If we consider drinking alcohol from the neutral side, without affecting alcoholism, then we can safely say that strong drinks are able to socialize people. For example, on noisy and large-scale celebrations such as weddings or anniversaries, numerous companies gather in which many are not acquainted with each other. In a society of strangers it is usually difficult to communicate at ease, and alcohol liberates and makes communication more free. Therefore, it is not possible to not drink at all sometimes. However, after excessive consumption of alcohol, as a rule, the body is in a terrible state, which in the people is called a hangover, and in medicine - an abstinence syndrome.
Hangover syndrome
Hangover syndrome, in fact, is a state of organic intoxication products of the decomposition of ethanol. There is a hangover a few hours after the abuse of alcohol. Such a state is short-lived and passes in a few hours.
Narcologists classify hangover syndrome in two varieties:
- Abstinence, characteristic of long drinking-bouts and chronic alcohol addiction;
- Alcohol intoxication due to excessive drinking.
In the case of an abstinence syndrome, the need for alcohol arises because the ethanol of a drinking person becomes an indispensable element of the metabolic processes. With the usual hangover alcohol syndrome, there are signs of intoxication of the body and no more, abstinence is accompanied by violations of inorganic activity caused by alcoholism.
Causes of
Hangover condition occurs with the supply of several factors:
- Alcohol in the body is split to acetaldehyde, and then to acetic acid. The stage of cleavage to acetic acid lasts a certain time, which acetaldehyde suffices to poison the body and provoke a hangover.
- Metabolic disorders. A person after drinking alcohol( because of its diuretic effect) loses the microelements and vitamins massively, and this has a very negative effect on the metabolic processes and endocrine activity.
- Liquid imbalance. Under the influence of the diuretic effect of alcohol, dehydration occurs, blood volumes are markedly reduced in blood vessels, although in other tissues the fluid can be much larger than it should be. Edema in case of a hangover is a rather characteristic phenomenon.
- An important influence on hangover syndrome has also the type of alcohol consumed. Hot drinks with a high content of fusel oils, sweeteners, flavor enhancers and flavors, dyes and other additives, cause a more severe hangover than regular vodka. These drinks include bourbon, whiskey, tequila, as well as alcoholic surrogates, etc.
- Alcohol affects negatively on the nervous system structures and the brain. Alcohol abuse is often accompanied by sleep disorders, and a hangover is accompanied by excessive sensitivity to light, loud noises or strong smells.
- If, in addition to drinking alcohol, people also smoke, then the hangover syndrome is aggravated by nicotine toxins as well.
- The state of a hangover is also associated with acidosis, which is a violation of acid-base balance. Alcohol metabolites create an excessively acidic environment, which causes imbalance.
Signs and symptoms
When the alcohol level in the blood begins to decrease, characteristic hangover symptoms appear:
- Severe headaches;
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth and fume;
- Tremor;
- Problems with the liver, tenderness in her area;
- High pressure;
- Digestive disorders;
- Low temperature, etc.
Similar signs are characteristic for both abstinence and alcohol intoxication. They are caused by poisoning the body. Vomiting and nausea are a protective reaction of the body. The toxic effect of acetaldehyde extends to various inorganic structures. Reduces the glucose content, which is the energy supplier for all body systems, develops hypoglycemia, to which the brain reacts with a lack of concentration and attention, absent-mindedness and other disorders.
In connection with the diuretic effect of alcohol in a drunken state, too much magnesium is removed from the body, its deficiency develops, for which muscle weakness, irritability, chills, nervousness and arrhythmia are characteristic. Hence the problems with palpitation, tremor, pressure nets, etc.
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As to how long the hangover syndrome lasts, as a rule" torment "lasts several hours, but not more than a day. This distinguishes the usual hangover from alcohol withdrawal, because the alcoholic after drinking binge, this condition for 3-5 days.
Documentary about hangover syndrome:
Features of leaking in alcoholics
If the usual hangover can occur in a person who rarely consumes alcohol, then abstinence develops in people who suffer from alcohol dependence. This is why alcoholics have a hangover a little differently than rarely drinkers.
The dependence of hangover depends on the stage of alcohol dependence:
- The first stage of alcoholism is characterized by the disappearance of the emetic reflex, loss of sense of proportion, failures in memory, when a person does not remember some events of the last evening. At this stage, many alcohol addicts begin to shift to stronger varieties of alcohol. In the morning, after abuse, they begin to improve their health with alcohol, however, there is no insurmountable craving for hot drinks, as well as a hangover syndrome, as such. But there is such a feature - no matter how much it is drunk, a person is still not enough, he wants and continues the evening.
- The second stage of alcohol dependence is characterized by the appearance of a morning hangover. The alcoholic is already sure that only alcohol can save him from a hangover, than he is treated. But the hangover syndrome does not pass, and the alcoholic goes into drinking, washing down a hangover with another portion of alcohol.
- For the third and final stage of alcoholism, chronization is characteristic. The alcoholic is already physically unable to consume large doses of alcohol, he suffices 50 ml of strong alcohol to get drunk and lose control. The hangover in such patients proceeds in terrible agony, accompanied by insomnia, delirium attacks, hallucinosis, psychoemotional stupor, etc. The third stage is rare, because most alcoholics simply do not have enough health to live to see it.
This symptomatology may bother the next morning or at any other time of the day. It is quite difficult to get out of a long drinking-bout. It carries a lot of problems to the body, drains it and undermines health. During this period, alcohol replaces the alcoholic traditional food. After drinking alcoholic addicts often fall into a depressed state, which is accompanied by suicidal thoughts, hallucinations, spaces in memory and epileptic seizures.
Diagnostics
For correct therapeutic effect, it is necessary to conduct a thorough diagnosis of hangover syndrome in order to identify concomitant pathological processes. The specialist on the basis of external diagnostics and anamnestic data draws conclusions about the involvement or non-involvement of hangover syndromes in the onset of abstinence syndrome.
Hangover symptoms can hide the true etiology of deterioration of well-being. If such suspicions arise, the patient is referred for further consultations and research.
Treatment of
The basic goals for removing the hangover are:
- Restoring water-salt balance and fluid balance( abundant drinking of various brines, mineral water, tea, etc.);
- Elimination of the consequences of organic dehydration;
- Detoxification of the body( Activated Carbon or Enterosgel, succinic acid);
- Rid of pain manifestations( Aspirin, Citramon);
- Restoration of normal cerebral activity( speed and clarity of thinking).
Specialists usually prescribe infusion therapy with the introduction of detoxification medicines, mineral-salt solutions, nootropic drugs and vitamins, as well as funds that normalize the cardiovascular and vascular activity, normalizing the pressure.
With this professional approach to the treatment of hangover syndrome, the body is restored within a day. If the hangover syndrome has become an integral part of your life, it is worth considering the qualified treatment of alcohol dependence.