RAPID CITY, S.D. — The holiday season is a time for friends and family to gather and be merry. For many, holiday celebrations include a healthy dose of “holiday cheer”.
Whether it’s Yuletide eggnog or New Year’s champagne, many heads will be ringing the day after festivities are over. Winter holidays are filled with social events, like family dinners and workplace parties, which can often lead to drinking a bit more alcohol than usual.
The average American will drink twice the amount of alcoholic drink over the holidays than any other time of year. The increased holiday socializing may lead to three hangovers a week for the average American.
New Year’s Eve is a unifying holiday that is celebrated around the world. In the United States, New Year’s is an optimistic time filled with public celebrations and personal resolutions — and the last thing anyone needs is a headache that ruins the first morning of the new year.
Staying hydrated is key to both prepare for and recover from a hangover. Nic Yost, a nurse practitioner who owns and operates BeautyMed, medical spa in Rapid City, will work with you to find the right game plan before the holidays have a chance to drag you down.
Starting with a Pre-Game vitamin drip that will give you a boost of vitamins that are lost during a boozy night out. The Pre-Game prepares your body with vitamins —particularly B vitamins — and folic acid.
“When you can kind of pre-game the body, those things are going to be depleted,” says Yost. “Then it usually helps them not be depleted so quickly or as severely.”
If you find out the hard way that you can’t handle a crazy night out, Yost still has the thing for you. A Hangover Help vitamin drip will replenish the same things as the Pre-Game drip, but it can also be adjusted to help overcome a headache or nausea. While both drips will help replenish and hydrate your body, Yost says there are things you can do yourself to lessen the effects of a festive night.
“I think that some people think that since they’ve had IV fluids that they’re just safe,” Yost says. “I tell them they still need to pace themselves, they still need to hydrate orally. And they just need to drink safely — overindulgence, no matter what you do to pre-game it, is going to affect you.”
As you make plans with friends and family to celebrate the New Year, remember restraint and safe drinking. After all, hindsight is 2020.