A hangover cure on wheels

Recovery Bus.” Seriously?  I’ve heard of party buses; never of a recovery bus, but a nephew attests to its existence. He was in Las Vegas doing what it is people do there and the morning after an “epic” night, he woke up with a titanic hangover. He called room service for some potent painkillers and they kindly suggested that he might want to call the concierge about Hangover Heaven.

Say what? he managed to think in between assaults of the jackhammer that was inside his brain at the time.  He was burning in Hangover Hell at that precise moment; where the heck was Hangover Heaven?

The concierge explained to him that an anesthesiologist turned entrepreneur created Hangover Heaven — a bus that rolls onto the strip to treat you with an intravenous saline solution mixed with vitamins and pain medications.

The idea of jumping on a bus and paying $100 to cure a hangover in about 45 minutes surely sounded like heaven to him then but he said he wasn’t willing to spend the $100.

“Like those renegade food trucks, you mean?” I asked him. â€œThey park and sell really good stuff and hightail it once cop cars happen by.”

“I’m not sure if they park at all or if they just keep going until your IV drip is done. I’m not even sure if they’re legal or medically licensed — I don’t know. It just sounded like a great idea. If I had the $100 to spare, I would have done it. The concierge said it does work, though — you want to hydrate to counteract the diuretic effect of alcohol on your body, or something like that.”

Intrigued by this bus, I researched and found that it does, in fact, exist. According to an article on cbs.com, Dr. Jason Burke, a board-certified Las Vegas anesthesiologist and hangover specialist, launched his hangover cure on wheels on April 14, 2012 to help vacationers and locals get hangover-free in just 45 minutes.

CBS.com explains: “Dr. Burke calls his fledgling business a medical practice on wheels, analogous to a physician with an RV offering X-rays, MRIs or mammograms or a blood bank bus in an office parking lot.”

“I don’t think that Hangover Heaven is promoting drinking. I’m not eliminating hangovers,” Dr. Burke said. “The goal of the business is to get people back to their vacation. I’m decreasing the length of time they’re going to be hung over.” Dr. Burke’s goal is to arrive within an hour at the caller’s hotel.

The CBS report listed treatments offered aboard the bus. Once on the bus, treatment can take less than an hour for a $90 basic IV of saline solution, B vitamins and vitamin C. A premium package of $150 includes two bags.  For an extra fee, Burke will bring treatment to a tourist’s hotel room.  Burke administers the prescription anti-inflammatory Ketorolac or Toradol for pain and Zofran, also known as Ondansetron, for nausea. Acid heartburn can be treated with over-the-counter ranitidine. Patients get a shot of the anesthetic Lidocaine to numb the skin before the IV needle is inserted.

“For the most part, it sounds safe,” said Dr. Daliah Wachs, a family practice physician and national satellite radio medical talk show host based in Las Vegas. “But this is kind of gutsy. He’s taking a risk. A patient could have an allergic reaction, or fail to fully report their medical history. For people with pre-existing conditions, Toradol can affect the kidneys, and Zofran can trigger abnormal heart rhythm. Still, emergency room physicians and clinic doctors have for decades provided hangover sufferers with IV drip ‘banana bags’ — so named for their yellow color. But I think many doctors are kicking themselves because they didn’t think of this first,” she added.

In response Burke said, “This is a professional medical practice. We take a medical history. I’m not a cowboy. I’m not going to grab someone off the street... without knowing his or her medical history. If they do have something that might be complicated, I’ll refer them to an emergency room or tailor their treatment to avoid anything that might cause problems.” In a medical emergency, Burke said he is capable and qualified to use hospital-style “crash cart” equipment on the bus, including an automatic defibrillator, laryngoscope, pulse, blood pressure and oxygen meters, and emergency medications.

Imagine that. I saw photos of the bus and how better to get over your hangover than by lounging on beige leather couches with doctors and nurses at your beck and call? But then we’re not in Vegas so we get to ride that hangover the morning after the night we shouldn’t have had that one last drink (it’s always that last drink) minute after excruciating minute, until we’ve flushed out all the alcohol from our system and our brain returns to its natural, non-inflamed state. 

We are left with no other recourse than the usual remedies and sundry, old wives’ tales and witches brews, knowing none of them really work. But then, in the clutches of pain and nausea, we are willing to try anything and everything for alcohol deliverance — that is, until we drink again.

There’s milk thistle, a purplish flowering plant that I’ve seen classmates in college chew on decades ago after parties. Back then it seemed like hocus pocus but I later found out that Silymarin is the active main ingredient in milk thistle, which is now manufactured in pill form and marketed as a liver aid. It is both an anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant, but there is not enough scientific evidence that it cures a hangover. It is mostly considered a dietary supplement.

In Germany, they say pickled fish first thing in the morning eliminates a hangover instantly; while in Mexico, they prescribe beef stomach soup. This sounds more effective considering how hot broth tends to calm an upset stomach. But pickled fish?

I have a friend who takes 2,000 mgs of vitamin C with a liter of water right before sleeping after an evening of excessive drinking. I’m not sure it works. Then there’s the icepack on the head thing. I have seen some people — even in movies — do this to ease the hangover. It looks silly more than anything else. I don’t think any of that external coldness can do much about the inflammation inside. It’s more of a temporary relief, I’d say. I’ve seen another friend take a glass of milk with the juice of one lemon upon waking up, to ease a hangover. It does sound and look totally gross. I can imagine how it can exacerbate nausea and make you head straight to the bathroom.

Then there’s the NOHO (no hangover) drink manufactured in the US that claims you can prepare your body for the depletion of vitamins and minerals by drinking NOHO before your first alcoholic drink. It’s supposed to create a nutritional firewall by providing you with the vitamins and minerals that your body loses when drinking alcohol, thus preventing a hangover. This is more of a preventive measure than a morning-after cure. I read consumer comments about NOHO’s efficacy on the Internet and people mostly say that can’t really tell whether it helped or not but that they feel they are better off than not taking anything at all.

Dr. Eric Asher, a general practitioner and homeopath, listed eight things in an article at menshealth.uk that one needs to battle a hangover.

1. Berocca and Nux Vomica: 
“Your body will metabolize alcohol using glucose, water and vitamin B1,” explains Dr. Eric Asher. “Adding a pill of homeopathic Nux Vomica 30 to Berocca will aid detoxification.” Take one with water before you head out, for a preemptive strike.

2. Cooling Eye Gel: 
The skin around your eyes is thin, so blood vessels are more visible. Any Anti-Fatigue Cooling Eye Gel will reduce any puffiness by massaging fluid away from the area, leaving no traces of your covert mission.

3. Eggs, Asparagus and Ginger Tea: 
Eggs are rich in booze-expelling cysteine. Serve with asparagus, which speeds alcohol metabolism, and ginger tea to reduce nausea.

4. Facial Balms: 
Most facial balms contain caffeine, which will perk up tired skin.

5. Mouthwash: 
Alcohol inhibits the production of saliva, letting bad breath-causing bacteria flourish. Mouthwash has enzymes found in saliva and is alcohol-free.

6. Baking Soda: 
Booze performs an acid attack on your blood. Reverse the tissue acidosis by drinking 1tsp of bicarbonate of soda in fruit juice.

7. Red Bull: You need about 80 mgs of caffeine to combat fatigue; double that if it’s severe. Make Red Bull Sugar free your go-to; it has the ideal amount.

8. Coconut Water: 
Studies show that electrolyte-rich coconut water is as effective as sports drinks for rehydration, but it’s lower on the glycemic index, so you won’t get a blood sugar spike and crash.

Coconut water is something we have in abundance and is readily available for close to no cost. In the absence of a Hangover Heaven bus, coconut water should be our go-to hangover remedy. Take it liberally upon waking up and all throughout the day. Your hangover will be gone before you know it. I’ve tried it. It works.

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Thank you for your letters. You may reach me at cecilelilles@yahoo.com.