After a long night of drinking, many students wake up the next day and are forced to pop pills such as Tylenol in hopes of shaking a headache from the infamous hangover. Besides a headache, other hangover symptoms can include fatigue, sensitivity to light and sound, red eyes, muscle aches and thirst. These effects usually kick in when the person's blood alcohol level is either falling or back at zero. \nOne cause of a hangover is dehydration. Alcohol is a diuretic. In other words, it causes people to have to go to the bathroom -- a lot. It is estimated that for every two glasses of an alcoholic beverage, four glasses are expelled through urination. The result of dehydration is a headache, "dry mouth" and a danger of injury to many vital organs. \nNausea is another symptom of a hangover. Some good-hearted students stay with their friends to help them through a rough night of alcohol-induced vomiting. Because alcohol is an irritant, large amounts of it in the stomach irritate the lining and cause the person to throw up. Lack of sleep or an imbalance of electrolytes because of the toxins in alcohol also contributes to hangovers. \nSo what is the cure? \nTime is the best cure for the hangover hang-ups. A hangover usually goes away within eight to 24 hours. However, fruit juices, bland foods such as bread and crackers, a lot of sleep and antacids such as aspirin and ibuprofen might help alleviate the symptoms.
Source: The National Institute of Health publication "Alcohol Hangover," by \nRobert Swift, M.D., Ph.D. and Dena Davidson, Ph.D.
