How to Avoid a St. Patricks Day Celebration Hangover

People have a lot of bravado when it comes to drinking. “I don't get drunk.” “ I can handle my liqueur.' “I won't get sick.” How much do people really know about alcohol consumption. Especially after you have overindulged. How do you deal with that hangover, or will you even get a hangover. There is a lot to know.

When you have taken in too much alcohol your body will rebel and what results is called a hangover. Your central nervous system responds very poorly to too much alcohol. Your central nervous system includes your brain. That is why you feel the headaches, dizziness which leads to nausea and vomiting. Alcohol also causes dehydration and that coupled with the vomiting leads to the symptoms of dehydration, the cotton mouth and queasiness that is so well known with a hangover. Overindulgence also causes a weakened immune system which few people ever realize.

You might also be surprised to realize that women are much more likely to feel the effects of a hangover than men. The reason for this is because men have a lot more water in their bodies, and this dilutes the alcohol. Women do not have this as an advantage so the same amount of alcohol that a man drinks, concentrates in the blood stream of a woman leading to a horrific hangover while the man tolerates it much more easily.

And believe it or not you do not have to drink excessively to experience a hangover. Even a couple of drinks can cause hangover symptoms depending on who you are. One of the best ways to counteract this is to drink water or non alcoholic beverages in between alcoholic drinks. What does this do for you you might ask? It dilutes the alcohol but more importantly it hydrates you and as we already discussed, dehydration is the main cause of hangover symptoms.

Well okay since you are probably going to have a hangover if you over indulge this Saint Patrick's Day, is there anything you can drink that will be less harsh for you? Well yes, there are some gentler choices. Beer and clear liquors such as vodka and gin are less likely to trigger hangover symptoms especially if you stay hydrated. Avoid wines and whiskey which are much more harsh. Also avoid diet drinks as your choice of a hydrating drink that you have in between alcoholic drinks. In fact carbonated beverages in general are not a good choice when you are drinking. Instead drink, fruit juice or regular sugar pop or just your excellent choice of water, to help avoid that painful hangover.

Let's be clear here, Nothing I say in this article is actually going to stop you from drinking and probably excessively this St. Patrick's Day or any other day if that is really your tendency or your slant on what is fun in this life. These are your choices. My hope is to help you be less sick and possibly avoid a life threatening condition.

This condition is alcohol poisoning. This is a potentially deadly medical emergency. We have people come in many times a week in our emergency room with this deadly problem. The symptoms of this includes vomiting several times while drinking heavily and passing out. Not only is this person very dehydrated, they are also in danger of aspirating their own vomit and they are seriously mentally impaired and certainly not able to make their own decisions. But also alcohol blood levels are so high the person could easily become comatose and die.

So enjoy your St. Patrick's Day celebration, but please just stay safe, avoid stupidity and make it to the day after St. Patrick's Day with as little discomfort as possible.