Do Hangover Cures Work? Study Casts Doubt On Their Efficacy

People have hangover cures they absolutely swear by, but do any of these methods really work? Researchers have found "only very low quality evidence" of their efficacy.

A hangover is a set of symptoms that people tend to experience after drinking too much alcohol, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Symptoms may vary from one person to another, but they may include fatigue, weakness, muscle aches, nausea, anxiety, sweating, vertigo and even increased blood pressure.

"Hangover symptoms can cause significant distress and affect people's employment and academic performance," Dr. Emmert Roberts, the lead author of a new study, said in the news release from the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA). "Given the continuing speculation in the media as to which hangover remedies work or not, the question around the effectiveness of substances that claim to treat or prevent a hangover appears to be one with considerable public interest."

For their study, published in the journal Addiction, the researchers had a closer look at studies that explored hangover cures "from database inception" until Aug. 1, 2021. In total, they analyzed 21 studies that reported on 386 participants. These featured common hangover cures including clove extract, Korean pear juice and red ginseng, the SSA noted. Other hangover cures such as Rapid Recovery, Loxoprofen, Artichoke extract and L-ornithine were also included.

The researchers found that even though some of the studies did display "statistically significant improvement" in hangover symptoms, "all" the evidence was of "very low quality." They said this is "usually" because of factors such as methodological limitations or imprecise measurements, the SSA noted.

None of the studies looked at the same hangover cure, so a meta-analysis couldn't be done, and none of the results were "independently replicated." Furthermore, eight of the studies even focused exclusively on male participants.

"Only very low quality evidence of efficacy is available to recommend any pharmacologically active intervention for the treatment or prevention of alcohol-induced hangover," the researchers wrote, adding: "Of the limited interventions studied, all had favorable tolerability profiles and very low quality evidence suggests clove extract, tolfenamic acid, and pyritinol may most warrant further study."

Future studies on hangovers should have "more rigorous" methods, the researchers noted, adding the need for more female participation on the research topic.

"Our study has found that evidence on these hangover remedies is of very low quality and there is a need to provide more rigorous assessment," Dr. Roberts said, as per SSA. "For now, the surest way of preventing hangover symptoms is to abstain from alcohol or drink in moderation."