Its not a Hangover, its montoku flu!

First of all, I would like to wish all my Sabah Friends and readers 

Kotobian Tadau Tagazo Do Kaamatan!

This festival, and every-other one  before it is filled with joy, food, culture and ofcourse, for the natives and locals, alcohol.

Lots, and lots of alcohol, home brewed, import, canned, bottled, anything and everything that ferments into -OH (alcohol) is consumed.

I'm not jugding, its a once a year kind of thing and its their culture for many many years. who am I to advocate them to stop. so long as u are not an alcoholic (alcohol dependent), things will be back to normal by 1st June.

Anyhow, what I would like to share is the understanding of a HANGOVER. whats is a hangover, its the wonderful sensations and joyride you get the morning after your 'party' with Mr Alcohol. everyone leaves a gift after a good party, sex- gives you STD, sometimes a baby, and alcohol gives you hangovers, and sometimes the extra bonus of amnesia to forget the stupid things you did while under its influence.. its how they show their appreciation :P

So ok. we now know its alcohol that gives you hangovers.

Lets look at some of the 'fun' of getting a hangover

• Fatigue and weakness
• Thirst
• Headaches and muscle aches
• Nausea, vomiting or stomach pain
• Poor or decreased sleep
• Increased sensitivity to light and sound
• Dizziness or a sense of the room spinning
• Shakiness
• Decreased ability to concentrate
• Mood disturbances, such as depression, anxiety and irritability
• Rapid heartbeat

Ring a bell? 

Why? why do we get hangovers. simple redundant answer is well... you drank poison, you really think you would come out feeling nothing at all?

ok ok, well, alcohol is nasty when taken in excessive amounts (any amount that gets you drunk). 

some of its effects are...

• Alcohol causes your body to produce more urine. In turn, urinating more than usual can lead to dehydration — often indicated by thirst, dizziness and light-headedness.
• Alcohol triggers an inflammatory response from your immune system. Your immune system may trigger certain agents that commonly produce physical symptoms, such as an inability to concentrate, memory problems, decreased appetite and loss of interest in usual activities.
• Alcohol irritates the lining of your stomach. Alcohol increases the production of stomach acid and delays stomach emptying. Any of these factors can cause abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting.
• Alcohol can cause your blood sugar to fall. If your blood sugar dips too low, you may experience fatigue, weakness, shakiness, mood disturbances and even seizures.
• Alcohol causes your blood vessels to expand, which can lead to headaches.
• Alcohol can make you sleepy, but your quality of sleep will decrease. This may leave you groggy and tired.
• Alcoholic beverages contain ingredients called congeners,which give many types of alcoholic beverages their flavor and can contribute to hangovers. Congeners are found in larger amounts in dark liquors, such as brandy and whiskey, than in clear liquors, such as vodka and gin.

but i think the leading cause and key to the cure for hangover is dehydration.

That being said, the cure is simple. just drink lots and lots of water (ok, when i say lots, i do mean like a litre or so not 3-5 liters. water poisoning is a real and dangerous thing)

I've heard that in sarawak, when the natives consume their home brews, they wash it down with equal amounts of water. so half glass of spirit, with half glass water. they say, it prevents a bad hangover the next day. so yes, hydrate as you go.

or you can hydrate the next morning, so this is more of a cure than a prevention since you will probably be suffering from a hangover.

before you go for bed, drink at least 2-3 glasses of water. when you wake up, drink another 2-4 glasses of water.

other than water, you can go for drinks that replace electrolytes and have a little sugar in them. sport drinks are excellent. but be careful, many sports drinks use the shortcut and add lots of fructose instead of glucose. sorry, but I havent gotten around writing about fructose. its some nasty food minion. 

ok, focus. so among your other healthy choice of fluids are

• mineral water, 
• ORS, (oral rehydration salt, the name is self explanatory)
• sports drink (performance from shaklee is good),
• coconut water (a little hard to find if you are in the city, but if you aramaiti at kampung then no problem), and of course 
• nutritious soups with lots of water (soups have lots of salt, if you dont drink extra water, you can get more dehydrated)
• i think you can go for fruit juices too but they contain lots and lots of additional sugar. not good for the nausea or the waist :P

if you surf the net, there will be thousands if not millions of remedies from people around the world. some even advice to drink more alcohol (tsk tsk). whatever you choose to do, make sure to remember to correct your dehydration first, then you can go for all the egg in a stout or virgin bloody marry and stuff. 

rehydration works! how can i be sure? because i have lots of positive feedbacks from patients who try it out. And please stay away from the paracetamol, or locally known as panadol. you are just poisoning your liver further. drink plenty of fluids and the headache will go away. eating a panadol will only mask the problem.

So please, party responsibly, consume moderately, hydrate as much as possible and be safe.

Best way to prevent a hangover is.... DONT DRINK ALCOHOL! period.

signing off for now, long weekend ahead. time to relax in the jungle among my garden, ducks and a good book.