Vomiting after alcohol can develop for many reasons. In some cases, its treatment must be carried out in a hospital setting. This article discusses the main causes of vomiting after alcohol intoxication, methods of treating it at home, and situations in which emergency medical help should be called.
First aid methods to stop vomiting after alcohol poisoning
Regardless of the degree of alcohol intoxication, the victim must be provided with the necessary priority assistance. His further recovery depends on this.
The main set of measures taken is aimed at stopping the urge to vomit and providing the patient with peace of mind.
It includes:
- Cleansing from alcohol toxins. It is recommended to drink plenty of liquid, especially unfiltered mineral water. This will prevent dehydration.
- Take a comfortable position. Sitting or lying on your side will protect you from swallowing vomit.
- Limiting the intake of heavy foods into the stomach. With a hangover, the organs of the gastrointestinal tract are subject to severe stress. Additional food intake increases nausea and provokes new attacks of vomiting.
The use of antiemetic drugs is not recommended.
What can you eat when you are vomiting?
You should not forcefully load your stomach with food. If the poisoned person does not want to eat, then he must be forced - let the body cleanse itself. But if you have an appetite, you should choose easily digestible foods. The following will be useful:
- bananas – contain a lot of potassium;
- citrus fruits - they contain a lot of citric acid, with the help of which the body quickly gets rid of the toxic breakdown products of ethanol. However, in some cases they can irritate the mucous surface of the stomach, which will already be seriously inflamed;
- strong tea with honey;
- rich vegetable broth;
- berry fruit drinks (from cranberries, lingonberries, currants);
- yoghurts;
- fermented milk products.
Vomiting with alcohol poisoning develops quite often. The manifestation of such a symptom may indicate both the body’s struggle with toxins, aimed at their rapid elimination, and severe pathologies. It is necessary to correctly determine the cause of the disease and only then begin treatment. If you are in doubt and do not know what to do in case of alcohol poisoning and vomiting, it is better to consult a doctor. Remember that you can begin measures to stop vomiting only in cases where the waste matter has become transparent and does not contain mucus, bile or blood impurities. Take care of your health!
Sorbents and glucose will help
The use of sorbents is effective as an adjunct to treatment:
- activated carbon;
- Enterosgel;
- Polysorb;
- Smecta;
- Polyphepan.
The drugs neutralize the remains of harmful substances and reduce the manifestation of negative hangover symptoms. Use them alternately with cool water.
In case of severe intoxication, glucose has an effective effect to weaken attacks of gastric cleansing. It is administered intravenously or taken orally in doses in accordance with the instructions for use.
Treatment
The duration of the patient’s stay in the department and the course of action depend on the severity of the condition:
- In acute pancreatitis, surgery is indicated. It is possible that after surgery you will have to stay in intensive care.
- In case of severe alcohol poisoning, drip administration of drugs is performed, and hemodialysis is used.
- It is possible to stop gastrointestinal bleeding during gastroscopy. If a large volume of blood is lost, a transfusion is required.
Alcohol intoxication is dangerous for patients with diabetes, as it provokes a sharp decrease in glucose concentration. Doctors are called to relieve symptoms.
Folk remedies
Traditional medicine methods will help stop even heavy vomiting. There are many practice-tested recipes.
Basic, frequently used:
- Lemon juice. Squeeze it from half a lemon into a glass of warm boiled water. You are allowed to drink up to one liter of healing drink per day.
- Apple vinegar. Dissolve one teaspoon in 100 ml. water, drink four to five times a day.
- Dill decoction. Pour two handfuls of dill seeds with half a liter of water. Bring to a boil, continue to simmer over low heat for ten minutes. Cool to room temperature, strain. Consume internally in small sips.
- Herbal infusion. For its preparation, medicinal herbs are used: lemon balm and peppermint. Drink ready-made strong decoctions up to five times a day. For lemon balm, a single dose is a glass, for mint - a large spoon. Brew a mixture of medicinal herbs in a teapot and drink with sugar - an effective remedy for nausea rising in the throat.
- Potato fresh juice. Grated and squeezed through cheesecloth, take two small spoons orally before meals. Restores strength after alcohol intoxication with excessive vomiting, eliminates the nauseating feeling.
- Infusion of elecampane root. Take 2 handfuls of chopped root for a glass of boiling water. Leave for at least half an hour. Strain. Recommended dose of the drink: one large sip up to four times a day. The medicinal infusion not only weakens the urge to vomit, but also eliminates other negative manifestations of a hangover.
- Citrus-honey vitamin cocktail. Mix freshly squeezed orange and lemon juice with a small amount of fragrant honey, add the raw yolk of one egg. Raises tone, strengthens the body's resistance.
There are many recipes for alternative medicine, but they can be used taking into account the condition of the victim. At the first signs of pathologies, timely contact with a medical specialist is required.
Antiemetic drugs
In general, measures to get rid of nausea will be required only if atypical inclusions are detected. In cases where the urge provokes the removal of undigested food, without a hint of blood or bile, gastric lavage should be performed .
The following medications can be used to stop the gag reflex:
- Activated carbon is a means of absorbing toxins and poisons from the stomach. It can be taken after serious poisoning;
- No-spa - as an antispasm, it neutralizes colic and stomach cramps that occur against the background of vomiting;
- Validol - normalizes pulse and blood pressure, which increase during stomach cramps;
- Aspirin – prevents the breakdown of ethyl alcohol and provides pain relief for headaches.
If, after all the measures have been taken, the urge with bile continues, you should perform a gastric lavage with plain water, which will alleviate the condition and go to bed. To normalize the morning state, it is recommended to take a solution of Regidron , a means of restoring the water-salt balance.
Important! To treat harmful addiction, treatment with special medications should be carried out. Medicines section contains reviews of products that allow you to perform therapy without leaving your home.
If a person “throws up” after drinking alcohol, and this does not stop with taking anti-nausea pills, then you will need to call an ambulance for hospitalization.
General principle
The alcohol-containing drink enters the digestive system. Reaching the stomach, alcohol begins to be absorbed into the blood, also concentrating in the brain. After the body reaches the limit of ethanol content in the vessels, toxic substances begin to be eliminated - the liver plays a key role.
It produces the enzyme alcohol hydrogenase, a key component of ethanol metabolism. It turns into acetaldehyde and then into acetic acid. If you exceed the recommended limit of alcohol, acetaldehyde, which is toxic to the body, enters the bloodstream, subsequently causing a hangover. This occurs when there is a malfunction of the organ, as well as when taking large doses of alcohol frequently. The maximum norm for a healthy person is 60 g of ethanol per day for men and 50 g for women.
With high consumption, the feeling of hunger is dulled. Ethanol has a high energy value, so most alcoholic drinks are high in calories. Because of this, there is a danger of exceeding concentration - in the absence of hunger, a person eats little, quickly gets drunk and limits the entry of useful substances into the body.
The result of the decomposition of alcohol is the reason for feeling unwell in the morning. The substances resulting from processing are many times more toxic than alcohol itself. Therefore, with a hangover, a person feels much worse than with severe intoxication.
The proportions of excretion from the body are 10-30% through the pores of the skin and urine, 70-90% through the liver and intestinal walls. Factors influencing the rate of weathering of alcohol are divided into two groups. The first is responsible for the entry of ethanol into the blood, the second is for the processing and removal of metabolic products.
Entry into the body
A set of the most obvious signs that are easy to control. In short, the speed of intoxication is influenced by the type of drink, the conditions in the room and the method of consumption.
- Strength of the drink. The higher the degree, the higher the alcohol content. This means that more of it will enter the blood, and the effect will be achieved faster.
- Sparkling. All other things being equal, alcoholic drinks saturated with carbon dioxide deliver ethanol to the body much faster. Because of this, it becomes easier to get intoxicated even from just a few glasses.
- Stomach fullness. If, in addition to alcohol, any food is digested, the process of assimilation of ethanol slows down. Fatty foods further inhibit the absorption process by enveloping the walls of the stomach.
- Activity between drinks and room temperature are slightly less influential. The easiest way to quickly get drunk is to sit in one place in an unventilated room.
The rate at which it enters the body is one of the main reasons influencing the results of drinking. The slower it is, the more time the body has to process the alcohol already ingested.
Features of weathering
The second stage is the breakdown of alcohol. Metabolism is activated - the process is complex and individual. This is where the problem of determining the uniform weathering time for alcohol arises.
- Condition of the liver and intestines. With their help, the body leaves 70-80% of the substance.
- The amount of fluid in the body.
- Body weight, gender.
- Frequency of use. With regularity, it accustoms the liver to quickly produce enzymes.
All general indicators when talking about hatching time are based on standard parameters. The basis is a person with a healthy liver, a man weighing about 80 kilograms. In this case, the rate of weathering of 100 grams of vodka will be 4.5 hours.
If at least one indicator is different, the time will be different. Therefore, even an approximate calculation becomes problematic - for this you will have to check the drink-to-weight ratio table and take into account the number and type of snacks. Alcoholic cocktails, especially those with a hidden recipe without specifying the volume of ingredients, complicate the situation even more.
You can roughly estimate the consequences and elimination time using the tables. To do this, take a separate indicator of the ratio of the strength of the drink to the rate of weathering and body weight. In some cases, gender is taken into account. However, they do not take into account the condition of the liver and intestines, as well as possible health problems. In these cases, only doctors will give an accurate answer.
What not to do with a hangover
Contrary to popular belief, after an overdose of alcohol it is not recommended to:
- Drink coffee and other caffeinated drinks (for example, energy drinks). Caffeine overloads the liver, which is already exhausted by alcohol, and also increases the toxicity of ethyl alcohol.
- Drink alcohol (hangover). Improvement in the condition after repeated drinking with a hangover is short-term. A little later, all the symptoms of alcohol poisoning will return with a vengeance. Think about your body: after an alcohol overdose, it needs cleansing and sedatives, not a second round of battle.
- Smoking . Cigarettes increase withdrawal symptoms.
Impact on weathering time
The rate of elimination can be influenced in different ways. Some methods are applicable only before starting use. The other helps to cope with a hangover when the limit of the permissible volume is crossed. Weathering is usually of interest to the second type of people who actively feel the effects of drinking alcohol.
Before drinking
Preliminary measures allow the body to cope with elimination directly while drinking alcohol, as well as during subsequent sleep. An integrated approach will allow you to forget about the problem as a whole, using some of the methods will facilitate and speed up weathering.
- Choose refined drinks. A reference example is vodka without flavoring additives (acid, sugar, fructose, flavorings), containing only water and alcohol. It is not the price of the drink that influences, but the number of third-party components and years of aging.
- Combination with the right food. Too heavy puts a strain on the liver and pancreas. For effective weathering, these organs must be occupied by alcohol.
- Activated carbon. A simple calculation formula is one and a half tablets for every ten kilograms of weight. Any medicine with similar properties (Enterosgel) is suitable as an analogue.
- Vitamin B6 tablets that activate the working enzyme of the liver.
- Drink a small amount of alcohol an hour and a half before the start. Allows the liver to begin producing the necessary enzymes, which will speed up the process.
- Don't forget to drink plain water.
- Eat a piece of butter to create a film on the walls of the stomach.
- Ventilate the room before going to bed.
Those who want to speed up the elimination of alcohol and ease a hangover should follow the recommendations. After 8 hours of sleep, in the worst case scenario, a minimal amount of alcohol will remain in the blood. One of the possible symptoms is dry mouth - it is rarely possible to avoid dehydration. A bottle of mineral water helps.
Hungover
If it was not possible to prevent the problem and typical symptoms are present, you need to help the body cope with the amount of toxins. They help:
- going to the toilet - alcohol continues to be absorbed from the intestinal walls;
- drinking plenty of fluids - eliminates general dehydration, alcohol is eliminated through sweat and urine;
- eat something to speed up metabolism - easily digestible cereals, salted vegetables, citric acid are suitable;
- contrast shower and exercises;
- citric acid in reasonable quantities.
A little-known but effective remedy is succinic acid. It is inexpensive, speeds up metabolism, and reduces the time it takes to eliminate alcohol. It can also be taken as a preventive measure. Fermented milk products help well - low-fat kefir, kumiss, ayran.
Dream
A painless and effective way to cope with withdrawal symptoms and wait for complete relief is long and uninterrupted sleep. The problem is numerous painful symptoms that make it difficult to sleep. In especially severe cases, sleeping pills are used.
They take only non-toxic drugs, without many side effects. Some brands contain substances that slow down the breakdown of alcohol, so they are useless for a hangover.
IV
The method is rare, but if you have a dropper, it can help. For instillation, a solution of sodium chloride and glucose is used. To accelerate the recovery of the body, ascorbic acid and inosine are added to the saline solution. The effectiveness is due to the direct release of beneficial substances into the blood, helping to quickly recover and speed up the elimination of toxins.
What to do if you feel sick in the morning, how to treat the consequences of poisoning
You should not believe various pieces of advice that not only may not help you overcome your hangover, but will also aggravate it.
You should not follow the common advice that suggests eating more snacks after drinking alcohol. You must immediately choose your limit, deciding on the dose above which you need to stop and not take any more alcohol. If you feel nauseous after drinking alcohol or vomiting, it is necessary to remove relapses of nausea by offering the patient a sorbent, that is, activated carbon tablets, Polysorb MP, etc. To relieve stomach cramps, take No-Spa tablets or put validol under the tongue. Headaches can be relieved by taking an aspirin tablet, which helps break down alcohol. Having provided an influx of fresh air, you should go to bed, you can first drink a cup of hot tea with lemon or take a shower.
If vomiting continues, then they must begin to rinse the stomach. Doctors recommend drinking as much warm water as possible to rid the stomach of the effects of harmful substances until the stomach is completely cleansed. After cleansing the stomach, you should drink activated charcoal and go to bed.
If vomiting intensifies as a result of the consequences of drinking alcohol, bile may appear in the vomit, which is associated with the most dangerous form of poisoning. In this case, call an ambulance as soon as possible. Doctors categorically prohibit those who constantly suffer from nausea during and after drinking alcohol from drinking it.
You should know some rules to reduce the degree of alcohol poisoning if you still need to drink alcohol. The rules are to drink as much water as possible before drinking alcohol, you can take anti-nausea pills and activated charcoal.
Every person who drinks alcohol is at risk of poisoning. There are certain doses at which a negative reaction of the body appears.
In the presence of certain diseases and severe fatigue, the amount of alcohol required to cause poisoning is reduced several times. The most serious problem can arise when consuming low-quality products.
Symptoms and signs
The main symptoms of negative manifestations after drinking alcoholic beverages are:
- glassy look;
- impaired speech intelligibility;
- temperature drop to 31-32 degrees;
- cold clammy sweat;
- decreased perception of words and surrounding stimuli;
- the smell of ethanol in the air;
- heart rate disturbances - acceleration or deceleration to 28-55 beats per minute;
- pallor or marbling of the skin;
- convulsions;
- dilated pupils;
- decreased blood pressure;
- unexpected falling asleep or loss of consciousness;
- nausea and vomiting.
For poisoning, 400-450 grams of alcoholic beverages enter the body.
At the same time, the alcohol content in the blood reaches 0.3-0.5%, the liver ceases to cope with the poison in the body. When the concentration of ethyl alcohol in the blood exceeds 3%, respiratory arrest or deep coma occurs.
Important! One of the first signs of drinking too much alcohol is:
- facial redness,
- impaired coordination of movements and orientation in space,
- pupil dilation,
- speaking too loudly
- increased sweating.
The victim may complain of throbbing and pain in the head, rapid heartbeat, darkening of the eyes, nausea and trembling in the body.
In case of poisoning with alcohol surrogates (denatured alcohol, methyl alcohol, colognes, hydrolytic alcohol, ethylene glycol), more than 90% of victims die before the ambulance arrives.
Intoxication in the case of taking low-quality products is expressed weakly or completely absent, convulsions, blurred vision, sweating, increased salivation, joint pain, vomiting, and pain in the abdomen appear.
Important! With such symptoms, home treatment is unacceptable. You should call a doctor as soon as possible.
Before the doctors arrive, you can induce vomiting in the victim, give enterosorbent and any drug with an enveloping effect to drink.
If the victim is unconscious, the following steps should be taken:
- The best position is to lie on your side or stomach with your head turned to the side to prevent vomit from getting inside.
- It is recommended to eliminate the pressure of clothing - unfasten the belt, collar.
- A person should not be allowed to freeze due to the vasodilating effects of alcohol.
- Provide a supply of fresh air and ensure that the victim’s tongue does not fall back, interfering with breathing.
To bring the victim to consciousness, you can try rubbing the ears or letting them smell ammonia.
If a person does not regain consciousness after taking all the recommended measures, an ambulance should be called.
Lack of qualified treatment for severe poisoning for a long time can lead to dangerous consequences and even death.
Gastric lavage
When providing first aid to the victim, it is necessary to clear the stomach of alcohol residues to prevent them from entering the bloodstream.
A person is given up to 4 glasses of warm water to drink, and the root of the tongue is pressed with a finger or a spoon.
It is recommended to induce vomiting up to 3 times to produce clean rinsing water.
During the procedure, it is recommended to tilt the victim’s torso and keep the head horizontal.
You can prepare a solution of ammonia in a ratio of 5-10 drops per 1 glass of water to sober up and induce a gag reflex.
Important! If a person feels worse after vomiting, you can take a 5-minute break between washes.
After completing the cleansing procedure, it is recommended to take the sorbent 5 minutes later:
- activated carbon at the rate of 1 tablet per 1 kg of body weight;
- Polysorb;
- Enterosgel;
- Filtrum;
- White coal;
- Polyphepan;
- Smecta.
Strong natural sorbents are considered to be beets, strawberries, cabbage, as well as foods high in fiber (vegetables, fruits, cereals) and pectin (carrots, raspberries, black currants, apricots).
What to do at home
In case of alcohol poisoning, it is advisable to drink more fluids. This will speed up metabolic processes in the body to quickly remove negative substances and help neutralize dehydration that occurs after drinking alcohol.
It is recommended to drink mineral and plain drinking water; sweet drinks should be excluded.
Taking a contrast shower will help you sober up quickly.
Linden honey has a beneficial effect on the body of a person who has been poisoned by alcohol, due to its fructose content.
We suggest you read: Fatal alcohol poisoning
The product should be diluted in warm water and given to the victim. The more honey solution he consumes, the better his health will be.
In general, it is recommended to drink about 200 grams of honey with liquid.
Important!
Diuretic decoctions from horsetail and parsley and choleretic infusions (read about choleretic herbs in this article) from immortelle and tansy (how to drink is written here) are useful.
After vomiting, it is advisable to use saffron tincture, prepared by combining 1 teaspoon of saffron in 0.5 liters of boiled water.
The most effective non-alcoholic cocktail recipes for quickly relieving hangovers are:
- Add 1 egg yolk to 200 ml of tomato juice. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed, the product is peppered and salted.
- Break 1 chicken egg into a glass, add a tablespoon of vinegar, ground black pepper and salt.
- Combine with 40 ml of orange juice 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, 60 ml of tomato juice, 1 pinch of cayenne pepper. Add 2-3 ice cubes to a glass.
- Using a blender, it is recommended to mix 150 ml of orange juice, 50 grams of honey and 1 lemon along with the peel.
- To ½ cup of cabbage brine add 3 teaspoons of olive oil and a little black pepper.
- 1 yolk is combined with 2 teaspoons of ketchup. The cocktail is supplemented with salt, pepper (red and black) and lemon juice to taste.
- 100 ml each of cabbage and carrot juice are mixed with 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon of finely chopped greens, sugar, salt and pepper as desired.
- In a blender, grind 50 grams of cucumber, 150 ml of kefir, a teaspoon of dill, 3 teaspoons of sugar, a little salt, ground red and black pepper.
To speed up the removal of toxins from the body, you can prepare a drink:
- juice of 1 lemon mixed with mineral water,
- Add a mashed mint leaf and a little honey to the ingredients.
Visiting a bathhouse when you have a hangover helps remove toxins and waste through the pores. The procedure is not recommended for high blood pressure and heart problems.
Remember! When you have a hangover, it is better to sleep more; during sleep, the unpleasant syndrome goes away easier and faster.
To prevent the condition from worsening in case of poisoning, it is not advisable to perform the following actions:
- Turn the person onto their back. This can lead to suffocation from vomit.
- Take sleeping pills that depress the nervous system, which has already been damaged by the effects of alcohol.
- Resist the urge to gag. If you have severe nausea, it is better to drink more liquid and induce vomiting to feel better and quickly sober up naturally.
- Taking aspirin while intoxicated and taking Furosemide, which can cause problems with the liver and kidneys.
- Hangover by drinking alcoholic beverages.
Remember! When falling into deep sleep, local blood circulation may be impaired and swelling of the brain structures responsible for breathing may occur.
In this case, death can occur for the following reasons:
- respiratory arrest;
- paralysis of the motor center;
- alcoholic coma.
Therefore, the symptoms of alcohol poisoning should not be ignored.
To regain lost strength after alcohol poisoning, it is recommended to consume more nutrients.
Preliminary time calculation
You can calculate the period of complete cleansing of the body for the future. To do this, body weight and the degree of the intended drink are checked against the table. An obvious way is to get a breathalyzer and time it, writing down the results.
At the same time, it is impossible to calculate how much alcohol dissipates from one indicator - each drink has its own ppm gradation. It also depends on the content of additives and dyes. Fusel oils in a number of drinks increase the possible weathering time from several hours to a day.
For drivers
A frequent question is about the amount of time during which you cannot drive. Half a liter of a low-alcohol drink is eliminated from the body in an average of 5 hours - this is the minimum indicator for successfully passing an alcohol test. Despite the lack of effect on the body, after a couple of hours the tester will still be able to show the presence of a volume in the blood sufficient for a fine.
At the same time, you should not rely on all sorts of products that are often sold at checkouts. At best, they will get rid of the smell, but they will not be able to significantly affect metabolism.
For nursing mothers
Finding a table of the ratio of body weight to servings of a particular drink is easy.
It is dangerous to trust such sources - due to the large number of factors, the indicators are always approximate. Therefore, during breastfeeding it is wiser to hold off on drinking alcohol. An alternative is to temporarily switch to formula so as not to risk the baby’s health.
Diagnostics
A gastroenterologist will provide assistance to the patient by stopping vomiting and finding out the cause of its occurrence.
The cause of alcohol poisoning is clear, but dangerous diseases may be hidden behind it, especially if accompanying symptoms were observed during vomiting.
Therefore, the doctor conducts a thorough examination and gets acquainted with the patient’s medical record (in order to identify chronic gastroenterological ailments that could be aggravated by exposure to alcohol).
If possible, the gastroenterologist will inquire about the amount of alcohol consumed and will prescribe blood and urine tests and send vomit for examination. Instrumental examinations include ultrasound of the abdomen, FEGDS and radiography.