Hangover ‘cure’ treats ills, ignores problems
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, August 8, 2001
There’s only one bit of common sense in a new little herbal drug touted to stop hangovers before they start and those are the words stop before you start.
Those weary of worshipping the porcelain god after a night of partying might feel a twinge of hope, even excitement, at the thought of popping the Hangover Prevention Formula — a combination of prickly pear cactus and vitamin B — that’s supposed to nip those icky morning-after feelings in the bud. But, aside from sounding like snake oil, HPF merely masks symptoms — if it even works. It doesn’t do anything to solve the problems that go along with a hangover, such as dehydration, dilated blood vessels in the brain, and a host of other problems with the body’s organs.
Promoters of the pill say HPF will save millions of dollars lost by people missing work and school due to hangovers. They also say they’re trying to protect people from hurting themselves.
We’re not buying that. HPF encourages people to overlook common sense and to stop listening to their own bodies. Users take the pill a couple of hours before they start drinking. So if a person takes the pill, they obviously plan to drink too much. If the pill works, a person who is spared the discomfort of a hangover might assume he is well, possibly even healthy.
That could be incorrect, said Dr. Bill Dickinson at the Providence Behavioral Health Center in Everett.
"If you’re drinking excessively, you’re still drinking excessively," Dickinson said. No pill will hold off the damage being done to other parts of the body, such as your brain, liver and other organs, he said.
Dickinson is quick to warn that not everyone who is drinking too much suffers from hangovers. Some people never get them. That doesn’t mean they’re drinking responsibly and not doing harm to their bodies.
Hangovers are not our bodies’ way of issuing a moral judgment on us. If they were, we’d all get them and they’d probably be more painful. Hangovers are a physical reaction some people get when they drink more than their bodies can handle. Why would we want to shut down our body’s way of communicating?
Despite all the alcohol-related education and prevention available today, people are still looking for a quick fix to allow them to indulge. For years, people have known the pitfalls of diet pills. Some have even lost their lives trying to lose weight. Health professionals still say the best way to lose weight is to eat well and exercise. The same theory of moderation applies to avoiding a hangover. Drink in small amounts or better yet, stop before you start.
