# On curing hangover **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [September 10, 1999, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250 "1999-09-10T08:37:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Myndephuquer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@Myndephuquer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myndephuquer)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 1999, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/21 "1999-10-11T14:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > More than two aspirin would definitely not be advised for someone who has or intends to drink too much. There is no cure for a hangover, and the only real prevention is to avoid drinking too much. If anyone really wants to refute this, please cite a medical article. > Jill > [@](#): > > Those recommending aspirin and Tylenol for hangover should be aware that the combination of alcohol and acetominiphen has been implicated in catastrophic renal failure. While it is true that most of the victims of this disease are among chronic alcholics, it is also true that not every chronic alcoholic is aware of the fact that that risk group describes themselves. > Tris I’m glad that Tris has the reasoning ability to not make generalizations – not the best thing to do in a hopefully intelligent conversation. I suppose that I am a bit guilty of that myself. I asked my best friend, who is an MD at Duke University Medical Center and with whom I went through pre-med, about this, and he felt that, in general 🙂 (please don’t comment on this - anyone with half of a brain cell will pick up on this), taking aspirin after drinking should not cause a problem in most of the population. As he pointed out, he and I did a lot of drinking and aspirin-taking in college, and our kidneys are doing GREAT! (maybe…) He did not recommend taking the aspirin – fluid intake is what’s going to be the most beneficial. The aspirin will probably at least irritate your stomach lining, but from my experience, if you’re having a hangover, you probably won’t notice. If you feel like you’re physically okay to take the aspirin, and your stomach lining is doing okay, then you’re probably not going to die (yet – I haven’t met anyone who isn’t going to…). If you drink enough to get a hangover, you are beating the crap out of your body, anyway. If you take 2 aspirin when you have a hangover, YOUR KIDNEY AND/OR LIVER WILL NOT EXPLODE! unless you are part of the 2% of the population that is susceptible to this happening. (please don’t take a cheap shot at this one, either – I’m joking) ---
**Author:** ![Triskadecamus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@Triskadecamus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Triskadecamus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 1999, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/22 "1999-10-12T05:56:00Z")
That prior mention of the dangers of Acetominiphen and alcohol is also a mild warning on the effects of alcohol use on the memory. The actual risk is Liver damage. Here is a link to the [article](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/10/971016044424.htm) * * * ``` Tris ``` ---
**Author:** ![metroshane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aeb1de/32.png) [@metroshane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metroshane)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 1999, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/23 "1999-10-11T18:11:00Z")
i don’t know about curing a hangover, but i’ve been working on a study about preventing a hangover… drink alot, build your tolerance! world records weren’t made without proper training. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 1999, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/24 "1999-10-12T00:23:00Z")
Metroshane, I like your spirit!!! ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 1999, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/25 "1999-10-12T02:58:00Z")
Well, of course , don’t… but… Lots of water is definetely the best thing, but is the last thing on anyone’s mind by the time they go spinning off to bed. If you have the presence of mind to start pacing yourself, try drinking water in between drinks toward the end of the evening. A product called Emergen-C, which comes in handy little packets, gives a whopping dose of vitamin C (for the liver) as well as B-12, and can be dissolved in the water to make it more tasty…like a sweet tart candy kinda. Other helpful hints: kudzu powder, available at most health food places-Eden packages it in little bags of white cornstarch looking nuggets- dissolve a tablespoon in H2O and stir… this is a traditional Chinese remedy that has a lot of promising research in deterring the alcholic impulse as well. Evening Primrose oil, 2000-3000 g, in one dose, helps with depleted EFA levels in the brain. Milk Thistle, or silymarin, taken before an evening out helps to prevent liver damage. And remember to eat before you drink, a decent meal, not the skanky food you drag yourself to at 2 AM… Hope this helps, but, yeah, mainly, don’t do too much… ---
**Author:** ![BenDover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@BenDover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BenDover)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 1999, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/26 "1999-10-12T03:15:00Z")
> [@](#): > > kudzu powder, available at most health food places-Eden packages it in little bags of white cornstarch looking nuggets- dissolve a tablespoon in H2O and stir… this is a traditional Chinese remedy that has a lot of promising research in deterring the alcholic impulse as well. You mean kudzu is actually good for something? * * * The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best. - Henry Van Dyke ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 1999, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/27 "1999-10-12T04:18:00Z")
BenDover: I think I’ll take the hangover. ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 1999, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250/28 "1999-10-14T03:34:00Z")
Yep, really really, kudzu, or in Japanese, kuzu, is good for all kinds of things. Acid stomachs too. I’m all for planting it in LA as well…But my real reason for this response is that the dosage for Evening Primrose oil is 2000-3000 mg, not g, that would be more conducive to a massage, which would help too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/on-curing-hangover/250.md?page=1)