Thai Health Min recommends drinking warm water to treat hangovers

[scotchonrocks]

Grandma fishwife remedies from the Ministry of Health.

Great way to connect with the people and ensure there is no impact on the road toll.

For those that survived the long drive home totally pissed, the health ministry now have a solution for you. Jim'll fix it Prayut disciples to your rescue!I

Omg I cannot believe I'm reading this bs!

[bluesofa]

The best way to treat a hangover is to not drink at all

Then you wouldn't have a hangover to be able to treat.

[bluesofa]

I see in today's Bangkok Post, there's an article concerning a group against drink driving:

"A poor Thai attitude was the real cause of the high number of road fatalities over Songkran, said Don't Drive Drink Foundation secretary-general Tairjing Siriphanich."

I genuinely wonder if that group's name is correct or a mis-prit? "Don't Drive Drink"

It sounds more like an instruction to an alcoholic to me: Don't drive, drink.

[kimamey]

If you read mine you'll notice that I was replying to the post by attrayant where it was suggested that the drinking of water could help in the case of a hangover was pseudoscience. I pointed out that it was fairly common advice in normal medical circles in the West.

Just to be clear, that is not what I said. It's always good to stay hydrated, regardless of what ails you. By all means, stay hydrated when you've got the flu. But water is not going to treat the underlying cause or even reduce the symptoms. Lack of water might worsen your misery, though. Likewise when you're drunk, water won't make you any less drunk. Lack of water might increase your suffering, but that doesn't mean water is a "treatment" for intoxication.

And remembering that this came from the Ministry of Health, they should have known better. Furthermore, I refuse to grant any language barrier handicap. A country's chief medical officer should be, at a minimum, functionally capable if not fluent in English. If he's not, how is he supposed to be staying up-to-date on medical journals and research?

I can't remember the last time I had a hangover but it will have been many decades ago so I can't claim personal experience. Neither am I a doctor. Bearing this in mind I checked a few websites including this one from the NHS.

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/alcohol/Pages/Hangovers.aspx

Since as you say yourself lack of water may 'worsen your misery' and 'increase your suffering' what would you suggest is the best way to counteract that? My advice would be to drink water which is exactly what's being suggested.

As for for staying up to date on journals and research and the use of the word 'treat' I think you're looking at this from a English language based perspective.

Although most of the technical terminology would be in English it's possible for technical translators to convert to another language. Do you think that all those books that aren't in English that are read by doctors when they're training in other countries are wrong?

Even if his English were perfect how likely is it that the Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand would issue a statement in Thailand to people who will predominantly be Thai nationals whose first language will be Thai, in English? I suspect it was issued in Thai and then translated by someone else, probably someone at the National News Bureau of Thailand who I doubt care much about accuracy.

When Thai institutions issue statements they're mostly, although not always directed at Thai speakers even though it sometimes looks as if they're designed primarily for us on TV to give us a laugh.

One thing I think we're all agreed on is that the best advice is not to drink too much of you don't want a hangover and not at all if your driving. If you do drink a lot you need to give time for the alcohol to get out of your system before driving.