 11 percent of drinkers reported in 2010 that consuming alcohol to get rid of a hangover actually seemed to work. The reasons for this are:
- rasing your blood sugar level
- raising your blood alcohol level
- holding off the effects of hangover
The first is that drinking more while hungover raises your blood alcohol level. The worst hangover symptoms will be felt as your blood alcohol level returns to zero. When you drink a little more while hungover, it will raise your blood alcohol level and hangover symptoms will begin to subside.
In addition to raising your blood alcohol level, drinking will also increase your endorphins. This will brighten your mood and again, decreasing the symptoms associated with a hangover. One of the reasons people get hangovers is because their endorphin levels drop as they experience alcohol withdrawal.
There are also certain compounds created when you have a hangover that affects the severity of the symptoms you feel. Methanol, found in beer and other alcoholic beverages, is converted to toxic chemicals known as formic acid and formaldehyde, which make a hangover worse.
If you drink more beer, though, that methane is actually excreted, rather than converted into toxic chemicals. That lessens the severity of a hangover and makes it seem as though the age-old tale of having some hair of the dog really works.
Why Beer Hangover Cures Don’t Actually Work
It’s true that adding more alcohol to your system can help relieve some hangover symptoms and get you feeling better. Unfortunately, this is only a temporary feeling. All you’re really doing when having a nip of alcohol is delaying the inevitable. Your body will still have to process that alcohol, meaning your symptoms are going to return.
Once you stop drinking, all of those levels will become depleted once again and you’ll still have the hangover after that occurs. In some cases, because you’ve consumed even more alcohol, the hangover might actually be worse.
Need a Hangover Cure in Florida that Works? Call Us at Hangover Hospital
At Hangover Hospital, we know there’s not a lot of merit to old wives’ tales. That’s why we’ve created our Key West hangover cure that actually works. It doesn’t involve drinking pickle juice, more alcohol, or consuming anything at all. Instead, our technicians administer an IV drip filled with natural ingredients like electrolytes, vitamins, and minerals to get you back to your best health as soon as possible. If you’re suffering from a hangover, we can have a technician at your door in a matter of minutes.