I’m never drinking again…and this time I mean it! How to ease the hangover blues. The symptoms of a hangover vary from person to person, and the type and amount of alcohol consumed. Avoiding and curing a hangover offer many possibilities depending on the level of planning.
Symptoms
Let’s first explore the realm of hangover symptoms. The most common symptoms of over-consumption are headache and nausea. Diarrhea, lethargy, extreme thirst, and sensitivity to light and noise may also be included in the hangover experience.
Avoidance
Clearly, the most obvious way to avoid a hangover is to simply not drink alcohol. There are many occasions a person may feel compelled to drink due to social or other pressures. The choice to imbibe in the consumption of alcohol should be a personal choice not dictated by any outside influences. Consider yourself a stronger person should you decide to abstain.
What to Drink
Should you choose not to abstain, choose alcoholic beverages that contain less alcohol. Different people react differently to different types of alcohol. Beer and wine contain less alcohol than hard liquor. The downside to wine is the added sulfur in most wines that can create a headache for some people. Draft beer may cause a hangover for some people where bottled beer may not. Even the brand of beer may cause a hangover in some people where other brands may not. Know what your body tolerates best and stick with it.
How to Drink It
If you are consuming hard liquor, add a mixer; water, soda water or tonic is best. Adding sugar-based mixers, such as juice or soda, is a sure-fire way to produce a pounding headache in the morning. Dehydration is the most common symptom of a hangover. A good rule of thumb is to drink one full glass of water with every alcoholic beverage consumed. Do not mix different types of alcohol. If you start the evening with vodka, end the night with vodka.
Last Minute Cure
Taking an over the counter pain medication with a full glass of water before bed can help alleviate the discomfort of a hangover. Be sure to read the warning label to make sure the pain medication is compatible with alcohol.
Do not drink and drive. The worst hangover you can ever have is waking up in the morning with the realization that you have killed another human being.
How to Cure a Hangover
Okay, so you didn’t drink enough water, you accepted the sweet shots, you drank whiskey, vodka, and beer and now you are just trying to figure out how to survive the day.
Hydration
Water is good. Water with electrolytes is better. Choosing a sports drink with as low sugar content as possible is the best alternative. A re-hydrater, like Pedialyte, is another good choice. Pedialyte is found in the baby section in grocery or drug stores.
Food
Foods that are high in protein and carbohydrates are best. I always like to make a breakfast that includes all of the basic food groups for my hung-over guests. Fried potatoes mixed with vegetables and topped with cheese and eggs, bacon on the side. This is not a healthy, everyday meal. This is the occasional hangover recipe.
Move Your Body
It may be very hard to believe that movement will improve matters, but it will. Clean up after last night’s party, do the laundry, take a walk around the block, move your-self around as much as possible while hydrating. Finding the will-power to be productive is much harder than the actual performance.
Do Not Drive
Driving while hung-over can be as bad as driving drunk. If you are feeling the previous evening’s effects, you most likely still have a substantial amount of alcohol in your system. This will affect your judgment and reaction time. Dealing with the” day after” is much easier than dealing with a lifetime of sorrow.
