# How do I avoid a holiday hangover?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [March 28, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274 "2011-03-28T16:27:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Scotadrift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotadrift)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2011, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/1 "2011-03-28T16:27:40Z")
With regard to the above named article I thought I’d submit a theory. I cannot, sadly, verify this in its entirety but I think it has a ring of truth to it.
A friend of mine has a degree in Brewing and Distilling. When I was bleating about a hangover one day, he quoth, “hair of the dog” to which I scoffed a little, mainly because I was in no position to keep anything beyond dry toast in my stomach. Despite my fragility, he launched into the chemistry of the myth.
He believed that the severity of a hangover boiled down to the types of alcohol in a given beverage and the quantities thereof. Reputedly there are different types, such as methanol, phenol and ethanol. Each, he said, had a different molecular length, and your body turns to the most complicated or lengthy first. Ethanol is among the more complex, but wood alcohol, methanol, is one that makes you feel grotty. Hence - top up your ethanol, buy a little more time to get water and salts into your body.
Any possibility there is truth in this?
_ETA: Link to column [How can I avoid a holiday hangover? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/487/how-can-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover) --Rico_
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### Author:  [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/2 "2011-03-28T19:18:59Z")
Methanol is generally classified as out-and-out poison. Drinking it in _any_ amount is a stupid and dangerous thing to do. Phenol (also known as carbolic acid) is also quite toxic, although it is the active ingredient in Cloraseptic© spray.
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### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2011, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/3 "2011-03-29T00:07:31Z")
In addition to what **John W. Kennedy** said, Phenol would be the most complex (or at least the biggest molecule) of the 3, so are you suggesting drinking phenol to get rid of a hangover?:eek:
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### Author:  [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/4 "2011-03-29T11:13:13Z")
In one way he was correct. Ethanol take precedence over methanol. That is why people who have, for some reason, drunk methanol are kept in a state of ethanol inebriation until the methanol has disappeared from the body.
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### Author:  [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/5 "2011-03-29T16:05:20Z")
A little more from wiki:
> [@](#):
>
> Methanol poisoning can be treated with the antidotes ethanol or fomepizole.[12][15][16] Both of these drugs act to reduce the action of alcohol dehydrogenase on methanol by means of competitive inhibition, so that it is excreted by the kidneys rather than being transformed into toxic metabolites.[12]
> **[Methanol toxicity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol_poisoning#Toxicity)**
>
> Methanol toxicity (also methanol poisoning) is poisoning from methanol, characteristically via ingestion. Symptoms may include an altered/decreased level of consciousness, poor or no coordination, vomiting, abdominal pain, and a specific smell on the breath. Decreased vision may start as early as twelve hours after exposure. Long-term outcomes may include blindness and kidney failure. Blindness may occur after drinking as little as 10 mL; death may occur after drinking quantities o Methanol poiso...
The question appears to be that during the fermenting process, while generally creating ethanol, does it also leave trace amounts of methanol in the beverages? If so, which are more prone to it, and under what conditions?
Also, does the “grotty” feeling come from methanol in your drink, or can ethanol cause that “grotty” feeling on its own?
This page states that the cause of hangovers and that grotty feeling is the acetaldehyde, the first component of alcohol metabolism.
> **[How Hangovers Work](https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/drugs-alcohol/hangover4.htm)**
>
> Think the 'hair of the dog that bit you' is your road to hangover salvation? Think again! Find out what really works for that hangover.
> [@](#):
>
> A product of alcohol metabolism that is more toxic than alcohol itself, acetaldehyde is created when the alcohol in the liver is broken down by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase. The acetaldehyde is then attacked by another enzyme, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, and another substance called glutathione, which contains high quantities of cysteine (a substance that is attracted to acetaldehyde). Together, the acetaldehyde dehydrogenase and the glutathione form the nontoxic acetate (a substance similar to vinegar). This process works well, leaving the acetaldehyde only a short amount of time to do its damage if only a few drinks are consumed.
>
> Unfortunately, the liver’s stores of glutathione quickly run out when larger amounts of alcohol enter the system. This causes the acetaldehyde to build up in the body as the liver creates more glutathione, leaving the toxin in the body for long periods of time. In studies that blocked the enzyme that breaks down acetaldehyde (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase) with a drug called Antabuse, designed to fight alcoholism, acetaldehyde toxicity resulted in headaches and vomiting so bad that even alcoholics were wary of their next drink.
They also discuss “glutamine rebound”:
> [@](#):
>
> After a night of alcohol consumption, a drinker won’t sleep as soundly as normal because the body is rebounding from alcohol’s depressive effect on the system. When someone is drinking, alcohol inhibits glutamine, one of the body’s natural stimulants. When the drinker stops drinking, the body tries to make up for lost time by producing more glutamine than it needs.
>
> The increase in glutamine levels stimulates the brain while the drinker is trying to sleep, keeping them from reaching the deepest, most healing levels of slumber. This is a large contributor to the fatigue felt with a hangover. Severe glutamine rebound during a hangover also may be responsible for tremors, anxiety, restlessness and increased blood pressure.
This suggests that ethanol itself is sufficient.
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### Author:  [@antonhoton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonhoton)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2011, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/6 "2011-03-30T03:18:41Z")
Here I wan to advice you make sure for your perfection in chemistry lab for different testing. Because that is only the way where can you loose. As my point of view you are in right direction just keep on going with faith.
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### Author:  [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2011, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/7 "2011-03-30T09:12:11Z")
[Cecil’s Article](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/487/how-can-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover)
FWIW my informants tell me medical professionals turn up to inhale an hour’s pure oxygen at the hospital, which will apparently remove the symptoms of the hungover.
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### Author:  [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2011, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/8 "2011-03-30T13:49:01Z")
I don’t see how pure oxygen can get rid of Vitamin B deficiency and dehydration, which are the main causes of a hangover.
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### Author:  [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)
#### Post date: [March 30, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/9 "2011-03-30T22:11:32Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#):
>
> I don’t see how pure oxygen can get rid of Vitamin B deficiency and dehydration, which are the main causes of a hangover.
I might believe dehydration, but how can Vitamin B deficiency be one of the main causes of a hangover? Are you suggesting alcohol quickly destroys the Vitamin B in your body?
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### Author:  [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/10 "2011-03-31T15:43:32Z")
I have very low amounts of Vitamin B in my body pretty much all the time (yes, I know I should be supplementing my diet). I am not continually hungover.
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### Author:  [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)
#### Post date: [April 4, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/11 "2011-04-04T06:29:39Z")
> [@Canadjun](#):
>
> I might believe dehydration, but how can Vitamin B deficiency be one of the main causes of a hangover? Are you suggesting alcohol quickly destroys the Vitamin B in your body?
No, I’m saying that Vitamin B is used by the liver to process the alcohol out of our systems. Water is also used the same way. [Replacing it](http://www.annals.org/content/132/11/897.full) before you pass out along with a huge glass of water are some of the best ways to keep a hangover from happening. I don’t know why a greasy breakfast works when you actually have a hangover, but that works often times too.
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### Author:  [@terrichick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terrichick)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/12 "2011-04-15T19:36:55Z")
> [@Scotadrift](#):
>
> With regard to the above named article I thought I’d submit a theory. I cannot, sadly, verify this in its entirety but I think it has a ring of truth to it.
>
> A friend of mine has a degree in Brewing and Distilling. When I was bleating about a hangover one day, he quoth, “hair of the dog” to which I scoffed a little, mainly because I was in no position to keep anything beyond dry toast in my stomach. Despite my fragility, he launched into the chemistry of the myth.
>
> He believed that the severity of a hangover boiled down to the types of alcohol in a given beverage and the quantities thereof. Reputedly there are different types, such as methanol, phenol and ethanol. Each, he said, had a different molecular length, and your body turns to the most complicated or lengthy first. Ethanol is among the more complex, but wood alcohol, methanol, is one that makes you feel grotty. Hence - top up your ethanol, buy a little more time to get water and salts into your body.
>
> Any possibility there is truth in this?
>
> _ETA: Link to column [How can I avoid a holiday hangover? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/487/how-can-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover) --Rico_
\*\*\*\*believe it or not good old oxegen works the best. Once while partying all night, we had a 2 hour drive ahead of us. Sitting in the back seat, feeling like I was hit by a max truck, I hung my head out the window. With all the air blowing up my nose. by the time I got home, I was fully cured.Guess it just oxengenated my blood. but it works. Try laying with a fan blowing in your face. Same differance.
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### Author:  [@terrichick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terrichick)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-avoid-a-holiday-hangover/576274/13 "2011-04-15T19:40:00Z")
I didn’t scroll up to read this thread, but oxegen does work. elieve me, you are speaking to one who tried it.