Wednesday, 2 July 2014

How To #11: How to Cure a Hangover



I’ve never actually needed to cure a hangover, so in the name of research, I went to a party and had one to many, many being the operative word. After throwing up in my sink when I got home, come 5am in the morning, my head was pounding, and not in a good Ke$ha kind of way. Pop songs may glamorise it, (Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” anyone?) but spending the morning with your head down the toilet is about as glamorous as, well sticking your head down the toilet. I tried every hangover cure known to man (or at least those I could find on Google) and tested them to see if they would miraculously cure my hangover. In short, none of them did. There is no “cure” for a hangover, dummy. Some remedies however are more effective than others at preventing walking around with your own personal sick bucket for the remainder of the day.

1.       Don’t Drink: Simple and obvious but it sure as hell works. SCORE: 10/10

 

2.       Don’t Drink on an empty stomach: You don’t need to tell me twice. I ordered one large Indian takeaway before going out on the town. Apparently, a meal that includes carbohydrates (such as pasta or rice) or fats will help slow down the body’s absorption of alcohol. My Verdict: Although I may not have gotten drunk as quickly, this didn’t make my hangover any less bearable come the morning after. I couldn’t even stomach my Weetabix SCORE: 3/10

 

 

3.       Don’t drink dark coloured drinks: I’ve never heard of this one before, but apparently they contain natural chemicals called congeners, which are basically impurities, which irritate blood vessels and tissues in the brain and can make a hangover worse. My Verdict: as any young adult knows, most of the drinks aimed at our generation are either clear (i.e. vodka) or an unnatural neon colour, apparently to make them more appealing. Staying away from the dark coloured drinks did not keep my hangover at bay. SCORE: 1/10

 

4.       Drink water or non fizzy drinks in between each alcoholic drink: in order to replace the water you are losing through drinking. My Verdict: Confession. I actually read this tip wrong and mistook it for saying drink fizzy drinks in between each alcoholic drink. Yay, I can mix my diet coke and vodka I thought. Nope. Carbonated drinks speed up the absorption of alcohol into your system. Thus, sticking to diet coke and vodka all night wasn’t the best option. SCORE: 6/10

 

 

5.       Drink a pint of water before you go to sleep: My Verdict: I never got to this stage as I passed out on my kitchen floor before I could reach the tap. Oops. But I assume it helps as alcohol leads to dehydration, thus you are replacing the water you’ve lost by drinking a pint of water before you go to sleep. SCORE: N/A

 

6.       Take Painkillers: These can help with headaches and muscle cramps. Paracetamol based remedies are preferable, as aspirin may further irritate the stomach, causing sickness and nausea. My Verdict: After a night out drinking, I usually always take a painkiller before going to bed, which eases the symptoms in the morning. However, as I said, I never made it to the kitchen exactly. Thus, it had to wait until 5am in the morning when I next woke up. Painkillers do help though. Just make sure you don’t exceed the recommended dosage. SCORE: 8/10

 

 

7.       Sugary foods may help you feel less trembly:  My Verdict: I had planned on pancakes the morning after but the mere smell of them made me want to run back to my old friend toilet bowl. The closest I got was a few mouthfuls of Weetabix doused in sugar SCORE: N/A

 

8.       “Hair of the Dog”- This is basically drinking more alcohol to cure a hangover caused by alcohol. I’ve heard often that a Bloody Mary is particularly good in curing a hangover from hell. My Verdict: I didn’t try this method because it is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Drinking in the morning is a risky habit, and something I don’t wish to adopt thank you very much. Avoid this old wives tale at all costs. SCORE: 0/10
 
The moral of the story is, stay away from the drink kids.
 
Love, Georgia. x

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