Get Rid of a Hangover

"I will never ever drink again!" So says anyone who has been drinking the night before, and wakes up the next morning with a pounding headache and a rolling stomach. While the drinking might have been fun, the hangover the next morning is nothing to laugh about. Here are some tips to help you cure the hangover.

Steps

 * 1) Take steps to prevent a hangover before and during drinking. There are plenty of factors that can affect how severe your hangover might be, such as how much you drink, at what rate, what you eat or drink before and while consuming alcohol, what kinds of drinks you have, and how much water you consume along with the booze.  See How to Prevent a Hangover for more details.
 * 2) Drink plenty of water during and after drinking. Staying hydrated is critically important. This will help ease any symptoms of dehydration, which often goes hand in hand with a hangover.
 * 3) Eat absorbent foods. Complex carbs like toast, cereal, bread and crackers to absorb the alcohol, boost your blood sugar, and settle your stomach.
 * 4) Have bouillon soup to restore salt and potassium.
 * 5) Have food or drinks that contain fructose to help you burn the alcohol faster. Eating fruits and drinking fruit juice might make you feel better. A 1976 study suggests, however, that while fructose eases the metabolic effects of alcohol, it might not ease the symptoms of a hangover.
 * 6) Try eating a bacon sandwich. A 2009 UK study found that bacon sandwiches helped drinkers recover from hangovers.
 * 7) Be careful when taking a pain reliever for a headache. Aspirin can irritate your stomach further. Ibuprofen taken with a pint of water before going the sleep the night before will counter the pain without risk of overdose or further irritation, but note that ibuprofen has been linked with muscle deterioration if taken too much over time or before exercise.
 * 8) *Acetaminophen (found in Tylenol, Excedrin and many other OTC pain relievers) can cause liver damage when it interacts with alcohol in your system. Avoid it.

Unverified Remedies
While the steps section above lists hangover cures that have some scientific verification, many people have their own cures they swear by. Note that there is no scientific evidence that these home remedies work and they may even be harmful:


 * Smoke Marijuana - Allegedly this is one way to get rid of a hangover, as it completely gets rid of nausea, headaches, and it also makes you hungry so you can actually eat without vomiting. It's illegal in many countries, but the use and possession of it is tolerated in many jurisdictions. Check the law books before trying this one.
 * The homeopathic remedy Nux Vomica has been associated with hangover relief.
 * Prickly pear juice may reduce hangovers. Drink a tablespoon a few hours prior to drinking alcohol.  Studies involving it have shown that C-reactive proteins (which are released by the liver to combat inflammation) are 40% lower when prickly pear juice is consumed, indicating that the inflammation caused by alcohol consumption is considerably reduced.
 * Before going to sleep, drink at least 32 oz. of water and take 1-2 multi-vitamins. The water eases the dehydration and the vitamins replace many of the vital nutrients lost during the dehydration process.
 * Take an effervescent Berroca or vitamin C tablet when you wake up.
 * A banana will also help lift your mood and replace lost minerals. (The banana replaces much of the lost potassium.)
 * Prairie oyster, a drink consisting of a raw egg, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce, with the egg yolk unbroken, and add salt and pepper. This is to be drunk in one gulp.

Tips

 * These steps will help unpleasant symptoms go away faster, but there are really only two true cures for a hangover - abstinence or time.
 * When all else fails, go to bed in a dark room and sleep it off.
 * Get up and get moving around the next day. Practice deep breathing. A part of the hangover is the slow breathing, and the low absorption of oxygen during the night. The brain is starved for oxygen it needs to process and recover from the toxins. This is why a long walk in fresh air after drinking, in a safe area, helps the brain start to recover, and the hangover isn't so pronounced.

Warnings

 * Even without treatment, a hangover should last no more than 24 hours. If you're still feeling bad after that, call a doctor. If you can't remember what happened while you were drinking, or if you get hangovers on a regular basis, you may have a drinking problem. Call your doctor to discuss treatment options.
 * The "hair of the dog" approach or drinking more alcohol in the morning has been shown to be ineffective at curing the root problems and could well be a shortcut to long term alcoholism. It's best avoided.
 * Be extremely careful taking any type of pain-reliever (especially acetaminophen) until after you are sober and the hangover is gone. Otherwise, you may get irreversible liver damage or poison yourself (possibly leading to death).

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Prevent a Hangover
 * How to Get Sober with a 12 Step Program
 * How to Improve Your Tolerance to Alcohol
 * How to Select a Bottle of Wine