It often happens that the evening fun with drinking alcohol is replaced by a terrible morning hangover with nausea and headache. That's when we begin to think about how to remove these symptoms and bring ourselves to life, experiencing both folk remedies like brine and widely advertised medications.
Why you should not trust popular methods and advertising
Practice shows that the use of folk methods and various "chemistry" is not justified. Firstly, it is ineffective, and secondly, it is unsafe. Brine, kvass or plain water really helps with dehydration caused by the presence of alcohol in the blood, but they are not able to remove the products of its decay from the body, which, in fact, poison us.
To use drugs without consulting a doctor is all the more not worth it. Each of us has our own individual characteristics, and the means that help one, the other can significantly harm.
But there is one universal substance that does not pose any danger and is quite effective in combating alcohol poisoning and a hangover. The name of this wonderful medicine is activated carbon. With alcohol poisoning, only he can truly cleanse our body. In addition, its intake before drinking strong drinks can prevent the unpleasant consequences of this process.
What is activated carbon
Activated carbon is a highly active sorbent obtained from carbon-containing substances (charcoal, petroleum coke, burnt walnut and coconut shells, seeds of fruit crops, etc.). The best quality is considered a product made from coconut shell.
The process of production and activation of coal consists of three stages:
- carbonization, i.e. firing in a special furnace without air, as a result of which its structure receives maximum porosity;
- crushing into the smallest particles;
- chemical or gas-vapor purification from impurities.
What is the secret of activated carbon
The fact is that alcohol and activated charcoal enter into a reaction, during which the latter neutralizes ethanol and contributes to its elimination from the body in a natural way. If the alcohol has already decomposed, and acetaldehyde is formed in the digestive system, which causes a hangover, coal absorbs its molecules and binds, preventing them from entering the blood. It is an excellent natural sorbent that absorbs toxins, salts of heavy metals, as well as active substances of narcotic drugs. That is why, with various types of poisoning, doctors, in addition to other drugs, prescribe activated carbon. Reviews of its use in such situations are extremely positive. By the way, this natural medicine is able to not only remove alcohol toxins from the body, but also reduce the craving for alcohol.
Dosage Forms
In pharmacies today you can find two types of drugs: tablets "Activated carbon" and "White coal". The first form is familiar to us all from childhood. These are ordinary black pills of 10 pcs. packaged. This medicine is worth a penny and is sold in any pharmacy without a prescription.
But white coal has appeared recently and is sold in the form of tablets, capsules and suspensions. It is also a natural sorbent, which additionally includes drugs that relieve symptoms of headache, nausea and allergies.
Alcohol and charcoal activated white react much faster, so a hangover when taking this drug is faster.
Drinking before drinking
If you have a feast with the use of an antioxidant, you can prepare your body in advance, protecting and strengthening it with the help of coal tablets. Carbon compounds will slow down the absorption of ethanol into the blood and minimize their harmful effects on the liver.
Activated charcoal before drinking alcohol is drunk in 3-4 hours. The dosage for an adult is 4-5 tablets (for white coal - 2 capsules). After 2-3 hours, you can take another 2 tablets (or one white) and another immediately before the start of the feast.
It is additionally recommended to eat hot fatty foods: meat, ham, fish, soups. The fat contained in these products will serve as an additional protector, "linking" alcohol and activated charcoal. At the same time, you should not drink sparkling water, as well as mix various types of alcoholic beverages.
Charcoal Hangover
If for some reason the hangover could not be avoided, try to cure it by taking all the same activated carbon. How much it will take depends on your body weight. Usually take 1 tablet per 10 kg of weight. To speed up the cleaning effect, the pills need to be crushed into powder and diluted with boiled water.
To treat a hangover with white charcoal, you need to drink 2-3 pieces. This will be enough to neutralize toxins and relieve symptoms of poisoning.
Before taking coal, it is recommended to empty the intestines. Otherwise, the cleaning process will not give the desired result.
Activated carbon after alcohol is not recommended to drink in combination with other drugs, since the sorbent will negate all their beneficial properties. In addition, it can enter into an undesirable reaction with some chemicals that are part of other drugs, and provoke the development of allergies.
Activated carbon: reviews
Almost everyone who used activated charcoal as a protective agent against alcohol toxins and anti-hangover medications responded positively to this drug. In the first case, intoxication is not felt at all as usual, and it is tolerated much easier. When taking this medicine with a hangover, the main symptoms of the latter, such as headache, nausea and heaviness in the intestines, disappear in a maximum of two hours.
The exception is patients with sensitive mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as people suffering from allergies.
Activated carbon has proven itself as a supplement when observing various kinds of diets. Proper nutrition in combination with cleaning the digestive tract gives good results. It is extremely undesirable to take such courses yourself, but under the supervision of a doctor - please.
About contraindications
The use of charcoal tablets has practically no contraindications, however, those who suffer from peptic ulcer and gastrointestinal bleeding, it is better to abandon this method of treatment for a hangover. Although they are better off giving up alcohol altogether.
The benefits of activated carbon over other remedies for a hangover
- All natural product.
- Subject to the rules of admission, it is highly effective.
- It can be used as a prophylactic.
- Available at any pharmacy.
- It can be used for other types of poisoning.
- It is absolutely safe and practically has no contraindications.
- Low price.
Where else is activated carbon used
Given the unique properties of activated carbon, it would be foolish not to use it in other areas besides medicine. Mankind has long noticed its high cleansing abilities, and the first mention of coal as an effective means of water purification is found in Sanskrit writings of ancient India. In ancient Egypt and Rome, it was also used as a filter for water and drinks. But only at the beginning of the twentieth century did its industrial production begin.
Today, activated carbon is used to clean:
- drinking water, including in household filters;
- sewage sewage;
- mining and metallurgical products;
- sulfur vapor, solvents, volatile carbon dioxide compounds emitted into the atmosphere by industrial enterprises;
- oil and oil products;
- air in ventilation, air conditioning and personal protective equipment;
- alcoholic drinks.
It is noteworthy that after use, activated carbon can be cleaned and reused for the same purpose. The fact is that adsorption for him is a completely reversible process. The purification of coal is carried out by means of special chemical and temperature treatments, as a result of which its structure gets rid of any contaminants.
Activated home alcohol and charcoal
Activated carbon is used in everyday life not only as a water purifier. It is successfully used for cleaning home-made alcoholic beverages, in particular moonshine. The sorption abilities of this substance do an excellent job with fusel oils, which are essential companions of home alcohol, collecting and absorbing them. Therefore, for several decades in a row home distilleries have been using activated carbon to clean their drinks. Moonshine passed through a charcoal filter becomes more transparent, and the specific smell disappears.
You can do without a filter, it is enough to throw a few tablets at a rate of 10 pcs into a container with alcohol. per liter, let stand for a week, shaking daily, and the amount of siwuha in the drink will be reduced by half.