Here's Why You Vomit After Drinking Alcohol And How To Feel Better After Getting Sick
Nearly everyone has prayed to the porcelain gods after a long, alcohol-fueled night. It's sometimes done on purpose to feel better, but often, the action takes your body by force. According to the University of Dallas, this can occur because alcohol is actually an irritant and can upset your stomach. In fact, drinking too much alcohol can even lead to gastritis, which is when your stomach lining gets irritated, inflamed and erodes. Symptoms vary but include indigestion, stomach pain, nausea, upset stomach and more vomiting.
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Alcohol poisoning is a common cause of vomiting after drinking. According to the Mayo Clinic, ethyl alcohol is in alcoholic beverages and can poison our systems after drinking one too many in a short period of time. Binge drinking contributes to alcohol poisoning, and is defined as five or more more drinks during a two-hour period for men and four drinks over the same course of time for women. A binge can last just a few hours or even several days.
The reason that we can get so drunk without realizing it is because alcohol is released from the stomach and into our bloodstream even after we stop drinking. This allows the alcohol in our body to increase so we keep getting more and more drunk. Plus, alcohol is absorbed quickly, but takes longer to get out of the system.
As a blog post on Colorado State University explains, the actual act of vomiting is the end of a series of events. The first stage is nausea, which is linked to a decrease in our gastric motility or the contractions of smooth gastric muscles in the stomach and an increase in the tone of the muscle wall in the small intestines. Reverse peristalsis in the small intestine is common too.
Following nausea is the dry heaves, which are essentially respiratory spasms. The largest part of the stomach contracts and two other areas, the fundus and cardia, relax. Then is the vomition, which is when contents of the small intestine are propelled up to the mouth.
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The Colorado State blog post explains that in the vomition stage, a deep breath helps to open the esophageal sphincter. The diaphragm contracts, which opens the esophagus and distal esophageal sphincter. As the diaphragm makes a downward movement, ab muscles contract and squeeze the stomach, which creates pressure.
If you have to vomit after drinking too much, it’s important to stay sitting up, so you don’t choke while being sick. Of course, the day after will be difficult and you’ll want to prevent further irritating your stomach. The University of Michigan recommends waiting several hours before eating. When drinking water, attempt only small amounts or eat ice chips every 15 minutes for about four hours. Then, you can drink clear liquids like flat soda, sports drinks or water using the same method. If you’re doing well, go ahead and eat bland foods that are easy to tolerate like bananas, rice, applesauce, toast or crackers.
Thankfully, the effects of drinking too much won’t last TOO long, making you forget that vow to give up alcohol.
See Also:
Drinking Alcohol In Moderation May Lower Your Risk Of Certain Heart Conditions, According To Study
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