After throwing up from drinking, the most important thing is to stop drinking alcohol immediately, rest in an upright or side-lying position, and wait about 30 minutes before slowly sipping water. Your stomach lining is inflamed and your body is dehydrated, so the next several hours are about letting your digestive system calm down and gradually replacing lost fluids.
Why Alcohol Makes You Vomit
Alcohol directly irritates the lining of your stomach. It increases acid production and, at high doses, slows the rate at which your stomach empties. This combination creates a kind of acid bath that triggers nausea and eventually vomiting. Your body is essentially protecting itself by ejecting what it recognizes as a toxic amount of alcohol.
Repeated or forceful vomiting also puts stress on the junction between your esophagus and stomach. In severe cases, this can cause small tears in the tissue at the base of the esophagus, which may produce streaks of blood in your vomit. If you notice blood or dark, coffee-ground-like material, that needs medical attention right away.
The First 30 Minutes: Let Your Stomach Settle
Resist the urge to gulp water immediately after vomiting. Your stomach is still irritated and contracting, and flooding it with liquid too quickly can trigger another round. Wait about 30 minutes after your last episode of vomiting before taking your first sips. During this time, sit upright or lie on your side (never on your back) to reduce the risk of choking if you vomit again.
If you’re helping someone else, stay with them. Keep them awake and on their side, and monitor their breathing.
How to Rehydrate Without Triggering More Nausea
Once that 30-minute window has passed, start with small sips of plain water. Not gulps. A few sips every five to ten minutes is the right pace. If that stays down, you can gradually increase the amount.
After water is going down comfortably, switch to something with electrolytes. Sports drinks, broth, or oral rehydration solutions all work well because they replace the sodium and potassium you lost through vomiting. Avoid anything with a lot of sugar, including most fruit juices and sodas, since concentrated sugar can actually pull more water into your gut and make dehydration worse. Sip fluids slowly rather than drinking full glasses at once.
Eating After You’ve Been Sick
You probably won’t feel hungry for a while, and that’s fine. Don’t force food. When your appetite starts to return, usually a few hours later, stick to bland, soft foods that won’t further irritate your stomach. Good options include plain toast or crackers made with white flour, bananas, applesauce, plain rice, broth-based soup, eggs, or plain potatoes. These are easy to digest and unlikely to trigger more nausea.
Eat small amounts and chew slowly. Your stomach is still recovering from the inflammation alcohol caused, and large meals will make it work harder than it should. Avoid anything spicy, greasy, acidic (like citrus or tomato-based foods), or heavily seasoned until you feel fully back to normal. Coffee and other caffeinated drinks can also irritate an already-raw stomach lining, so hold off on those too.
Protect Your Teeth
This one catches people off guard: don’t brush your teeth right after vomiting. Stomach acid softens your tooth enamel, and scrubbing with a toothbrush while it’s in that softened state can wear it away. Instead, rinse your mouth with water mixed with a small pinch of baking soda to neutralize the acid. Wait at least 30 minutes before brushing.
Pain Relief: What’s Safe and What Isn’t
If you have a pounding headache the next morning, be careful about what you reach for. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) combined with alcohol can cause serious liver damage, because your liver is already working overtime processing the alcohol. Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) and aspirin are easier on the liver but can irritate your stomach, which is already inflamed from the alcohol and vomiting.
If you need something for the headache, ibuprofen is generally the safer choice of the two, but take it with food and water to buffer your stomach. The best headache remedy, though, is continued hydration and rest.
Sleep and Rest
Sleep is one of the most effective things you can do. Your body repairs tissue and processes remaining toxins more efficiently while you rest. If you’re going to sleep, make sure you’re on your side in case you vomit again during the night. Place a pillow behind your back to keep yourself from rolling over. Keep water within arm’s reach so you can sip when you wake up.
Expect to feel rough for anywhere from 12 to 24 hours. Hangover symptoms typically peak the morning after drinking, when your blood alcohol has dropped back to zero but your body is still dealing with the inflammatory aftereffects and dehydration.
Signs That Need Emergency Help
Most alcohol-induced vomiting, while miserable, resolves on its own. But alcohol poisoning is a medical emergency that can look like a bad night of drinking until it becomes life-threatening. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, you should call emergency services if you or someone else shows any of these signs:
- Breathing changes: fewer than 8 breaths per minute, or gaps of 10 seconds or more between breaths
- Skin changes: bluish or very pale skin, or skin that feels cold and clammy
- Consciousness problems: confusion, inability to stay awake, or not responding when you try to wake them
- Seizures
- No gag reflex: this means the body can no longer protect itself from choking on vomit
Don’t assume someone will “sleep it off.” Blood alcohol can continue rising even after a person stops drinking, because alcohol in the stomach is still being absorbed. If anything about the situation feels wrong, call for help.
The Quick Recovery Checklist
- 0 to 30 minutes after vomiting: Stop drinking alcohol. Sit upright or lie on your side. Don’t eat or drink anything yet. Rinse your mouth with water and baking soda.
- 30 minutes to 2 hours: Begin small sips of water. Gradually switch to an electrolyte drink or broth. Avoid sugary drinks.
- 2 to 6 hours: If fluids are staying down, try small amounts of bland food. Continue sipping fluids. Rest or sleep on your side.
- The next day: Keep eating bland, easy-to-digest meals. Stay hydrated. Avoid caffeine, greasy food, and alcohol. If pain relief is needed, choose ibuprofen over acetaminophen, and take it with food.