HHS HealthBeat (January 15, 2010)

Happy hangover

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Unless you’re a hairy dog, the hair of the dog isn’t much use. The only certain way to avoid a hangover is to limit your drinking. Also, some drinks may leave you less hung over. Damaris Rohsenow of Brown University looked at that. In her study, some people got bourbon; others got vodka.

[Damaris Rohsenow speaks] ``People did feel sicker the morning after bourbon than after vodka, but they still feel plenty sick after drinking all that vodka.’’

She says natural chemicals from distilling some liquors can increase hangover.

Rohsenow emphasizes that even if you’re not feeling hung over, you may still be impaired in making quick judgments the next morning, which may make driving in traffic dangerous.

The study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss

Last revised: May 7, 2011