It’s the news we’ve been all waiting for, it turns out a couple of bevs can actually have some sort of medical benefit.
Medical researchers found that two alcoholic drinks can reduce pain by a quarter and is a more effective pain relief than paracetamol. And the more booze people drunk, the less discomfort they felt.
They said a blood alcohol content of approximately .08 per cent produced ‘a small elevation of pain threshold’ and a ‘moderate to large reduction in pain intensity ratings’.
And the reason? Well, experts are still trying to figure that out. It may be because it simply blunts the sensation of pain or the fact that booze reduces our anxiety, which then lowers our perception of pain.
Obviously just getting pissed isn’t the right answer to managing your pain, so the researchers are now hoping to harness its properties and make a drug with doesn’t cause other health issues.
Speaking to The Sun, Dr Trevor Thompson said:
We have found strong evidence that alcohol is an effective painkiller. It can be compared to opioid drugs such as codeine and the effect is more powerful than paracetamol.
If we can make a drug without the harmful side- effects then we could have something that is potentially better than what is out there at the moment.
However you look at this it can only be a great step forward in our understanding of pain and what we can do to combat it.
But in the meantime, bottoms up!