We’ve all been there. It’s 7 am – you wake up so thirsty you’ll drink straight out of the sink, you stand up only to find that the room is spinning, your head is pounding and your eye makeup from the night before is smudged all over your face. Yes this is what a hangover feels like. At this point you’re probably asking yourself two questions: “Why did I do this to myself?” and “How do I get rid of this thing?“ So right after you vow to never drink again, here are the Do’s and Don’ts of curing a hangover so you can bounce back to being a person.
DO drink water. Water is your best friend. The reason a hangover makes you feel miserable is because your body is dehydrated from the alcohol. So drink up and rehydrate before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning.
DO eat something simple. Eating something plain and easy to digest like a piece of toast will help you feel less nauseous. Stay away from dairy products because this will be harder on your stomach.
DO drink sports drinks. Drink sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade will restore the electrolytes and other minerals that you lose when you drink alcohol.
DO go back to sleep. If you have the luxury of being able to sleep in, you should drink some water, have a piece of toast and then go back to sleep and don’t get up until the room is no longer spinning.
DO NOT drink coffee. Everyone thinks that having a coffee will wake you up and fix everything, but the caffeine in coffee will actually dehydrate you and make you feel even more hung over.
DO NOT take painkillers. Taking painkillers like Tylenol (acetaminophen) before bed can be very dangerous because you have alcohol in your system (just look at the warning labels). Taking Advil or other over the counter painkillers the next day to get rid of a headache should be safer as long as the alcohol is out of your system. If you’re not sure, try putting a cold washcloth on your head and lay in a dark room.
DO NOT drink more alcohol. Sure, drinking more alcohol will help your hangover TEMPORARILY because alcohol dulls your senses, but you will only be prolonging the agony.
Of course, the only way to prevent a hangover is to not drink alcohol in the first place. So if you’re out on a Saturday night and are debating whether you should have one more drink, think back to last week’s hangover and quit while you’re ahead.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/ss/slideshow-hangover-myths
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/hangover-cures