‘What’s the Best Prevention For Hangovers?’ — Ask Dr. Harry Fisch

Dan is trying to settle an argument with his friend. Dan thinks the best way to prevent a hangover is to drink a lot of water and take three aspirin before going to bed. His friend, however, thinks eating salty Mexican soup after a night of drinking does the trick. Who’s right?

Dr. Harry Fisch’s Advice:

Many people ask about hangovers, but before I answer the question, let explain exactly what a hangover is -- The severe headaches and sweats a person experiences after a long night of drinking is actually caused by dehydration. When a person drinks alcohol, it acts like a diuretic, which makes a person urinate more often. The more a person drinks, the less fluids are in the system. In other words, if a person drinks 10 ounces of alcohol, they'll urinate up to 15 ounces. It’s a net loss!

To settle the argument, you are the winner. Because of the amount of alcohol you’re consuming, you will need to drink almost twice the amount of water as alcohol in order to keep hydrated. In fairness to your friend, the salt found in this Mexican soup is also very good for curing hangovers. This is because salt helps you retain water, so it reverses some of the diuretic effects otherwise found in alcohol. Not only this, but salt makes you thirstier, so you’re probably drinking more water. It sounds like your friend may have partially won this argument as well. Of course, this doesn’t have to be just Mexican soup. Eating potato chips should also do the trick.

One more thing -- be careful when consuming aspirin. Make sure it’s enterically coated. This means that it won’t burn a hole through your stomach. It's something to watch out for, especially if you’re swallowing three pills at once after a long night of drinking. Particularly if you have heartburn or are at risk of an ulcer, this is an important thing to keep in mind.

So, drink a lot of fluids, eat salty foods, take an aspirin and you’ll do alright.  Though the real solution would be to avoid drinking so much alcohol in the first place.

Dr. Harry Fisch is a board certified urologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Medical College of Cornell University.