A home remedy or wive's tale in which one attempts to ease a hangover by having a small amount of the alcohol which caused the situation.

This remedy is purported to have its origins in a medieval cure for animal bites that involved a potion made with a bit of the animal's hair.


Getting drunk to cure the hangover for getting drunk the day before is an idea, the value of which decreases exponentially with age. And let's not kid ourselves about the "hair of the dog" deal; it just means, "Hell, I feel so bad that getting drunk again is my only option."

For instance, at 18, you may find that you can partake of the hair of the dog that bit you for up to 5 days in a row before you come crashing down to forced sobriety. At age 30, you may find that the number of days is down to 3. At 40, you will probably have decided that getting drunk is a stupid idea in the first place.

My advice would be to leave the cursed demon of drink alone if you find that you like to imbibe to the point of needing the hair of that damn dog.

One of the aspects of hangover is the disorientation and dizziness. The reason for this aspect of the hangover is quite simple, the density of the fluid in the inner ear (the semicircular canals) which helps us maintain our equilibrium and balance has changed from when we last remember it. This is because alcohol (having a different density than the normal fluid) has entered the canals.

When getting drunk it is a gradual process that we often are not aware of. It is the awakening the next day where the fluid is back to normal and we last remember it in our most intoxicated state that things get confusing.

Having the "hair of the dog" restores the liquid to a density more similar to what was last remembered which is then gradually purged from our system and the balance gradually returns to normal. Drinking a Bloody Mary ora a Red Eye are often prefered forms of the dog.

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