Quinine poisoning

[majjan]

Having decided to avoid drinking alcohol since last May for numerous reasons, I quite often drink tonic water with ice and lemon to avoid the usual 'your not just drinking a soft drink?' routine. Can you get enough quinine from drinking 12 small bottles to give you mind poisoning and make you feel like you've got a hangover?

[alijangra]

Not sure if you meant 'mind' or 'mild' poisoning? Anyway, to answer your question, there is a condition called Cinchonism which is more associated with therapeutic doses of Quinine (eg for Malaria or cramps) but it is not unknown for this to be caused by the drinking of tonic water over prolonged periods. The symptoms of this condition are nausea and vomiting, headache, dizziness, vertigo (there are more but I cannot remember) so certainly could feel like a hangover. This condition is largely reversible on withdrawal of the quinine source. Could be that you are just particularly sensitive to quinine. If you feel this happening again, you should maybe think about trying a different drink.