Alcohol and activated carbon. When and how to take activated charcoal

Often it happens that the evening gaiety with the use of alcoholic drinks replaces the terrible morning hangover with nausea and headache. Then we begin to think about how to remove these symptoms and bring ourselves to life, experiencing both folk remedies like brine, and widely advertised medications.

Why you should not trust people's methods and advertising

Practice shows that the use of folk methods and various "chemistry" is not justified. First, it is inefficient, and secondly, it is not safe. Brine, kvass or plain water does help with dehydration caused by the presence of alcohol in the blood, but they are not able to remove the products of its decay from the body, which, in fact, we are poisoned.

To consume medicines without consulting a doctor is all the more not worth it. Each of us has his own individual characteristics, and the means that help one, the other can significantly damage.

But there is one universal substance that does not represent any danger and is quite effective in combating alcohol poisoning and a hangover. The name for this wonderful medicine is activated charcoal. With alcohol poisoning, only he can really cleanse our body. In addition, his reception before using strong drinks can prevent the unpleasant consequences of this process.

What is activated carbon?

Activated carbon is a highly active sorbent obtained from carbonaceous substances (charcoal, petroleum coke, burnt shells of walnut and coconut, seeds of fruit and berry crops, etc.). The most qualitative is a product made from a coconut shell.

The process of production and activation of coal consists of three stages:

• Carbonization, i.e. firing in a special furnace without air, as a result of which its structure receives maximum porosity;
• Crushing into tiny particles;
• Chemical or vapor-gas cleaning from impurities.

What is the secret of activated carbon?

The fact is that alcohol and charcoal activated react, during which the latter neutralizes ethanol and promotes its removal from the body naturally. If alcohol has already decayed, and acetaldehyde is formed in the digestive system, causing a hangover, coal will absorb its molecules and bind, preventing them from penetrating into the blood. It is an excellent natural sorbent that absorbs toxins, salts of heavy metals, as well as active substances of narcotic drugs. That is why, for various types of poisoning, doctors, in addition to other drugs, prescribe activated carbon. Comments on its use in such situations are extremely positive. By the way, this natural medicine is able not only to remove alcoholic toxins from the body, but also to reduce the craving for alcohol.

Dosage forms

In pharmacies today you can find two types of drugs: tablets "Activated Carbon" and "White Coal". The first form is familiar to us all from childhood. These are ordinary black pills of 10 pcs. packaged. This medicine costs a penny and is sold in any pharmacy without a prescription.

But white coal appeared recently and is sold in the form of tablets, capsules and suspensions. It is also a natural sorbent, which additionally includes drugs that relieve the symptoms of headache, nausea and allergies.

Alcohol and charcoal activated white react much faster, so a hangover when taking this drug is faster.

Drinking before drinking alcohol

If you have a feast with the use of hot, you can prepare your body in advance, protecting and strengthening it with the help of coal tablets. Carbon compounds will slow the process of absorption of ethanol into the blood and minimize their harmful effects on the liver.

Activated carbon before drinking alcohol is consumed 3-4 hours. Dosage for an adult is 4-5 tablets (for white coal - 2 capsules). After 2-3 hours you can take 2 more pills (or one white) and one more immediately before the beginning of the feast.

It is also recommended to have a snack with hot fatty foods: meat, ham, fish, soups. Fat, which is in these products, will serve as an additional protector, "binding" alcohol and activated carbon. In this case, do not drink carbonated water, and mix different types of alcoholic beverages.

Coal for a hangover

If the hangover for some reason can not be avoided, try to cure it by taking all the same activated charcoal. How much it will take depends on the weight of your body. Usually take 1 tablet per 10 kg of weight. To speed up the cleaning effect, the pills must be crushed into powder and diluted with boiled water.

To treat a hangover with white coal you need to drink 2-3 pieces. This will be enough to neutralize toxins and to remove symptoms of poisoning.

Before taking the coal, it is recommended to empty the intestine. Otherwise, the cleaning process will not give the desired result.

Activated charcoal after alcohol is not recommended to drink in combination with other drugs, since the sorbent will negate all of their useful properties. In addition, he can enter into an undesirable reaction with certain chemicals that make up other drugs, and provoke the development of allergies.

Activated carbon: reviews

Almost everyone who used activated charcoal as a protective agent against alcohol toxins and drugs for hangovers reacts positively to this drug. In the first case, intoxication is felt quite differently, as usual, and it is much easier to bear. When taking this medication with a hangover, the main symptoms of the latter, such as headache, nausea and heaviness in the intestine, last a maximum of two hours.

The exception is patients with sensitive gastrointestinal mucosa, as well as people with allergies.

Activated charcoal has proved to be an excellent supplement for various diets. Proper nutrition in conjunction with cleaning the digestive tract gives good results. It is extremely undesirable to pass such courses independently, but under medical supervision - please.

About contraindications

The use of carbon tablets has virtually no contraindications, but those who suffer from peptic ulcer and gastrointestinal bleeding, it is better to abandon this method of treating a hangover. Although they prefer not to drink alcohol at all.

Advantages of activated charcoal before other means from a hangover

1. Completely natural product.
2. At observance of reception rules has high efficiency.
3. Can be used as a preventive agent.
4. Is on sale in any drugstore.
5. Can be used for other types of poisoning.
6. Absolutely safe and practically has no contraindications.
7. Low price.

Where else is activated carbon used

Given the unique properties of activated carbon, it would be foolish not to use it in other areas, except medicine. Mankind has long noticed its high purifying abilities, and the first mention of coal as an effective means of water purification is found in the Sanskrit writings of Ancient India. In ancient Egypt and Rome, it was also used as a filter for water and beverages. But only at the beginning of the twentieth century began its industrial production.

Today activated carbon is used for cleaning:

• Drinking water, including in household filters;
• Sewage sewage;
• Products of mining and metallurgical industry;
• Sulfur vapors, solvents, volatile carbon dioxide compounds emitted to the atmosphere by industrial enterprises;
• Oil and oil products;
• Air in ventilation systems, air conditioning and personal protective equipment;
• Alcoholic beverages.

It is noteworthy that activated carbon can be purified after use and reused for the same purposes. The point is that adsorption for him is a completely reversible process. Coal cleaning is carried out by means of special chemical and temperature treatments, as a result of which its structure gets rid of any contaminants.

Domestic alcohol and activated carbon

Activated charcoal was used in everyday life not only as a water purifier. It is successfully used for cleaning domestic alcoholic beverages, in particular moonshine. The sorption abilities of this substance perfectly cope with fusel oils - compulsory companions of domestic alcohol, collecting and absorbing them. Therefore, for several decades in a row, home distillers use activated charcoal to clean their drinks. Moonshine, passed through a carbon filter, becomes more transparent, and a specific smell disappears.

You can do without a filter, just throw in a container of alcohol several tablets at a rate of 10 pcs. For one liter, let it stand for a week, shaking daily, and the amount of brew in the drink will be reduced by half.