Hangover Heaven: Vegas Business Vows To Cure Your Sore Head In Just An Hour - But Will It Encourage Binge Drinking?

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 9/04/2012 15:07 Updated: 17/04/2012 11:35

Hangovers can be your very own version of hell. Waves of nausea, crippling dehydration and the nagging suspicion you might have to dash to the bathroom yet again.

We’ve tried the potions, pills and home remedies too (UK saviours seem to be bacon sandwiches and Alka Selzter), we’ve uttered the words “never again” but some of us keep going back there.

And one company has come up with an excellent reason for us to keep on doing that. Should you find yourself with a sore head in Las Vegas, help is at hand in the form of Hangover Heaven.

For introductory prices starting at just $90 (£56), you can hop on the company's bus (which handily stops at all the big hotels and casinos) where you’ll be administered with an IV containing anti-nausea and inflammatory medicines and vitamins. Within an hour you’ll be right as rain, so they say.

Starting this month, the company will launch a VIP service that will see “an actual doctor” attend your hotel room, should you be too wrecked to make your way downstairs to the bus stop.

All the medications and equipment are approved by the FDA – although the website does warn of the possibility of allergic reactions.

So it’s safe and it’s legal. But doesn’t this simply encourage binge drinking?

Huffington Post UK asked Hangover Heaven MD Jason Burke, who says he is the first hangover specialist in the United States.

Dr Burke said: “I contend that people are going to drink to the point they normally would. There is a certain level of inebriation that people like to attain when partying. After a few drinks, people really do not think about hangovers, but more about the level of their intoxication.

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"Here in Las Vegas, people usually lose track of time and how much they have had to drink. That is the thing about alcohol, it removes sensibility and reason. People are here to vacation and forget their worries. The purpose of Hangover Heaven is to give people their day of vacation back, rather than languishing in their hotel room because they accidentally drank too much.

"People that I have treated have not ended up becoming binge drinkers. It generally has been the case that they lost track of how much they had to drink during the course of the night and ended up with a hangover.

"The situation that I know happens here frequently is: Somebody comes to Vegas from out of the country. They have been on a plane for 15 hours and are dehydrated when they hit Las Vegas. They get here at 2pm and have a number of drinks at the casino while gambling. They then continue the party at one of the numerous nightclubs here in town, dancing and partying. They turn in around 4am and have been drinking and partying for about 12 to 14 hours straight without drinking much water. They wake up at 11am and feel like they want to curl up and die. Why should they suffer all day?"

A bleary-eyed man named 'Alex' appears in a short film on the firm's website. He recounts having "at least 30 drinks" at his hotel before revealing he woke up with a dustbin next to his bed and a savage hangover.

Describing the treatment, he said: "It’s a cold tingly feeling. I feel great. You feel refreshed you feel crisp. You’re on the ball, you're not sluggish. I feel great.

"My hangover is absolutely gone. I have zero hangover. No more nausea, no headache. I feel refreshed. I’m ready to go back out."

A Hangover Heaven disclaimer states: “Drink in moderation. Alcohol overdose can kill you and Hangover Heaven cannot reverse death. Do not drink more than you should because you think Hangover Heaven can bring you back to life. It cannot. Our buses can work magic, but they cannot bring you back from the dead.”

But before you book that ticket, here are some sage words from our very own NHS: "Hangover cures are generally a myth. There are no cures for a hangover. There are tips for avoiding hangovers and for easing the symptoms if you have one. The best way to avoid a hangover is not to drink. If you decide to drink, do it sensibly and within the recommended limits."

According to figures from the Office of National Statistics, in 2010 there were 8,790 alcohol-related deaths in the UK, 126 more than in 2009 (8,664).

2009 figures from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention list the number of alcoholic liver disease related deaths in the United States as 15,183. There were 24,518 alcohol-induced deaths excluding accidents and homicides.

From pickled herring and tripe soup to acidic plums - take a look at these unusual hangover cures from around the world.

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  • Bizarre Hangover Cures From Around The World

  • Germany: Pickled Herring

    Pickled or marinated herring is what the Germans call their KaterFrühstück, which means 'hangover breakfast'. Pickled herring is made by wrapping a fillet of herring around chunks of onion and sliced gherkin.

  • Rome: Deep Fried Canaries

    Although this hangover cure isn't used anymore (well, we hope not anyway!), it was popular with the Ancient Romans. According to Urban Legends, the Romans deep-fried canary birds using hot oil, salt and pepper, to help ease their sore heads.

  • Poland: Sour Pickle Juice

    Pickled juice from the jars of pickled vegetables and fish is what the Polish drink when trying to bash their hangover. They believe its high levels of electrolytes help repair the liver damage after one too many beverages and are just as hydrating as water.

  • USA: Prairie Oyster

    The go-to hangover cure for most Americans, the prairie oyster is made of tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and raw egg. This unsavoury drink is designed to be drank quickly as it doesn't taste very nice. Some like to add a touch of the 'hair of the dog' and add a splash of alcohol in it.

  • Romania: Tripe Soup

    The stomach lining of a cow (tripe) is enough to make your stomach turn, but in Romania, it's the perfect way to cure a hangover. The edible offal is boiled in a salty, greasy broth and eaten in a soup, complete with cream, garlic and onions.

  • Japan: Pickled Plums

    These small, red and seriously sour 'umeboshi' plums are a popular post-drinking remedy in Japan. In contrast to the sweet version, these have been pickled in acidic vinegar. If brave enough, Japanese eat them whole or put them in their green tea to allow the salty flavours to infuse into the liquid.

  • Mexico: Shrimps

    When Mexicans are feeling rough the next day after a night on the tiles, they eat 'Vuelva a la Vida' foods, which means 'return to life'. These include shrimps - and plenty of them. The most popular hangover dish is a zesty shrimp salad.

  • Namibia: Buffalo Milk

    This concoction is Namibia's key to curing a hangover after a long night's boozing. However, despite its name, it doesn't contain buffalo's milk. Instead it's an alcoholic cocktail of clotted cream, dark rum, cream liqueur, spiced rum and whole cream. These 'hair of the dog' ingredients are mixed together to make a curdled beverage, which is believed to numb hangover symptoms - or just get you drunk again.

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Hangovers can be your very own version of hell. Waves of nausea, crippling dehydration and the nagging suspicion you might have to dash to the bathroom yet again. We’ve tried the potions, pills ...
Hangovers can be your very own version of hell. Waves of nausea, crippling dehydration and the nagging suspicion you might have to dash to the bathroom yet again. We’ve tried the potions, pills ...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Foucek
I don't speak TROLL
07:39 on 18/06/2012
Great to see a doc dedicating his life to the truly ill-you hear that you pediatric hospice patients..??
06:53 on 18/06/2012
Will many visitors have £56 left for treatment after they've paid a fortune to get a hangover in the first place? I certainly couldn't afford to get drunk in Vegas!
21:36 on 05/06/2012
The besshht crua, cura, cure fur ahangshover isha hair og the dawg. The bigger the dawg the better. Besht a peeraneen mounten dawg. What was the question again?
21:33 on 05/06/2012
Yeat another first for the Huffington Post!!! No wonder they are an online news outlet if they were a paper they would never sell a single copy. AOL get rid of them
17:03 on 05/06/2012
Usually a hangover is the result of having drunk too much. The natural way to overcome this
is not to drink too much. Self control of mind would overcome desire unmeasured. Too much drinking can be habit forming and when trapped with it can take years to be free of the habit.
12:43 on 05/06/2012
Take ecstasy instead. I do. No hangover, no violence, no calories. Very small risks v alcohol. A much better drug for everyone.
16:53 on 05/06/2012
What do you do when you run out of toilet paper, though, you know what I'm saying?
17:40 on 05/06/2012
No I don't.
22:47 on 05/06/2012
I have a friend who is now in a mental hospital after taking E!
11:43 on 05/06/2012
What a load of crap,people deserve to have problems if they cant control their drinking habits,let them suffer I say,and live a short life.
They are a worry to their families who they care sod all about abusive to them,they spend money which is much needed in the home,a danger to the public,and they are a pain to our hospital services,bad behaviour and abuse.
22:18 on 05/06/2012
Come on now, no sitting on the fence. Just say what you mean.
22:32 on 05/06/2012
Ha! Ha! I do.People think drinking solves their problems,but they never go away,will power and gutts work though.Some have neither,sadly.
10:46 on 05/06/2012
Drinking alcohol has killed millions and millions of people. Wet brains, damaged livers, drunk drivers, vile behaviour to other humans and to themselves. Broken families, Booze in wits out!
Get a grip!
09:44 on 05/06/2012
Only in America, where nobody can do ANYTHING for themselves!
£56 to cure a hangover in an hour - the same thing that a pint of water, 2 tablets and another hour in bed would do. Nooooo, much better to take your chances with a bunch of fake medics, dodgy needles, questionable IV cocktail (and a possible allergic reaction?) and lie on a bus for an hour. Still, if you want to make money out of gullible people, Vegas would be the place to do it.
08:26 on 05/06/2012
Everything comes at a price.
best leave the stuff alone or drink in moderation
08:12 on 05/06/2012
Here's a foolproof cure for a hangover - don't drink too much. I've used it for years and never had a hangover once. As a bonus it also stops you making a tit of yourself.
12:37 on 05/06/2012
How can one possibly gauge how much of a tit one really is unless one gets drunk at least once to find out? I feel positively royal using all of those "ones".
04:47 on 05/06/2012
Hang overs terrify me. It means I'm sober.
00:49 on 05/06/2012
Do we need Hangover Heaven? I think in general most people drink just so they can talk about their hangovers. If they wakeup without one, was it a goodnight? Know your limits...
This comment has been removed.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
lillian12130
18:12 on 03/06/2012
don't drink Alcohol and you wont suffer from a hangover, simples
Kraptonfactor
They're coming to take me away ha ha, hee hee, ho
20:49 on 03/06/2012
Nothing worse than a smug meerkat.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
PhilEssex
Statistically, 6 out of 7 dwarves are not happy.
21:24 on 03/06/2012
Simples! :)
23:05 on 03/06/2012
Nothing worse than a talking Meerkat that keeps saying simples.
13:52 on 03/06/2012
take an anti inflamitory before drinking, then a couple of bottles of sports energy drink after, hey presto cure, why spend more money than needed