drink alcohol responsibly to ring in the new year

Patricia Carroll, RN,C, CEN, RRT, MS

My, how New Year's Eve parties have changed! In the past twenty years there has been a significant shift away from glamorous formal events in favor of casual parties at home. What hasn't changed is the very real danger associated with alcohol-related auto accidents.

Working in a hospital ER, I have toasted the turn of the calendar with ginger ale, sadly knowing that before I went home in the morning, we would probably have to comfort at least one family who lost a member after a drunk-driving crash. Drunk driving is no accident. 

Did you know...

• Three in ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives

• One person is injured in an alcohol-related crash every minute in the US

• Beer is the preferred beverage of drinking drivers

• 80% of alcohol-related fatalities are caused by beer consumption

I've also worked in critical care, and have taken care of far too many critically injured patients from alcohol-related car crashes. Don't let someone you love become a statistic.

Alcohol Facts

No one type of alcohol is "safer" than another.  Twelve ounces of beer, five ounces of wine and 1.5 ounces of hard liquor (80-proof distilled spirits) all contain the same amount of alcohol. On average, a person can metabolize about one drink an hour through the liver. If more alcohol is consumed, the excess will circulate throughout the body affecting all body systems. 

Good judgment is usually the first thing to be affected by alcohol consumption. That is, as you continue to drink, you become unable to determine if you are impaired by alcohol. You may think you can drive safely when you can't. I have seen plenty of patients who wobbled when they walked and slurred their speech then told me they were just fine (yeah, right). 

If you're a host, be sure that plenty of non-alcoholic beverage alternatives are available. Never try to force liquor on someone who's said "No thanks." 

For a list of yummy alcohol-free drink recipes  you can serve all year 'round, visit Buzz Without the Booze, courtesy of the City of New Haven (CT) Office of Substance Abuse Policy and Prevention. 

Drink With Your Head

If you want to kick back and have a few beers or a bottle of champagne to ring in the New Year, that's fine as long as you: 

• Drink at home or have someone who is not drinking available to get you home safely

• Get a package deal in which you can attend a party at a hotel and get a room for the night, too

• Don't drink on an empty stomach

• Avoid "doing shots" -- it puts a lot of alcohol in your body in a short period of time

• Pace yourself -- it takes an average of only 3.2 drinks in an evening to give you hangover symptoms

Hangover symptoms are primarily caused by dehydration. Alcohol stimulates the kidneys to produce more urine than normal. Unless you drink plain water or fruit juice, you will lose more fluid through urination than you are drinking. That leads to the pounding headache, cotton mouth, queasy stomach, and the irresistible urge to pull the covers over your head and stay in bed in the morning.

Reducing Your Hangover Risk

Here are some steps you can take during your evening of revelry that will help you cope more effectively with the world the morning after.

• Drink an eight ounce glass of water after every alcoholic drink you have. Try sparking water with a twist of lime. Water or fruit juice will help reduce the risk of dehydration that occurs if you stick with alcohol or soft drinks alone.

• Set a limit for your alcohol consumption. Ideally, share it with a non-drinking partner or host who can let you know if you've had enough.

• Eat while you consume alcohol. It will slow your body's absorption of the alcohol. 

• Stay away from salty foods, though, because they tend to make you drink more (Why do you think most bars serve complimentary peanuts?)

• Don't mix liquors (the only time I got sick from drinking was, yes, in college, when at a house party next door, they ran out of tequila and all that was left was sloe gin and we drank it, too -- not a good mixture, believe me!)

The Morning After

If you have overdone it, and you don't feel so jolly when you wake up, here are more tips for you:

• No more alcohol! The hair of the dog that bit you will only delay your recovery

• Continue to drink water -- stay away from caffeinated beverages that will increase urination and make you more dehydrated. No matter how much you think that coffee will be an eye-opener, it will slow your recovery in the long run. 

• Eat -- if your stomach is queasy, stick with crackers and broth or apple juice. If your stomach remains empty, you may feel crummy because you're hungry!  Honey on a piece of toast or crackers is ideal because it is a complex carbohydrate that will help your liver get rid of the alcohol.

• Sleep it off if you can -- the Bowl games may have to wait.

• Be careful about taking over-the-counter pain relievers. Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, will stress an already overworked liver. And aspirin further irritates a stomach that is not very happy to begin with. Stay away from them if you can. 

The best way to enjoy the New Year is to be awake and alert enough to ring it in at midnight. Pace yourself, switch to water, munch your way through the evening, and take it easy. We look forward to seeing you back here at Nurse's Notebook, safe and healthy in the New Year, taking advantage of all the possibilities a New Year offers. 

Written: December 2002

Reviewed: May 2004