How to Get Rid of a Hangover
"I will never drink again!" So says anyone who who has been drinking the night before, and woke up the next morning with a hammering headache and a stomach rolling around like an old sneaker spinning in a washing machine. 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.
[edit] Steps
- Drink one large glass of water (for dehydration) and one large glass of Gatorade/powerade/athletic beverage (for electrolytes and some sugar). It may be easier to handle if it's slightly warm, and don't replace water with a drink containing alcohol in this step!
- Make a nice, hot bowl of chicken soup, as soon as you have overcome the queasiness. This soup will help replace the salt and potassium, the body loses salt and potassium when you have been drinking.
- Get Clean- take a shower, brush your teeth, etc. Being and FEELING clean will do wonders.
- Get moving. Though you'll want to stay in bed, take a quick walk around your street. A walk by the sea is thought to be especially helpful, possibly because of the fresh air, or the calming ocean sound. You could even take your dog who has had hardly any sleep all night, because you came back around 3am, talking at the top of your voice.
- Fruit can help restore nutrition, especially bananas, which contain potassium.
- Drink some sort of fruit juice, it contains simple sugar fructose, which speeds up the metabolism of alcohol.
[edit] Tips
- One trick to try - remember to drink a glass of water for every 1 or 2 drinks.
- NOTE: Excessive water intake in a small time frame can kill you. If you drink a half a case of beer, do not chug 18 Cups of water. Incorporate juices or sports beverages into your hydration plan. (See Warnings Section)
- Do not take ibuprofen or Tylenol before going to bed. These drugs are activated and metabolized by the liver which, while busy processing the alcohol in your blood, can be damaged by the drugs.
- Drinking lots of liquid or replenishing drinks such as Gatorade before falling asleep can help you avoid dehydration, which is a major contributor to a hangover. (Grape juice is not recommended, however. It's rough coming back up.)
- Hangovers are due to the loss of vitamins/nutrients in the body. To reduce this, try to take some multi-vitamins before you go to bed and once again when you wake up. And drink water...lots of water.
- If you find that you can not keep anything down, wait about an hour after you vomit to give your stomach time to settle. Then nibble on saltine crackers and sip Vernors or any other ginger ale. Works every time!
- Waking up in the morning miserable and sprinting for the toilet is never fun. Drink two tablets of Alka Seltzer with water, it will ease the nausea as well as squash a pounding head ache. Then take a nap; you'll feel much better!
- Try eating a cracker or an English muffin with honey before you retire for the night. The high fructose level in the honey will break down the alcohol in your blood, allowing it to be processed more quickly.
- Eat a breakfast sandwich! They work wonders, if it contains eggs. Eggs contain enzymes that combat the toxic by-products of alcohol being metabolized by the liver.
- Try to get as much sleep as possible-- your body will thank you.
- Eating a Peanut Butter Sandwich before you start drinking can be very helpful-- it tastes the same going down as it does coming back up.
- Honey coats the inside of the stomach and aides in digestion. Honey can sometimes destroy the upset stomach feeling instantly. After market honey that isn't from a normal grocery store usually has a greater impact.
[edit] Warnings
- Even without treatment, a hangover should last no more than 24 hours. If you're still feeling bad after that, call a doctor. Of course, 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.
- Avoid taking too much pain reliever - it may possibly thin your blood more than it's good for you!
- Expect to get up in the middle of the night for a nice long pee after drinking all that water.
- 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.
- Don't take Tylenol! The combination of alcohol and Tylenol causes liver damage. You can seriously fry your liver if you take Tylenol when you have alcohol in your system.
- Try not to get a hangover in the first place! Drink carefully and responsibly, and hopefully you'll never have to use these tips.
- It should be noted that excessive consumption of water can lead to hyponatremia (extremely low salt levels in the body), which can kill you. As little as 2 quarts of water consumed at one time can cause this. It would be best to use both water and sport drinks, so electrolyte levels are maintained.
[edit] Things You'll Need
- Water
- Dinner before/during drinking & breakfast in the morning.
- Honey
- Antioxidants
- Sleep
- veggies and fruit.
- vitamins










