# Hangover prevention pills? Is this for real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 22, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415 "2006-10-22T04:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lush\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Lush\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lush_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/1 "2006-10-22T04:57:43Z")
OK, so my handle says it all. I likes my booze. I recently saw an ad for a hangover prevention cure that came in the form of tablets. You’re supposed to take a couple of these tablets with your first drink and the ingredients in the tablets will absorb the cogeners that cause that awful hangover. And, it won’t lessen the desired effect of alcohol either. No way, says I. This is too good to be true! So I hit their website (search for Double Chaser) and everything sounds legit. However, while I have no problem destroying my liver (and subsequently lungs, as my social smoking habit is married to my social drinking habit), I’m worried about taking these “meds.” The-devil-you-know kind of thing. And yup, I’ve read Cecil’s classic [How can I avoid a holiday hangover?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_230.html) but seeing as it was written way back in '85, I thought I’d bring it to the Teeming Millions again. So… is this thing for real? ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/2 "2006-10-22T05:30:41Z")
WAG: Something tells me if it worked as advertised they wouldn’t need to advertise because the makers would be billionaires overnight and everyone would know about it. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/3 "2006-10-22T06:22:43Z")
We’ve done this before. The jist of it is that you are supposed to drink a buttload of water with these pills. Since hangovers have a lot to do with being dehydrated, drinking a buttload of water helps stave off hangovers. You would do just as well drinking the water without the pills though. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/4 "2006-10-22T06:47:55Z")
While I’ve found that Chasers are effective, I’ve found drinking one glass of water after every alcoholic drink is just as effective. ---
**Author:** ![Lush\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Lush\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lush_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/5 "2006-10-22T07:38:52Z")
I find that drinking a glass of water after every alcoholic drink is effective for some of the symptoms (dry mouth, headache), but 1. it’s a drag to get a glass of water when you’re in a busy bar, and 2. it’s an even bigger drag to get in line to go the bathroom 3. it doesn’t really help with the sluggishness the next day So looks like I’ll be doing an experiment with Chasers tonight. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/6 "2006-10-22T07:52:26Z")
[QUOTE=Lush Puppy] I find that drinking a glass of water after every alcoholic drink is effective for some of the symptoms (dry mouth, headache), but 1. it’s a drag to get a glass of water when you’re in a busy bar, and 2. it’s an even bigger drag to get in line to go the bathroom 3. it doesn’t really help with the sluggishness the next day So looks like I’ll be doing an experiment with Chasers tonight. [/QUOTE] Be sure to drink as little water as possible so we can see how they actually function on their own. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/7 "2006-10-22T10:40:43Z")
I know of an actual, real, and nearly instant (about 10 minute) hangover cure. Unfortunately it requires a needle, and cannot be applied in pill form. The cure is half a bag of Ringer’s lactate given intravenously. This immediate hydration takes away all the necessity for drinking water and completely removes the hangover. It is absolutely astonishing how fast the headache lightens up and peels away, the scummy tongue unscums, the nausea vanishes. Unfortunately, it requires a friend with at least EMS expertise and a steady hand, as well as IV tubing and a sterile butterfly needle. I well remember some serious parties during surgical training in the 1980’s (so **Cecil** could have known about this just for the asking). The surgical assistants, who were all PA’s (physician’s assistants, 4 year degree), showed up in the morning with needle punctures and hematomas (blood bruises) on the backs of their hands. They were all so bitterly hungover in the morning that there was nobody sober enough to start the first butterfly for someone else with any degree of skill. They all started eachother’s butterfly needles to the IV tubing in dorsal hand veins, and screwed it up. But they were un-hung-over. From personal knowledge of this cure I would say nothing that goes in by mouth will cure your hangover… thought lots and lotsa water early on holds out promise. Also that you’re heading down the primrose path towards dying young, **Lush Puppy** ; I hear histories like yours all the time about my patients (I’m a medical examiner, do autopsies on people who die young without doctors’ care). Sure you know that already, though. ---
**Author:** ![Lush\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Lush\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lush_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/8 "2006-10-22T10:55:10Z")
What? You’ve heard my history?! How much info does this forum require for registration? :mad: Anyway, I’m hardly a college keg monster or irresponsible drunk but thanks for the concern, doc. ---
**Author:** ![gabriela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@gabriela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gabriela)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/9 "2006-10-22T11:42:27Z")
[QUOTE=Lush Puppy] What? You’ve heard my history?! How much info does this forum require for registration? :mad: Anyway, I’m hardly a college keg monster or irresponsible drunk but thanks for the concern, doc. [/QUOTE] You betcha. No need to preach. Smoking and drinking’s kinda more what I was pointing at. Hope you’re thin, then you don’t have the triple whammy. But it’s your life to live as. you. please! ---
**Author:** ![Hogwash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@Hogwash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogwash)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/10 "2006-10-22T12:15:06Z")
I’ve tried RU-21 hangover pills in the past and I can assure you that they _did_ work. The first time I took them I got absolutely smashed, but woke up in my housemate’s bed feeling pretty damn good, if a little tired. This is coming from somebody who gets terrible hangovers (hence the purchase), sometimes from as little as 3-4 pints. _But_, and this is a big but, I found that over time the abilities of the pills to fend off the effects of my hangovers became weaker and weaker. By the time I had ordered the second carton off the Internet, my hangovers had virtually returned to previous head-splitting levels. I can only imagine this was due to increasing biological tolerance. Maybe if I tried them again after a few years’ break there would be a noticeable effect. So in essence, anyone who would say that these pills don’t work (I can’t speak for every brand) without trying them is equally as foolish as anybody who believes that they are the magic bullet to all one’s hangover ills. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/11 "2006-10-22T17:16:43Z")
gabriela, what is Ringer’s lactate? ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/12 "2006-10-22T18:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=gabriela] I know of an actual, real, and nearly instant (about 10 minute) hangover cure. Unfortunately it requires a needle, and cannot be applied in pill form. The cure is half a bag of Ringer’s lactate given intravenously. [/QUOTE] For us non-medical types, here’s the [formula](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringer's_lactate). I don’t see anything really dangerous or that can’t be administered orally. Of course, as I said, I don’t have any medical training, so my judgement here is of no value. An oral solution (at least for hangovers) would be preferable, but it isn’t used. So there must be good reasons for this, and I’d like to have my ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2006, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/13 "2006-10-22T21:23:58Z")
> [@](#): > > For us non-medical types, here’s the formula. I don’t see anything really dangerous or that can’t be administered orally. Of course, as I said, I don’t have any medical training, so my judgement here is of no value. My guess is that it’s safe to drink, just not effective. The whole point is that you want to get fluid into the bloodstream faster than just by drinking it, and the various ions are presumably just to make it safe to inject directly into the blood (I suspect that injecting pure water would cause cells to swell up and rupture). ---
**Author:** ![Lush\_Puppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Lush\_Puppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lush_Puppy)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/14 "2006-11-09T15:42:40Z")
After a few trials, I’m convinced that these Chaser pills work pretty well. While I didn’t experience a total cure of hangover symptoms, they were considerably reduced. For those that don’t know, you take 2 pills with your first drink and it will last up to 6 alcoholic drinks (or 3 hours). If you have more than 6 drinks, you take 2 more pills. The gist of it is that Chaser pills’ two ingredients “attract and absorb hangover-causing toxins and then safely pass them out of your system.” Not, as some other poster suggested, that you’re supposed to take them with alot of water. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/15 "2006-11-09T16:33:25Z")
For anyone too lazy to go to their website, here’s the gist of how it “works”: > [@](#): > > Chaser is a patented formula of activated calcium carbonate and vegetable carbon (activated charcoal). Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in most calcium supplements and antacids. Vegetable carbon has been used for centuries to absorb toxins and is still used in hospitals today. These ingredients attract and absorb hangover-causing toxins (congeners) and passes them from your system – like a filter. Both ingredients are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) by the FDA. ---
**Author:** ![guesty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@guesty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guesty)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2006, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hangover-prevention-pills-is-this-for-real/377415/16 "2006-11-09T17:09:24Z")
As one of my last posts before my guest membership expires, I’ll share my hangover experiences to hopefully better the world and increase the amount people drink… As a rather seasoned drinker, my friends and I have experimented with various remedies. While the Chaser type cures seem to work a little, it really seems to be the water that fends off the hardcore hangover. A simple cure that makes me feel about 40-50% better (sorry, no magical complete hangover erasers) and able to function the next morning involves drinking plenty of water, preferably during the night, but it seems to work by completely flooding yourself right before bed with a volume of water that makes you about to explode (not good for people with weak bladders) Then, take a couple of aspirins and a multi-vitamin before going to sleep. It also benefits to use mouthwash and brush your teeth to help counter-act that crusty “I ate someone’s gym sock” feeling in your mouth. Give this a whack and see if you don’t feel like a new, slightly less hungover, person the next day. Godspeed in your quest!