Headaches after drinking alcohol are caused by dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and fatigue. So what should be done to help the body recover quickly?
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| Headache after drinking alcohol, how to handle it properly? (Illustration. Source: Wallpaperflare) |
According to Pharmacist Vu Thi Han, Department of Pharmacy, Vietnam Sweden Uong Bi Hospital (Quang Ninh), after drinking alcohol, many people have symptoms of headache and fatigue. Some people have the habit of taking painkillers. However, pain relief with Paracetamol can cause gastrointestinal bleeding and damage the liver.
Paracetamol is the most popular pain reliever and fever reducer today with countless single-ingredient and combination preparations on the market. Most drug stores today sell several types of this active ingredient, from tablets to effervescent tablets or oral solutions. Paracetamol is also a popular medicine in family medicine cabinets for many pain relief purposes, including headaches caused by alcohol consumption.
What causes headaches after drinking alcohol? The main ingredient in alcohol is ethanol. Ethanol, once absorbed into the body, causes dehydration and even dilates blood vessels that supply the brain, causing headaches. In addition, alcohol contains tyramine and histamine, which are thought to interact with chemicals in the brain and cause headaches.
The reason why alcohol causes headaches is related to nervous tension. Many people tend to feel sleepy when drinking alcohol. However, the ethanol concentration only makes us sleepy but does not help us sleep deeply. Therefore, drinking too much alcohol will lead to frequent waking up at night, causing the drinker to feel dizzy, have headaches and feel tired after waking up.
You should not take Paracetamol when drunk because the liver is the organ whose main function is to detoxify. Most drugs/compounds when entering the body go through the liver to be metabolized and eliminated. When drinking alcohol, the liver will have to work to metabolize and eliminate ethanol.
Meanwhile, Paracetamol is a pain reliever and fever reducer that is also metabolized by the liver, and is contraindicated in people with acute liver disease. Using the two together inadvertently increases the burden on the liver and causes Paracetamol poisoning. In addition, Paracetamol when taken with alcohol will irritate the stomach lining, causing gastrointestinal bleeding, doubling the damage to the liver.
When you have a headache, you should drink plenty of water, ginger water and electrolytes to help eliminate alcohol from your body as quickly as possible. You should not drink alcohol on an empty stomach because it will cause your body to absorb it faster and get drunk more easily. In addition, after drinking alcohol, you should eat thin porridge or hot soup to supplement sodium and potassium, helping your body recover quickly.
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