Relief all around, research shows: you can't die from a hangover

Never again. Never again shots. Never again drinking. Never again closing the pub. Never again turning down a soft drink. Never again drinking a bottle through my nose. Never again with the craft beer. Never again a liquid dinner. This is just a glimpse of the things I intend to do when I wake up after three trucks have run over me. Or well, that's how it feels. And the feeling of intense regret and the promise to myself that I really need to find that backbone. Just in case you hadn't realized: I'm describing now a hangover. And then one of the worst kind. Some people seem to ‘never have a problem with it’ (it can't be that they are just lying, can it?), but unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

I haven't found the ultimate remedy for a hangover yet. Some swear by ORS (which is honestly a good tip – get it at Kruidvat, and take it before sleeping and thank me later), others by a greasy breakfast (a Big Mac at McDonald's always does well) or just a banana. And of course the age-old tip: take the drink you ended with last night. Has anyone ever really found this useful? Sure, I've had a hangover from Friday and happily continued on Saturday, but to say that my hangover gets less... It's more just postponement of execution, postponement of that hangover, which then multiplies tenfold on Sunday. Great.

And with those kinds of hangovers, I really feel like I'm dying. Everything hurts. Heart palpitations. Throbbing head. So not-normal-thirsty. And then you also have the emotional lability that comes with a hangover. Is this it, is this how I breathe my last breath? Well, dear people, I have the liberating word for you: no. You cannot die from a hangover. Hurray. The researcher of this good news is Dr. James Siow, a toxicologist. When he was asked if it was possible to die from a hangover, he resolutely answered: ‘No. Not from a hangover.’

So celebrate. You know that it mainly just comes down to your dramatics and you just have an extreme hangover. Tomorrow will be better again. If you survive that tomorrow, huh. Oops, this sounds very grim, but Dr. Siow does emphasize that a high dose of alcohol can be toxic, but you experience those effects already on the evening itself. So if you've survived your drinking night: You live to see another day. Another hangover day, that for sure. By the way, that emotional lability I mentioned is also really due to a hangover: it messes a bit with your neurological well-being. Now you know that too.

Dr. Siow also gives us a few tips that we all probably already knew, but when they are given by a real doctor, I always take it a bit more seriously than when a bartender reassures me (and I obediently still order a drink). He recommends that you stay well hydrated, because dehydration is no fun for your body and also quite dangerous. So drink plenty of water, and believe me: order that ORS or get it at your drugstore. And especially keep complaining about your hangover, because that’s part of it too. You can be sure that it’s not the end of the world. Cheers!