What to do if you've been drinking too much?

Drinking too much is never a good idea but most people will do it from time to time. Testimonials from customers has confirmed that taking Alcomate can help with the effects of drinking in excess. Some users of Alcomate take it during the evening when they realise that they may be having a drink to many, whilst others will take Alcomate at the end of the evening. Both report positive testimonials.

What are the safe drinking limits?

The safe number of drink units will vary for each person depending on what you're drinking, how much you drink, what you've eaten before drinking, what you've eaten while drinking, what you weigh and so on. We have set out a drinking guide below. Further information regarding drinking alcohol and it's effects can be found at the NHSDirect website (opens in new window).

What is a unit of alcohol?

Drinking one unit of alcohol is equivalent to 10ml of pure alcohol. As a rough guide:
Drink 1 pint of strong lager = 3 units
Drink 1 pint of ordinary lager, bitter or cider = 2 units
Drink 1 glass of wine = 2 units
Drink 1 alcopop = 1.5 units
Drink 1 measure of spirits = 1 unit

Typically wines are 11 to 12% alcohol, glass sizes will vary.

Drink Driving

The UK legal limit for driving after drinking is 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood - according to NHSDirect this roughly means men should drink no more than four units of alcohol before driving. Women should drink no more than three units before driving. Importantly there is no true guide as to how much you can drink and stay under the drink driving limit - so do not drink if you plan to drive or you'll get more than a hangover.

The NHS recommends that:

Men should not regularly drink more than 3 to 4 units of alcohol per day.
Women should not regularly drink more than 2 to 3 units of alcohol per day.
Pregnant women and women who are trying to get pregnant should not drink alcohol. If they do choose to drink, to protect the baby, they should not drink more than 1 or 2 units of alcohol a couple of times a week.

The NHS gives daily limits for regular drinking to make it clear that you can't store up your whole week's 'drinking allowance' until the weekend and then drink heavily (this type of heavy or binge drinking is often harmful to your long term health as well as the immediate hangover that you'll have).
The different drinking limits are set as ranges ('drinking one to two', 'drinking two to three' and 'drinking three to four' units) because there isn't one single amount that applies to every person every day.
The drinking limits are lower for women because women's bodies have a higher ratio of fat to water than men, making them less able to dilute alcohol in the body and they do not process alcohol as effectively.

The table below gives you an idea of the number of units in different drinks, based on typical alcoholic strengths. To get the exact number, where this is not spelled out in units on the drink's container, you'll need to know a drink's percentage alcohol by volume (%ABV), because different brands may be stronger or weaker. You can find this information on the labels of cans and bottles - or you can ask bar staff. That way you can easily keep count and know your units when you're out drinking. You might see a correlation between the alcoholic strength and the type of hangover you sometimes experience

To keep track of the units in your favourite drinks visit the NHS units calculator (opens in new window). Then you can easily keep count and make informed choices when you're drinking.

What is a hangover?

A hangover is the physiological effects following heavy consumption of alcoholic drinks. A hangover can come in the form of a headache, being thirsty, feeling sick, being sensitive to light or noise and being lethargic.
70-75% of drinkers are likely to suffer from a hangover symptom. If you have hangovers then the best way to avoid a hangover is to drink in moderation.

Hangover prevention

Our advice to avoid a hangover:
Hangover cure 1 - Drink in moderation
Hangover cure 2 - Don't drink fizzy drinks
Hangover cure 3 - Before you go to bed drink lots of water or drink an isotonic drink
Hangover cure 4 - have a good meal before you start drinking
Hangover cure 5 - In between each alcoholic drink have a non fizzy soft drink
Hangover cure 6 - repeat Hangover cure 1

Source of unit calculations and drink information is from NHSDirect

Drinkaware