On Tiktok, young people drink a large glass of the red-brown liquid Elotrans after an alcohol night. The remedy, which is supposed to balance the electrolyte balance, has since been sold out in many places. Social media has made it popular as a hangover remedy.
For example, Bavarian pharmacies are struggling with delivery problems with the diarrhea drug. “It’s completely sold out, you have no chance of getting it,” said Christian Pacher from the Südapotheke in Ingolstadt. He orders from three wholesalers, but the drug is currently not available anywhere. Several pharmacists in Bavaria confirm the observations, and the drug is usually sold out online. The remedy is a sugar-salt solution and is intended to balance the body’s electrolyte balance with minerals.
The Bavarian Association of Pharmacists speaks of an increased demand for about one and a half to two months. There could still be delivery bottlenecks, said association spokesman Thomas Metz.
For weeks, the over-the-counter drug from the Hessian pharmaceutical company Stada has been traded on social media as an anti-hangover drug. In the ratings for Elotrans on online shops, there is often talk of taking it before or during the party night.
Thomas Metz from the Association of Pharmacists criticized the misappropriation. “It’s just not legal for that.” It should be there for those who need it because they’re sick. In addition, the drug can also have side effects.
According to doctors, Elotrans can balance the electrolyte balance, but other processes in the body are responsible for a hangover after drinking alcohol, which the mineral solution cannot do anything about. Alcohol is now a poison.
On the drug’s own Instagram account, the manufacturer promised that they were working on expanding production capacities. An improvement is expected in the fall, it said. “The market and the amount could not be foreseen,” said pharmacist Christian Pacher. In general, the pharmacist criticized excessive dependence on Asian active ingredient manufacturers. Accordingly, drug supply chains could not be adjusted quickly enough.