Surprising ways to get rid of a hangover can be risky, even after the alcohol has left your system

It’s the morning after a massive night and you’re feeling the effects of too much alcohol.

Therefore, it may be tempting to “freshen up” and relieve your hangover by swimming at the beach or taking a dip in the chilly waters of your local river or swimming pool.

But you might want to think twice.

The day after hefty drinking can affect your body, energy levels, and risk perception in many ways. This means you’re more likely to drown or make inattentive decisions – even if you don’t have a high blood alcohol level.

Alcohol + water + summer = drowning

Alcohol is one of the main reasons why someone is more likely die by drowning. And Australians consume a lot of itincluding around the water.

The risk of drowning and injury, including alcohol-related accidents, increases dramatically during the holiday season, especially in the summer public holidays AND long weekends.

Among people aged 18 and over who drowned in rivers where alcohol was present about 40% had at least 0.20% alcohol in his blood. This is four times the upper allowable limit 0.05% when driving with a full driving license.

When we breathalyzer tested people in four Australian rivers, we found higher blood alcohol levels with higher temperatures, especially on holidays.

Alcohol and/or drug poisoning occurs on the beach 23% of deaths due to drowning with an average blood alcohol concentration of 0.19%.

What if you have a hangover?

Removing alcohol from the body is a relatively tardy process. Alcohol is metabolized on average at a rate of approx 0.015% per hour. So if someone stops drinking at 2 a.m. and has a blood alcohol content of 0.20%, their alcohol level will not drop to zero until 4:00 p.m. the next day.

Although hangovers may vary from person to person, typical symptoms include headache, muscle pain, fatigue, weakness, thirst, nausea, abdominal pain, dizziness, irritability, sensitivity to lithe and sound, anxiety, sweating and increased blood pressure.

Besides feeling a little dusty the next day after drinking heavily, you’re not very good at it identifying threats and responding to them.

In a swimming pool, this may mean not noticing that it is too shallow to dive safely. In natural waterways, this may mean not noticing a robust river current or a rip current on the beach. Or someone may notice these hazards but swim or dive anyway.

In one testwe found that after a four-day Australian music festival where people drank heavily, this problem continued even in sober people (no longer having alcohol in their blood).

Compared to baseline lab tests we conducted three weeks before the festival, people who were sober the day after the festival had faster reaction times in the attention test. However, they made more mistakes. This suggests that a hangover combined with fatigue leads to faster but more inattentive behavior.

In and around the water, it can mean the difference between life and death.

A positive blood alcohol reading, including the previous night’s alcohol, is often the cause of death from drowning as a result of risky behavior such as jumping into water, both river and along coast. Jumping may cause injury or loss of consciousness, which may lead to drowning.

Alcohol, including the day after drinking, can also escalate the likelihood of drowning for many other reasons. It also reduces people’s coordination and reaction time.

What else is going on?

Alcohol causes the blood vessels near the skin to open (dilate). More blood flows to them, which causes a feeling of heat. This means you may be in colder water for longer, increasing the risk of hypothermia.

Alcohol can even cause CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) less effectiveif resuscitation is necessary.

Normally, the body controls the levels of certain minerals (or electrolytes) in the blood. But electrolyte imbalance is common after hefty drinking, also the next day. For this reason, hangover symptoms such as muscle pain can lead to arm and leg cramps. This can become hazardous when in or on the water.

Low blood sugar the day after drinking also common. This can lead to fatigue more quickly when doing physical exercise, including swimming.

Other hazards include icy water, high waves and deep water, which your body may not be able to cope with if you’re feeling the effects of a massive night.

What can we do about it?

Authorities regularly warn about dangers alcohol poisoning and being near water. Teenage people and men are often targeted as these are groups at higher risk of drowning alcohol is involved.

There may be alcohol-free zones on beaches. Rivers rarely follow the same rules, despite similar dangers.

How to stay protected around water if you drink

So take care this summer and stay away from the water if you’re not feeling well:

• swim before drinking
• watch out for your companions, especially those who have had a few too many drinks or are hungover
• avoid going back into the water after drinking alcohol or if you don’t feel well the next day.