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Author Topic: What can make your spinning head stop?  (Read 31932 times)

Leatra

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What can make your spinning head stop?
« on: July 30, 2011, 07:38:43 pm »

Simple question: Your head is spinning like you spent 3 hour in a crazy roller coaster because of alcohol consumption. What can make it stop? I'm not talking about reducing the effects of a hangover I'm talking about trying to sleep in 3:31 AM without your head spinning (aka just after you drank)

I heard drinking coffee will force you to puke and only that can make your head stop. My friend told me drinking salt water can lessen the effects of alcohol. I drank some sea water and I didn't feel any difference. Also he told me peeing a lot is helpful. Anything true?

I believe in scientific facts rather than rumors.
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Heron TSG

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2011, 09:05:09 pm »

I've never been intoxicated, so I can't help you much with actual science. I've heard laughter is the best medicine, though, so have you tried a neck brace?
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MetalSlimeHunt

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2011, 09:16:11 pm »

Being teetotal, I obviously cannot speak from personal experience on this matter, but I can tell you that your friends are very wrong indeed. Alcohol is a depressant, and caffeine (in coffee) is a stimulant. Being opposites, you can imagine how having your nervous system flushed with both at once can be a problem. Don't consume any stimulants until the alcohol leaves your system. Puking and drinking salt water are both counterproductive in the extreme, because your head-spinning and other hangover effects are due to dehydration. In addition to making you further dehydrated, salt water is toxic and will give you hallucinations should you consume enough of it. Urination will also have no effect, but can be used as a metric to determine how dehydrated you currently are. If your urine is clear, you're fully hydrated. Various deeper shades of yellow signify some dehydration. Orange is extreme dehydration. Brown is liver failure and you're about to die.

The solution to this is to drink water, and a lot of it. Next time you go drinking, have a glass of water in between every alcoholic beverage.
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ChairmanPoo

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2011, 10:06:39 pm »

The head spinning thing is not due to dehydratation, but to the alcohols direct toxic effects. That being said, in general I'd advise to avoid puking. Short term it might help (but only if you have ingested alcohol recently- as you might guess, you only avoid the intoxication that would come from the one in your stomatch, not the one in your guts)

Caffeine will help you stay awake. Staying awake with your eyes open will help avoid the "ship effect". This, however, does not help in any way if you are trying to sleep. Still, it might not be a bad idea to stay awake until the worst of it has passed...

The hangover IS due to dehydratation, and drinking lots of water can help to avoid the lion's share of it.


PD: along with the loads and loads of water, you might want to eat some salty food as well. (You don't lose just water with booze, but electrolytes along with it)
« Last Edit: July 30, 2011, 10:19:27 pm by ChairmanPoo »
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Leatra

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2011, 01:05:06 am »

I've never been intoxicated, so I can't help you much with actual science. I've heard laughter is the best medicine, though, so have you tried a neck brace?
Actually it was laughter that made me drink :D With a deep discussion, witty jokes, best friends together, I didn't notice how much I drank.

Thanks for the advices. While I was sleeping I couldn't close my eyes because my eyes were the only things telling my brain "we are not spinning around dude you can stop that motion sensation" so I tried to sleep in a lit room. My brain still listened to my inner ear but I was already sleep deprived so I fell asleep quickly. I don't even rembember closing my eyes.

Now, After drinking 12 glasses of water I feel fine. Just a slight stomacache.

Being teetotal...
When I first read this I was a little scared about your reply. I always drink secretly to avoid getting insulted and that happens usually if you are in a country filled with radical islamists. Thanks a lot for advices :)
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MetalSlimeHunt

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2011, 03:11:30 am »

Being teetotal...
When I first read this I was a little scared about your reply. I always drink secretly to avoid getting insulted and that happens usually if you are in a country filled with radical islamists. Thanks a lot for advices :)
I give you my complete assurance that I am anything but an islamist.
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Grakelin

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2011, 04:42:27 am »

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MorleyDev

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #7 on: July 31, 2011, 05:05:35 am »

Orange juice is surprisingly useful for helping with the less pleasurable effects of alcohol consumption.

Science: Vitamin C helps speed up the metabolism of the alcohol by the liver, and orange juice usually has quite a bit of sugar which helps stabilise you (makes you feel less sick and reduces that wobbliness), and it also rehydrates you.

I don't like Orange juice, but I always have a carton of it in the fridge for those messy wake-ups xD
« Last Edit: July 31, 2011, 05:13:06 am by MorleyDev »
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eerr

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #8 on: July 31, 2011, 05:22:37 am »

Bottle of water before you go to bed should cut the morning headache alot.

Ordinary, bottled water.

Tap is fine if it's filtered enough or clean enough.




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Miggy

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #9 on: July 31, 2011, 05:43:05 am »

Nothing will speed up the actual degredation of alcohol in your system. The chemical reaction occurring is enzyme catalysed, meaning that it has a constant rate of reaction.

You can however make sure to drink plenty of water, to ensure that the hangover doesn't feel so bad. And as also mentioned, electrolytes (meaning salt) are also important to replenish.

The reason you might've been advised salty water is as a combination of those two advice. Although the amount of salt you need to consume versus the amount of water is not to the point where sea water is good, it has way too much salt.

Orange juice is surprisingly useful for helping with the less pleasurable effects of alcohol consumption.

Science: Vitamin C helps speed up the metabolism of the alcohol by the liver, and orange juice usually has quite a bit of sugar which helps stabilise you (makes you feel less sick and reduces that wobbliness), and it also rehydrates you.

I don't like Orange juice, but I always have a carton of it in the fridge for those messy wake-ups xD

I'm not so sure of that. Wiki says that vitamin C is helpful as an antioxidant, to prevent acetaldehyde from doing liver damage, or damage elsewhere, but it is not involved in the actual oxidation of acetaldehyde to acetic acid. That is the process which allows you to excrete the product through urine, and thereby remove the alcohol from your system.
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ChairmanPoo

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #10 on: July 31, 2011, 06:24:17 am »

It doesn't help. There's pretty much nothing you can take to speed up alcohol metabolism (in case anyone is curious, here's a link ellaborating on this). There's a myth running around that B12 vitamin helps with hangovers, but it's just that, an urban legend. As are most vitamin myths, for that matter. I think this particular one is born from the administration of tiamine (B1) to chronic drunkards. But this is not done because it helps with their drunkenness, but because they do in fact have a B1 deficit, and thus they are at risk of developing alcoholic encephalopaty and/or Korsakoff
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MorleyDev

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #11 on: July 31, 2011, 06:25:36 am »

Ah, my bad ^^ Well now I know, and the more you know...

GI JOE!
« Last Edit: July 31, 2011, 06:30:43 am by MorleyDev »
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DJ

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #12 on: July 31, 2011, 12:50:43 pm »

I find the spinning to be at it's worst when I lay down. Try sleeping in an armchair instead.
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vagel7

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #13 on: July 31, 2011, 01:05:39 pm »

I usually place my wrist on my eyes and get a steady breathing rythm, inhale from the nose and exhale through the mouth. It helps me  in case of any head spinning. Lying on your back.
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Leatra

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Re: What can make your spinning head stop?
« Reply #14 on: July 31, 2011, 01:53:14 pm »

Thanks for the replies guys! I understand now there is no solution to get rid of alcohol in your body. Most of the "Hangover Solution!" stuff are myths so I'm a little skeptic about this topic. At least I know my limit now.

I didn't experience hangover. Except for a little nausea and stomacache after I jumped to the sea from a wharf for like 10 times.
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