People drink alcohol for many reasons – to be sociable, to cheer up (even though alcohol is a depressant), to de stress. Some of the more negative effects of alcohol can include

• It can make you very ill
• It can affect your judgement
• Encourage you to take risks
• Too much can lead to serious health problems

Alcohol can make you lose your inhibitions, If you are not confident you may drinks to boost the way you feel about yourself. It can be far too easy to end up in a situation that you can’t control, or you may not realise what you are doing and the morning after you may not remember what you did.

Many people have casual drinks on a regular basis without it having a detrimental effect on their health. However if you feel that your drinking might be becoming a habit, you may face physical, financial and emotional problems. There are agencies that can help if you are feeling out of control – check out the links page for more information.

The recommended weekly alcohol limit is 3 – 4 units per day for men. One unit of alcohol is roughly equivalent to half a pint of beer or a small glass of wine or one measure of spirit. Spreading your units out over a week is the most sensible thing to do, don’t think that you can have your weekly allowance all in one go! If you often go over the limit you need to think about cutting down besides the embarassing situations you can find your self in. You may experience more long-term ill health such as liver, stomach, throat, kidney and heart problems

Everyone will have to suffer a hangover as a result of too much drink. There are many “cures” out there, here a few suggested ones – see what works for you.

• Sleep – Having a lie in will give your body time to recover.
• Water – Drinking too much alcohol can leave you feeling extremely dehydrated. No matter how drunk you are try and drink a pint of water before you go to bed, More when you wake up and regularly throughout the next day.
• Fruit Juice – Drinking fruit juice will help replace the lost vitamins. The fruit sugar will also boost your energy levels
• Paracetamol – if you wake up and feel like your head is about to explode, a couple of paracetamol with water will help reduce the pain. Stick to the stated dose though.

There are other well known cures like a fry up, more alcohol (also known as hair of the dog) and caffeine but this site is about health so we cant recommend you do those – obviously the choice is yours.