What's your tried and true hangover cure?

Question

I've got a few but none seem to be working today... ouch.

I'm sure it was that last vodka and soda that did it. 'One for the road' always seems like such a good idea at the time...

Answer 1

Most hangover "remedies" simply attend to one or more of the symptoms and don't really provide a cure as such. The hangover won't stop until the alcohol is out of your system:


Berocca - Puts the vitamin B back in, as well as the big glass of water it's mixed with. It's probably best to do this before you go out.
Coke - Fizz for the nausea, liquid for the dehydration, and a caffeine and sugar hit to make you feel a bit more lively.
Coffee - Same as Coke but without the bubbles to help ease the nausea. Try it with honey instead of sugar since the fructose is absorbed quicker than the sucrose in normal sugar, and it's better for you.
Ginseng - It's been noted that since caffeine is a diuretic like alcohol, it can actually make the dehydration worse, so try the herbal equivalent instead.
Vegemite On Toast - Something in your stomach is good, and salty is even better. Plus you get a Vitamin B top up. The same reasons also make peanut butter a good choice, but the oily nature might make some sensitive stomachs feel a bit yucky. If you do try try this one, skip the butter and just have dry toast.
Cold Pizza - Who knows, but it seems to work.
Asprin - Simply attends to the headache and does nothing for the level of alcohol in your system. Don't take them before you go to bed.
Bananas - Sugar in the form of fructose, and potassium, which is one of the things you lose lots of when you drink. Bananas are also a natural antacid to help with the nausea, and are high in magnesium which can help relax those pounding blood vessels causing that hangover headache. For a variety of reasons try a peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich on white bread.
Vitamin C - Another thing the alcohol takes out that you're advised to put back in as soon as possible. Orange juice, tomato, a 600mg Vitamin C tablet - doesn't matter, just do it.
A Hot Bath - The heat will sweat out the toxins that are causing all the problems. You'll feel a bit woozy at first but go with it and you'll feel better afterwards.
Chocolate Milk - This one was sent in by Michael and sounds like it's worth a try - "Regarding your hangover remedies, I would like to suggest chocolate milk. The store bought kind seems to work best, due to ease of attainment (unless you blew all your money at the bar hoping to get lucky), quietness (no loud banging of the teaspoon trying to mix the homemade stuff), and ease of use (the opening is the perfect fit when you have the jitters and no messy clean up). The suggested minimum dosage is the pint ( 1/2 litre) size, though the new quart (litre) can be used for extreme episodes. Other than the rehydration factor, I find that chocolate milk offers the tummy a soothing coating for the nausea. It also repletes some of the vitamins your body is now woefully lacking. The sugars (lactose & sucrose) and salt seem to be the perfect balance of the carb/salt fix. Many women can attest to the beneficial, relatively inexpensive, and legal effects of chocolate against depression, whether physiological or psychological. Last, the flavor seems to do wonders for that ghastly "did I try to mop the floor with my tongue?" taste in your mouth. So, on your way home, stop by your convenient convenience store, head on over to the cooler, grab one more "cold one" (chocolate milk, that is), and bring it home for the morning. Your mother shall compliment you on at least one healthy drinking habit."
Here's a few tried and proven ideas for hangover prevention:


Don't drink. (doh!)
Take a Berocca before you start drinking. This gets a reserve of Vitamin B into you.
Alternate fruit juice or water in amongst your drinks to avoid dehydration later on. Avoid fizzy or sugary stuff. The purists reckon that about 200ml of water is needed to effectively counteract each 30ml of alcohol.
The alcohol in carbonated drinks is absorbed more quickly than in non-carbonated drinks.
Reduce the amount of sugar you consume with your alcohol. The forced metabolism of sugar AND alcohol by your body will accelerate the depletion of B vitamins and make the hangover worse.
The 2am pig-out. Pizza or pasta is usually best since cheese and carbohydrates are a good source of amino acids. Actually food is a good idea all round - before, during and immediately after drinking. Food doesn't absorb alcohol, but it does increase metabolism, activates alcohol absorption, and increases the speed with which the body processes alcohol.
And here are a few remedy cocktails. At least they won't make you feel any worse:

Poor Man's Bloody Mary Bloody Mary
5oz Tomato Juice
3oz Light Beer
Salt
Pepper
Lots and lots of lime juice
Dash of Tabasco sauce
Mix and scull.
1.5 oz vodka
Dash of lemon (or lime) juice
Worcestershire sauce
2 or 3 drops Tabasco sauce
Pepper, salt and celery salt
5 oz tomato juice
Over ice in a tall glass add spices, then vodka.
Fill with tomato juice and stir.
Garnish with celery stick and lime wedge.


Fruit And Stuff Bloody Mary Variations
1 banana
1 small can V-8
6 large strawberries
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup orange juice
1-2 cups milk (or soy milk), to desired consistency
¼ tsp. salt
dash of nutmeg
Mix together in a blender and drink.

Use gold tequila instead - Deadly Mary
Use tequila instead - Bloody Maria
Use gin instead - Red Snapper
Add chilli pepper and beef stock - Bloody Bull
Use V8 juice instead of tomato juice - Vege Mary
No Alcohol - Virgin Mary

Aunt Emma's Hangover Cocktail Prairie Oyster
1 large can of tomato juice
3 Tablespoons vinegar
1 lemon
4 slices of onion
3 Tablespoons of sugar
4 stalks of celery
2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Mix ingredients in a container, let stand overnight.
Strain and serve.
Olive oil
Tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper
Tabasco
Worcestershire sauce
Vinegar or lemon juice

Rinse a cocktail glass with the olive oil and discard oil
Mix all ingredients except egg yolk.
Place the egg yolk in carefully.
Serve with a small spoon and a glass of ice water.

Banana Cow Van Diemen
1 crushed ripe banana
2 level tablespoons powdered sugar
3 oz milk
1 1/2 oz rum
Plenty of cracked ice
Mix together in a blender and drink.

2 cups of Ovaltine
Chocolate topping
2 cups of castor sugar
3 tblsp of golden syrup
1 pkt of pineapple jelly crystals
2 cups of hot water
2-3 cups of milk (full-cream)
Combine Ovaltine, sugar, topping, 3/4 milk, hot water and golden syrup.
Microwave on high for 2 minutes, adding rest of milk and stirring after 1 minute
Add 1/2 of jelly crystals and microwave on high for 30 secs
Add rest of jelly and a bit more hot water. Microwave for 1 minute.
Pour into cups. Refigerate. Serve with custard.

Answer 2

There are two that seem to work well.

1] A large glass, or two, of half beer and half tomato juice.
The juice and beer settle the stomach and the alcohol goes soothingly
to the head.

2] Nikoloshka. Some use brandy, some vodka. A double shot of either. Take a slice of lemon. Cut away a quarter of the rind from the slice so that you can bite out the center. Put about a small spoonful of ground coffee upon the slice. On top of the coffee put half a spoonful of sugar.

Bite out the whole center with the coffee and sugar from the rind. Chew
and swallow and then chug down the brandy in one fine, swishing-around-
the-mouth-swallow. As for flavor, the brandy makes a better combination.

Nikoloshka works well as simply a pick-me-up; Am or PM

Answer 3

Prevention! Sorry too late now. Take some "Chasers" while drinking, follow the instuctions. The best thing to do is drink water the night before, as much as you can before hitting the sack. It's not as fun, but you'll feel better the next day. As for the actual hangover, ibuprofen and time for the pain to go away, sleep all afternoon if you have to!

Answer 4

I don't get hangovers luckily. But I wake up extrmemly thirsty. I've always heard tho that drinking water before you pass out is a good way to decrease the symptoms of a hang over. Also eating before and during drinking can help too.

Answer 5

lol sooooo funny u are! lol I use to drink every single weekend and now Im down to like 2 times a year! Why? Cuz there is NO cure for a hangover!!!!! Ive tried it all even those new pills for hang overs and it doesnt do squat! The best is to throw up alot and stay in bed all day and avoid the spinning bed syndrome! lol

Answer 6

Take two Excedrines with a full glass of water before you drink and I can promise "no hangover". If you wake up with a hangover take two Excedrines w/water and eat some toast.

Answer 7

A Keith Richards special Which is 2 aspirin and a teaspoon of instant coffee dissolved in a can of coke it tastes like crap but it works.

Answer 8

Practice Practice Practice

Answer 9

stay with Guinness or other high quality beer. Not more than ten or so in a day. Then lots of water and good food. Good sleep. Sunshine, coffee. Exactly one large iced coffee black from Dunkin Donuts.

Answer 10

as the old saying goes drink some of the hair of the dog that bit you , also lots of sleep and plenty of water,

Answer 11

the best tried and true is to make sure that you hydrate while you are drinking so you don't have the hangover from dehydration of the alcohol...........duh