Preventing or Fixing Hangovers

There are a thousand home remedies, and a thousand questionable solutions online all aimed at the same goal: eliminating or curing a hangover. If you like to party, then you've ran into this before. Some people are interested in doing all the right moves to try and prevent getting a hangover, while there's little question that anyone suffering from a hangover after a wild night will definitely want to know the best and quickest way to help cure a hangover. While there is no sure fire way to completely prevent the morning after pains other than abstaining completely from alcohol, there are some moves that can help most people prevent a hangover after drinking too much, and while the actual curing of a morning hangover is going to differ from person to person and situation to situation but studies have shown that a few actions can speed up the body's recovery process.

While preventing a hangover can be more difficult than curing a hangover (because let's face it: not drinking is NOT an option if you're looking for a page like this), there are several very important steps to take to make sure that when you lose your self control (and if you're going out drinking with friends you will drink more than you plan - don't kid yourself otherwise) you still minimize the damage. One of the biggest ones is to hydrate, and this includes BEFORE you go drinking. Being hydrated ahead of time will help dilute the alcohol as you drink and also keep your body in better shape as you drink. Having one water per drink is also a very good idea when you're going out. If you can, avoid carbonated mixed drinks as something like a whiskey and coke with dehydrate you and the sugar can mess you up. There are also many pills designed to minimize the effects of a hangover if taken ahead of time - thank the Soviet KGB for originally trying to design pills that kept you from getting drunk and discovered hangover cures instead. Finally, the old story about eating a lot of greasy food while drinking, it's ALMOST right, but not quite. The key is to have the big greasy meal BEFORE you go drinking, as the grease can sometimes coat the intestine linings making it easier to move the alcohol through your system. These are some of the best steps you can take to help prevent a hangover.

Some people also strongly believe that straight liquor gives easier to cure hangovers than most mixed drinks and all wine or beer, a belief which seemed confirmed on Myth Busters and which many people seem to believe: it just depends on the individual, however.

There are ways to speed up the process of recovering from a hangover. For some people, it will be enough to "cure" the hangover, while for others these techniques will simply lessen the negative side effects of the hangover. Either way, they can definitely help. The first step is to hydrate as much as your stomach will allow. The worst pain from hangovers is based around dehydration, so the more quickly you can rehydrate, the more quickly you will recover. Take it easy if your stomach is really upset: throwing up doesn't help. Some people swear by Gatorade and Powerade, while others say it's too rough on the stomach the day after.

Contrary to popular belief, you should stay away from medications, especially Tylenol, as these can be outright dangerous to the liver in combination. While a couple aspirin might okay later on in the morning, always be cautious. Coffee works for some people, but you will still want to drink as much water as possible. The caffiene in coffee is the main headache fighter, but people who are hyper-sensitive to caffeine will want to skip the morning joe.

Eating dry toast or crackers is a great idea because it's generally easy on the stomach, the carbs can help get your blood sugar up to healthy levels while your liver is too busy with the alcohol, and snacking on these makes it easier to drink water to rehydrate.  Take a couple of Vitamin B and D supplements since alcohol prevents your body from using these.

#1: Exercise: Now don't get me wrong, for some people exercise can be the best answer to curing the terrible feelings that hangovers bring on, but exercise does not allow you to "sweat it out." Exercise does release endorphins, which make you feel good, and it's impossible to deny the positive feeling that comes from getting a good sweat in. The psycho-somatic effects of working out are very good for some people, especially since it is usually followed with some water, a shower, and of course an hour or two of time passes by: all of which help the hangover.

#2: Hair of the Dog: The reason so many people believe this helps is they drink when they feel the worst, hoping to get a little boost. They feel better in the short term, because the most painful part of a hangover is when the body hits 0% alcohol...but that means if you drink you're only putting it off and extending it out. So while it might seem like a good solution, it's not a good long term answer.

#3: Greasy Breakfast: As noted earlier, greasy food before drinking can help out immensely. But afterward it is a terrible idea and good luck holding it down if you're having a really bad hangover - and throwing up will NOT feel better with more dehydration, headaches, and neck cramps.