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.Alcohol causes your cells to lose water, which helps explain the frequency with which you sometimes have to visit the toilet in the midst of the festivities.It also blocks a secretion of the pituitary gland, resulting in decreased reabsorption of water.Many people swear by aspirin before bed, as well.This is really only advisable, however, if you have a cast- iron stomach.Aspirin will exacerbate any gastric bleeding already brought on by the night's excesses.Judicious exercise in the course of the celebrations is also a good idea, at least according to the recently departed Sid Davis.He used to recommend dancing and\or bar-room brawling, though he suggested an occasional run from the gendarmerie was also an effective way of burning off some of the booze while at the same time toning up the cardiovascular system.So far, we've looked only at caveats and precautions, but what about after the fact? What can you do after it becomes clear that you didn't avoid a hangover, and you are wondering if you want to live to see another one?Some people swear by a "hair of the dog".This expression, as you may know, refers back to an old superstition that the best cure for dog-bite is to swallow a hair from the same dog that bit you.By extension, many feel that if it's alcohol that has laid you low, a little more of the same the next morning is the antidote.Dangerous advice.Unless you're careful, this prescription will only defer the hangover till later; and if you then use the same method of coping again, you've entered into a vicious cycle that will finally have your friends shocked and perplexed should they ever see you sober."What was wrong with him?"A little warm, flat beer the next day, mind you, probably does have a certain medicinal power.I once saw a film where, through the miracle of modern fibre optics, doctors introduced tiny lights and cameras into a bunch of hung-over stomachs.The stomach lining typically was an angry wrinkled red — something like the face of a new-born baby just after the kid's first rude introduction to existence via a resounding slap on the bottom.The scientists tried dumping various things like Bloody Marys into these wretched organs, which reacted immediately by scowling an even rawer shade of red.When a half-pint of warm flat beer was introduced, however, you could almost hear the sigh of relief as the stomach walls smoothed out and took on a nice healthy colour again.Still, I suspect a little pain the next day is good for the soul.It has a certain deterrent value, and inspires a healthy reflection upon one's aims and priorities in life.Anyway, treating alcohol poisoning with alcohol tends to cause the body to begin producing more of the enzymes involved in alcohol metabolism.After a time, your system has all these little enzymes running around saying "Feed me; feed me" and, if you don't have any alcohol to metabolise, you feel uncomfortable.Not the way to cure a hangover.Is there any real cure, then? I believe most doctors would say no, not beyond lots of water, rest, and time.Pilots sometimes swear by breathing pure oxygen from a tank; this is said to burn off some of the grunge in your system and clear the head in a hurry.Maybe so, but I've also heard that breathing too much oxygen is pretty unhealthy in itself.My own experience has shown that lots of hard exercise is the only recourse that produces anything like a full recovery.You must remember, though, to drink plenty of water before, during, and after the workout.I guess this prescription is also one way to find out if you've got a heart problem, though you might not have a lot of time to digest the news if you do have a weak heart.There is also a psychological hurdle to overcome: no matter how much experience has told me it works, the thought of crawling off my death-bed and into a pair of training shoes to make my way to the track can seem a ludicrously misguided plan of action.Other than that, there's not much to say about hangovers.I could reveal the fact that I find a litre of ice- cold chocolate milk gulped in great draughts a salve for both body and soul, or that I chase the milk with a bottle of soda water, enjoying the scouring effect of all those icy little bubbles blasting down my throat.I'm sure the restorative properties of these things are mostly in the mind, but they work for me.A little soft music may help, as well, especially if you have some properly attentive and understanding company applying cold towels to your forehead, no doubt at the same time murmuring 'There, there, you moron" and similar endearments [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]