Medically Reviewed by Dr P. E. Pancoast, MD
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Pedialyte is the top doctor-recommended brand of rehydration drinks. It’s been around for over 50 years.
Pedialyte contains key electrolytes that replenish your body. These include: Sodium, potassium, and chloride.10
In fact, pedialyte carries twice the electrolytes as other leading sports drinks. It also has two times less sugar. Sugar has been known to worsen dehydration symptoms.10
Pedialyte comes in liquid form, powder packets, and dissolvable tablets to put into your water. There are also frozen pedialyte popsicles.
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Yes, Pedialyte can help with hangovers. However, Pedialyte cannot completely cure your hangover. Most people with normally functioning kidneys do not need to supplement with extra electrolytes unless they have had significant electrolyte loss from vigorous exercise or dehydration. Healthy kidneys and a normal diet will filter out and retain all the necessary electrolytes.
Here are the truths about Pedialyte and hangovers:
Here are some myths about Pedialyte and hangovers:
There’s no beating around the bush: Hangovers can be miserable.
They generally happen when alcohol metabolism is complete. And they can take a toll on both your physical and mental health, as well as on your performance and productivity at school or work.
Symptoms of hangovers include, but are not limited to:5
Hangover symptoms can happen if you drink too much alcohol. The main problem with a hangover is dehydration. Alcohol may make you sweat more, urinate more, and even vomit.11 All of these can lead to dehydration.
When you are dehydrated, you may feel super thirsty and lightheaded.5
When you sweat, urinate, or vomit, you rid your body of key electrolytes — bicarbonate, potassium, sodium, chloride, calcium, and phosphate.11
These minerals are essential in moving water and fluids to where your body needs them and maintaining balance.
Moreover, alcohol triggers an immune system inflammatory response and causes your blood sugar to fall, which can make you feel weak.
It can also irritate the lining of your stomach since it increases the production of stomach acid.
Lastly, it can cause your blood vessels to expand, which can be the culprit behind hangover headaches.
Because you get poor sleep while drunk, you may also feel groggy while hungover.5
You should drink pedialyte as soon as you are feeling dehydrated or right when you wake up after a night of drinking alcohol.
You can also drink pedialyte before and while drinking to prevent a hangover. You should drink as much of it as your body needs to feel better.
Pedialyte is a great hangover aid. But pedialyte does have some side effects of its own.
For example, drinking pedialyte may cause you to feel nauseous, vomit, or have diarrhea with an upset stomach..9
Pedialyte, gatorade, and coconut water are all great ways to hydrate during a hangover. Like pedialyte, gatorade also contains key electrolytes that you lose when you sweat and urinate.3 But, Gatorade usually contains sugar, which is not typically desirable for your metabolism.
Coconut water is a natural option without all of the salt and high fructose corn syrup that may be in some sports drinks.8
It’s low in sugar and calories, making it a very healthy option. You can drink natural coconut water or store-bought coconut water.
All coconut water contains electrolytes like potassium, sodium, manganese, and phosphorus, but some may vary by brand.2 In fact, coconut water has even more potassium than a banana and 15 times more than sports drinks.8
Ultimately, time is the only truly effective hangover remedy and real cure for a hangover. You need to give your body time to process the alcohol and get rid of it.
Hangovers peak when your body’s blood alcohol concentration returns to about zero.6 Most hangovers will go away within 24 hours.4 If you have an especially bad hangover, it can take a little longer before you feel back to normal.
Fortunately, there are other ways to help treat hangovers. These include:4
There are always ways to prevent hangovers from being so bad in the first place. These include:
Again, while there is no magic hangover cure, there are steps you can take to better manage hangovers and prevent hangovers from happening. Drinking pedialyte is just one of them.
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