Eighty-one percent of college students have tried alcohol at least once in their lifetime, and 67 percent report they have been drunk, according to the 2016 Monitoring Future Study, so it might not come as a surprise that some college students shudder at the word “hangover.”

Gage Dailey, the Health Promotion Coordinator at the Health Education Resource Center, shared some insight on what a hangover does to a person’s body, some tips on how to prevent one before it can happen and how students can help themselves if they get one.

“Alcohol is poison, so it messes with your system in a lot of different ways,” Dailey said. “It dehydrates your whole system, so that’s where the hangover comes from.”

Dailey said people could prevent hangovers by taking Ibuprofen or Tylenol before going to bed and by drinking plenty of water in between drinks and after their last sip of alcohol.

These steps can provide both emotional and physical comfort to people who are drinking, he said.

Dailey also said there are common myths many students believe in concerning hangover recovery.

He said people tend to believe that drinking Gatorade or coffee or taking a shower will help or even speed up the process of recovering from a hangover, but in reality, only water, petalite drinks and time can help.

Taking Dailey’s advice could potentially help people when they are drinking to be cautious and safe while still having fun, he said, but still, partying college students can get caught up in trouble if they are not careful with their alcohol.

Maria Ruettiger can be reached at 581-2812 or at mgruettiger@eiu.edu.