It is public consensus that abstaining from, or moderating, alcohol consumption is the main way to prevent a hangover, and the passage of time is the main way to alleviate it. Medical professionals should inform individuals that if they drink alcohol, they should do so within safe drinking limits; they should also provide clinically-appropriate screening for the diagnosis of suspected alcohol use disorder.[1] So far only one medication has shown some benefit for hangover in clinical research — tolfenamic acid (brand names: Clotam, Tufnil), which is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in the treatment of migraine headache. However, the evidence is only very-low-certainty,[1] and this medication is neither prescribed nor indicated for this purpose.
Drinking water with or without electrolytes, eating a snack, taking over-the-counter pain-relief medications, and going to sleep are also common advice to reduce hangover symptoms. Remarkably, common pain-relief medications like aspirin and acetaminophen have not been studied for hangover symptoms in clinical trials;[1] however, the product SJP-001, a combination of naproxen and fexofenadine (an antihistamine), was shown to improve hangover severity compared to placebo in a small study.[2]
References
- ^Roberts E, Smith R, Hotopf M, Drummond CThe efficacy and tolerability of pharmacologically active interventions for alcohol-induced hangover symptomatology: a systematic review of the evidence from randomised placebo-controlled trials.Addiction.(2022-Aug)
- ^Verster JC, Dahl TA, Scholey A, Iversen JMThe Effects of SJP-001 on Alcohol Hangover Severity: A Pilot Study.J Clin Med.(2020-Mar-31)