How To Cure A Hangover
OK, you drank too much last night, so now you need to know how to cure a hangover. What to do?
Start with a heavy dose of sleep, followed by water and juice. There are lots of folk medicine cure-alls which some say can be helpful if you have a hangover. Some may help by replenishing the fluids and vitamins that you lost overnight. And a lot of people say that avoiding caffeine will help you make a quicker recovery. No one system works for every person, but here are a few suggestions on how to cure a hangover.
Sleep. Sleep is your friend right now. You can forget your headache when you're asleep, and it gives your body a chance to recover. Unless you can work with a hangover, call in sick, and say you have the stomach flu. You'll sound like crap, so they'll probably believe you. Take some Vitamin B and a lot of water before you hit the sack.
Rehydrate your body with water and lots of fruit juice. Orange juice is the best as far as replenishing your vitamin C. Drinking a sports drink like Powerade or Gatorade will help rehydrate you, too.
Stay away from caffeine. It will counteract your efforts to rehydrate. You can drink decaf if you really need a cup of coffee. Contrary to old tales, coffee is not how to cure a hangover.
Eat lots of mineral-rich foods like canned fish, or pickles. They may not sound like something you'd want to eat right now, but they could help. In Poland, they even drink pickle juice – their version of how to cure a hangover.
Take a shower. Switch the water from hot to cold. The “logic” in this method is that the change in temperature will give your system something else to dwell on. In Ireland, if you ask how to cure a hangover, some people will tell you to bury the hung-over person up to their neck in wet river sand.
Try taking Alka-Seltzer Morning Relief. Some people say that this is the only thing that works on their hangovers.
Move around and get some exercise. This seems to counter the “sleep cures all” method, but some have found relief in drinking one or two liters of water and then going out for some vigorous exercise. Any type of exercise that keeps them sweating seems to clean them out, but watch out for further dehydration – take plenty of fluids along.
Try to stay away from OTC medications for your headache. Ibuprofen, Tylenol and aspirin can magnify the effects of the alcohol already in your system, and can cause liver damage, which you should probably already be worried about.