Hangover Rescue Recipes

[Ruby]

Too much partying last night, too many Cosmopolitans.

Was it worth it? Yes, but all advice is appreciated. :) A big thank you.

[tommy]

sleep.  water.  vomit.  more water.  food.  sleep.  also, a bong hit does a very good job at setting a hangover straight.

[Ruby]

Thanks, Tommy. That's just what I did - slept on and off all day and ate - craving mostly carbos. Feel great today but most of yesterday went down the tubes. Oh well, will take it easy next time! Yeah, famous last words :)

[Katherine]

I don't have a lot of recent experience with this, but I've heard (from a heavy drinker who had WAY too many hangover opportunities) that he drinks a quart of water before turning in for the night, and feels much better in the morning.

I've found that if you drink a 12 ounce glass of water with each drink, you don't get dehydrated, which is supposed to be part of the problem, and you end up being less thirsty and drinking less.

[Ruby]

Thanks, Katherine, but if I drank a quart of water before going to bed and was already toasted, I'd probably wet the bed and really hate myself in the morning! :)

I'll try your second tip and drink 12 oz. of water with each drink. That should slow me down and I guess gives one a very full feeling. Thanks. Cheers.

[Fat Guy]

Would you believe I actually wrote a fairly lengthy article about this, with, like, research and everything? Man I've written a lot of stuff over the past few years. I've almost lost track of it all.

http://www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/12/29/hangover/

[tommy]

Quote: from Ruby on 10:44 pm on Nov. 18, 2001

I'll try your second tip and drink 12 oz. of water with each drink. That should slow me down and I guess gives one a very full feeling. Thanks. Cheers.

i drink water non-stop during a piss-up.  i find that not only do i feel better as i'm drinking, but i also feel better (not "good", but "better" ) the following morning.  dehydration is your worst enemy, even when you're not drinking.  i've heard that the headaches associated with a hangover (which i *never* get, probably because of the water) is a result of lack of water in the brain.

i've noticed more and more people ordering glasses of water at bars these days.  

[Fat Guy]

If you follow the link above, you will see the most widely accepted scientific explanation of what a hangover is. I interviewed some of the only people ever to study this in a serious, scientific way. Most of the folk wisdom on this issue is either nonsensical or represents confusion about issues of causation.

[tommy]

does drinking water fall into the "folk" remedy that you mention?  

[Fat Guy]

It's not clear.

The expert I asked said it probably doesn't help.

You know how to read. :)

[Ron Johnson]

Excessive consumption of alcohol causes swelling of the blood vessels.  This places pressure on the nerve endings.  It also causes the sinus passages to become inflammed.  These two factors together result in a headache.  Dehydration is also caused by alcohol and can excacerbate the symptoms described above.

The best course of action is water intake and use of something to address the swelling like ibuprofen.  One of the problems of consuming lots of water while drinking is that alcohol is a diuretic, so you just piss it all out.  As a result you spend most of your time waiting in line for the bathroom.

Generally, my course of action is to go to bed, wake up sometime in the middle of the night, drink some water take some Advil, return to bed, wake up, go eat food that is bad for me, spend as many hours as needed on couch in front of tv.

Of course the bong hit suggestion could work as well.

[tommy]

Quote: from Fat Guy on 10:05 am on Nov. 19, 2001

It's not clear.

The expert I asked said it probably doesn't help.

You know how to read. :)

it seems to me that it can't hurt, and probably helps.  the (your) article states that alcohol consumption causes one to pee more.  that means you're losing fluids.  as i've suggested, that is always bad.  even when i'm not drinking booze, if i don't have water, i start to feel "off".  water = good.  bong hit = better.

[Katherine]

I've always heard that one major hangover factor is impurities in the alcoholic beverage drunk. Quality vodka is purer than bourbon, etc.

Dehydration would increase the concentration of these in the body, and lack of fluids would interfere with the elimination of them.

[Fat Guy]

If a factor at all, they're probably a minor one. The substances in question are called cogeners, by the way.

[helenas]

i've read that juniper berries is a remedy for hangover;

though i don't know how they should be used for this.

In my wild russian college past, we used beer, kvas, kefir, or sauerkraut.

[A Balic]

There was an article on hangover cures a few years ago in "New Scientist" which can be veiwed at:

http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/alcohol/alcohol.jsp?id=22144600

They suggest N-acetyl-cysteine may help. Has anybody tried this?

I found the perfect cure two weekends ago. I had a cocktail party that involved drinking heavily until about 5 am. I then went to sleep at 9:30 am I was woken by a phone call. After politely discussing the nature of never speaking to me on a Sunday before 1:00 pm, I went to the fridge as I had a very bad hangover. In the fridge I spied a half bottle of coke, which I drank all of. Two seconds later I realised that it was half vodka, half coke. Felt great in about ten minute, I then drank Martini's and Champagne for the rest of the day. Never felt better.

[helenas]

Fo effect that Adam described, russian language has a separate word (verb): "opohmelit'sya".

So today i've checked Oxford russian-english dictionary and found the following translation: "To take a hair of the dog that bit you". Since i've never heard of this expression, i turned to my

source of all sources - google.com. So here we are:

http://www.bartleby.com/81/16204.html

"E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.

 

Take a Hair of the Dog that Bit You.

 

After a debauch, take a little wine the next day. Take a cool draught of ale in the morning, after a night’s excess. The advice was given literally in ancient times, “If a dog bites you, put a hair of the dog into the wound,” on the homœopathic principle of “Similia similibus curantur” (like cures like).  "

 

(Edited by helena sarin at 12:25 pm on Nov. 27, 2001)

[Fat Guy]

That is actually the only remedy that my expert said had some merit. Not as a long-term solution, but as a quick fix, yes.

[tommy]

i find that Zima, with its insipid taste and refreshing qualities, does the trick rather nicely.  good like finding it though.

happy thanksgiving everyone.

[Wilfrid]

Dylan Thomas used to open a couple of bottles of beer before retiring, leave them on his bedside table, then drink them down fast immediately upon waking.  And we know what happened to him.

I recall from my misspent youth that most recreational drugs, not only that which is in a bong, ease the pain.  A handful of valium also works.  

"Hair of the dog" is certainly a common expression in the UK for treatment which is perhaps more precisely described as "staying drunk".

[tommy]

Quote: from Wilfrid on 1:54 pm on Nov. 26, 2001

"Hair of the dog" is certainly a common expression in the UK for treatment which is perhaps more precisely described as "staying drunk".

indeed.  i've found that staying drunk eases the pain of just about everything, including being not drunk.

[RockADS21]

I do not have  a remedy but rather a way to avoid hangovers 100% of the time. Regarless of what or how much you drink...before going to bed take 2 or 3 Excedrin with at least 24 oz. of ice cold water. The 2 or 3 should vary on...a) your size and b) how much you drank...Do not vary the pill - it must be Excedrin and the water is key - very very cold! This will avoid the headache - to avoid the dehydration the next day...when you wake up drink Fruit Punch flavored Gatorade(the red one). This is absolutely fool-proof.

[Wilfrid]

Please don't be offended if I paraphrase the Fat Guy here, but you describe the remedy as fool-proof, and - as Mr Shaw would say - "I'm trying to figure out whether you have enough hangover experience to make that judgment. "

God knows, I have endured hangovers of every different shape and size over the years, and I find it hard to believe non-prescription headache pills, even with cold water, will cure a real monster.  I don't recall having tried Excedrin, but I have certainly tried paracemtal, tylenol, panadol and many others in various quantities.  Is there something specific about Excedrin that makes it effective?  Also, what kind of hangovers are we talking about?  Excedrin may work for a moderate headache, but what about the kind of blinding hangover that keeps you pinned to the bed for twelve hours, practically unable to move your head?  If you could give me some idea of the scope of your experience on Excedrin, I'll certainly put it on my shopping list.  I expect I'll get a chance to try it between now and New Year.

[tommy]

Quote: from RockADS21 on 3:04 pm on Nov. 26, 2001

This is absolutely fool-proof.

if it was, you'd be a rich man.

no amount of medicine and cold water will make a queasy stomach filled with day old booze feel any better.  my hangovers rarely consist of headaches, so your fool-proof method wouldn't help me.  and as i mentioned earlier in this thread, i drink that amount of water 5 times over during the evening (and before bed), although, rarely ice cold.

i'd love to think you were right with your fool-proof assessment, but it just can't be!

[RockADS21]

I respectfully ask that the doubters please try before they comment. I have been using this method for years and it is unblemished...I have also had feedback from many others who have said the same. As for the quesy stomache, I cannot comment inteligently on your choice of liquor and/or food which would most likely be the cause of having an upset stomache the following day. And to Wilfred regarding my experiance...I will say just this...I am very well tested as many NJ bartenders would attest.

   Plese try this  precaution the next time you drink whether you think you will have a hangover or not and I'm sure cudos will come my way shortly thereafter.