Many know it: You go out in the evening and drink more than you thought. The next day the well-known hangover follows with nausea, headaches and dizziness, making you feel weak, tired and sick. But what can you do to get better again or to prevent the whole thing in advance? There are many options on the market for nausea, ranging from tablets to be taken beforehand to home remedies to relieve the symptoms afterwards.
Associated symptoms
The typical symptoms after increased alcohol consumption are of course not only nausea. There are many other symptoms, which are collectively referred to as “hangover”. These include headaches, dizziness, aching limbs, palpitations, trembling, loss of appetite, vomiting, concentration problems, thirst and general malaise.
People usually cannot tolerate loud noises because of their severe headaches. They are also less able to perform for up to three days. In general, most people spend the next day mainly in bed because they feel really sick.
In any case, it is best to stay at home. In rare cases, mental and physical disorders can also occur. Headaches are probably the most common symptom after alcohol consumption besides nausea.
Depending on the amount of alcohol drunk, they can range from mild to very severe headaches. One cause of headaches is an increased loss of fluid, as alcohol leads to increased excretion of water. The fluid also causes increased excretion of minerals.
This leads to the body having far too little mineralized water a few hours after drinking alcohol, resulting in headaches. A further cause of headaches is the denaturation of the body’s own proteins (breakdown and destruction of function) by a harmful intermediate product of alcohol breakdown. These proteins (also called proteins) are very important for many functions of the body and therefore symptoms like headaches occur when they are no longer functional.
Alleviating nausea – What really helps?
To relieve the symptoms of hangover, especially nausea, you should drink plenty of still water (carbon dioxide irritates the stomach additionally), eat only light things (for example fruit with honey) and rest. In addition, medication for nausea (for example Vomex®) or headaches (Ibuprofen®, Paracetamol®, Aspirin®) can help. However, if you feel nauseous, it is better to avoid the painkillers, as Ibuprofen® and Aspirin® put additional strain on the stomach.
Paracetamol® is also rather unsuitable because it is broken down via the liver after alcohol consumption. In addition, a salty diet (e.g. herring, pickled cucumbers) and fruit spritzers are recommended in order to reabsorb minerals which the body has lost due to water loss and possibly vomiting. For severe nausea it is better to eat less and drink a herbal tea instead.
In addition, it can help to cool the head to reduce headaches, dizziness and associated nausea. Fresh air is also good and helps against headaches. Vomex® is a so-called antiemetic (a drug against nausea).
It inhibits the vomiting center in the brain and thus makes you feel less nauseous. It therefore also helps very well with nausea after alcohol consumption. Iberogast® is a herbal remedy for gastrointestinal diseases.
It is usually administered in drop form and also contains alcohol, which is perhaps rather counterproductive in the case of a hangover. It is also more suitable for the treatment of irritable bowel and gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining) and is therefore less effective against nausea than Vomex®. The most important household remedy against hangover nausea is probably (still) mineral water to compensate for the loss of fluids and minerals and herbal tea against nausea.
Alternatively somd also juice spritzers or mild vegetable juice possible. Salty food (pickles, salt sticks, broth) and yoghurt with fruit and honey also help. This replaces the missing minerals and vitamins and the fruit sugar also helps to break down alcohol.
In case of severe nausea, you should first drink a good herbal tea to prevent the stomach from being too stressed. Camomile or sage tea are particularly suitable. In case of dizziness and nausea when lying down, it can also help to keep the upper body high (for example, with additional pillows).For headaches, it also helps to rub peppermint oil into the forehead and temples.
This has a relaxing and analgesic effect and you do not need a painkiller. From homeopathy, “nux vomica” (also known as nux vomica) is particularly helpful for nausea. It has been shown to be effective as a home remedy for stomach pain, nausea and vomiting.
In addition, Schuessler Salt No. 6 (Potassium Sulfuricum) can help with detoxification processes and No. 5 (Potassium Phosphoricum) can help with nausea and vomiting.
