It is embarrassing to have bad breath, especially the alcohol odor that makes you smell bad. It’s annoying for others to smell your alcohol breath.
The alcohol on your breath gets stronger when you have over-drunk. A rule of thumb is that your body can process alcohol at the rate of one standard drink per hour. The body takes time to metabolize the alcohol and lessen the smell of alcohol.
You may want to cover up the smell of booze as you have to go to an event. There are a few simple solutions that can help you get rid of the smell of alcohol.
The burn-off rate for alcohol is about 0.015 grams per hour. Using that rate, if you have a 0.16 breath alcohol content (BAC), it would take roughly 10 hours for the alcohol to metabolize out of your body.
Can you fully cover up alcohol breath? You really can’t! If alcohol is in your blood, it will be excreted from your lungs.
After you drink alcohol, there is no way to cover up the smell of alcohol completely, but you can lessen it to some extent.
Traditionally followed ways to mask the smell of alcohol include:
- Eating or drinking certain substances
- Refreshing and cleaning yourself
- Take precautions to avoid drunken breath
Let us see these methods in detail to learn how to cover up alcohol breath.
1. Food And Drinks That Get Rid Of Alcohol Breath
Some common foods and drinks with strong scents may conceal the unpleasant smell of alcohol for some time. Some of the more popular options are:
Garlic and onion
Chewing a few grams of garlic or onion regularly will suppress the smell of other foods, alcoholic drinks, and smoking. Strong scents of onion or garlic overshadow the alcohol breath immediately.
Eating and drinking before and after
Eat food and drink water before and while you consume the alcohol. Dehydration increases the foul smell of the liquor from your body. Food absorbs alcohol and produces more saliva. It is good to have nuts, popcorn, chips, or meat with alcohol. Hydrating your body well after drinking is very important.
Chew gum or use mouth fresheners
Chewing gum and using mouth fresheners help to salivate your mouth. This helps reduce alcohol breath. Sour-flavored chewing gum or mouth fresheners with mint are excellent for excess saliva production. Of course, they do not completely mask the odor of alcohol. Because blood vessels in the lungs continue to leech alcohol into the air you breathe.
Drink water, coffee, or juice
Alcohol breath can be reduced by drinking water, coffee, or juice frequently. They help to hydrate the body and promote salivation. They also increase urination, leading to a faster expulsion of alcohol from your body.
By drinking a cup of coffee or two, the strong smell of coffee may temporarily suppress your booze breath.
2. Refreshing and Cleaning Up To Prevent Alcohol Breath
Not only does your breath smell of alcohol, but it also emanates from sweat and pores. The leftover food particles and saliva deposits in your mouth and tooth gaps also give out the smell.
Let’s look at ways to clean yourself up to keep the booze smell at bay.
Brush your teeth
Saliva and food particles in your mouth can retain the smell of alcohol after a drink. Proper oral care is the best way to keep your breath fresh and clean.
Brushing your teeth helps scrub out such deposits. It is pleasant to use strong-smelling toothpaste that contains menthol. This not only reduces the smell of alcohol breath but also keeps your teeth free of dangerous bacteria. It is also critical to clean your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
Floss
After ingesting alcohol, food particles diluted with alcohol stay lodged between your teeth. This makes your mouth smell like alcohol. So, it is necessary to floss your teeth.
Mouthwash
Mouthwash helps to freshen the mouth and eliminate bacteria. Gargling or rinsing with mouthwash eliminates foul breath and covers up alcohol breath. Gargle with mouthwash for 30 seconds, spit it into the sink, and then rinse with water.
Breath perfume
Mouth sprays or herbal chews may help to perfume away foul smells from your mouth. Good herbal mouth fresheners include fennel, green cardamom, roasted coriander, rose-petal marmalade, mint, and betel leaves. Over-the-counter herbal mouth sprays may help eliminate alcohol breath.
Shower or bathÂ
Besides breath, the smell of alcohol also emerges from the pores of your skin and sweat. To remove alcohol body odor, you should take a cleansing shower. Use strong-smelling soaps, shampoos, and conditioners to reduce the smell of alcohol. After the shower, you may use an antiperspirant body powder or spray to stop sweating.
3. Precautionary Steps to Avoid The Smell Of Alcohol
There is no disagreement about the fact that prevention is better than cure. If you wish to enjoy an alcoholic drink but want to be free of its foul smell, take the necessary precautions before drinking.
Drink liquor without strong scents
If you wish to drink and yet avoid the smell of booze, then drink only neutral-smelling drinks like vodka or herbal digestifs. They do not produce as many foul odors as whiskey or rum do.
Avoid overdrinking
Binge drinking increases the alcohol scent on your breath. Drink moderately in small shots. Do not drink to get drunk or be inebriated.
Don’t mix drinks
All drinks are not the same in smell or their effect on the body. Alcohol odor can worsen when you drink a mix of beer, whiskey, rum, and others. If you stick to one type of alcohol, the scent of alcohol will be less noticeable on your breath.  Sticking to one drink will make your breath smell a bit better.
Increase the metabolization
You can expedite the metabolization of alcohol in your body. The faster alcohol gets out of your system, the sooner your breath will be free of the booze smell. Eat leafy greens and fruits, and hit the gym after hydrating.
The Final ThoughtÂ
Honestly, there is no way to hide alcohol breath completely. A breathalyzer alcohol test can detect alcohol for up to 24 hours.
If someone is bothered by your booze breath smell, apologize to him and move on. You don’t need to worry about a little alcohol smell; you are an adult.
What is important is drinking moderately and avoiding strong-smelling alcohol. Do not drink to get drunk lest you give yourself a chance to act like a buffoon in the crowd and cut a sorry figure of yourself.
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