Do they Really Work?
When I was in my 20s, I loved to go out. I loved to have the odd drink or two (or three) and I always felt like I was one of the lucky ones because I never ever suffered with hangovers! Throughout University I could go out dancing and drinking with friends until four in the mourning, then be up and raring to go and more than ready for my lectures five hours later.
I had only two rules I lived by:
1: Make sure you get at least 5 hours sleep (even half an hour less and I knew I would struggle)
2: Drink a pint of water with a paracetamol before bed.
If I stuck to my rules I would wake up with a Tigger bounce in my step and ready to face the day.
So what the hell happened?
I am not that far out of my 20s… Well, I can still remember my 20s at least! But it seems that now I am in my 30s something in my body has changed. No amount of sleep will have me waking up with a spring in my step (alcohol related or not), I can’t stay awake until 4am, even if I have had a few Redbull’s, and I can sleep for 10 hours and still need a crowbar to get me out of bed in the morning.
Even worse, after only 3 glasses of wine I could drink 4 pints of water, and take a paracetamol every hour through the night and still wake up feeling like a truck has backed up repeatedly over my head.
What the hell happened?
Oh that’s right… I had that horrible condition called ‘pregnancy’! The life changing condition that changes your body forever. Funny they don’t mention that in the ClearBlue adverts!
“Warning: the side effects of this condition may include sleep pattern changes, mood shifts and nasty ass hangovers.”
During my birthday celebrations a few weeks ago, I have to admit I may have indulged in a few more glasses of Prosecco… and maybe one or two shots of a hideous liquorice tasting liqueur. The night faded into a slight blur. I felt like a teenager again and the evening was a hilarious success. I did not however feel like a teenager a few hours later when I was woken by two incredibly loud children screaming and poking at my eyes while my husband felt it the best time for him to suddenly discover how the vacuum cleaner works!
I have never, ever felt pain like it.
I begged my husband to find any and all hangover cures and give me them all, and at the same time – but since he hasn’t suffered the horrible “pregnancy” condition, he doesn’t experience hangovers in quite the same way and so had no idea how to stop my head exploding.
So I took to good ole’ Social Media (Facebook) to beg my amazing friends for help.
So here (according the the world of Facebook) are the Top 5 Hangover Cures. By all means get in touch and let us know if you have any that work better – or if any of these have brought you back from the brink!
In the meantime, I have hidden the Sambuca at the very back of the drinks cabinet and sworn I will never down more than 3 glasses of wine ever again… until my next birthday that is…
1: Bloody Mary
(Thanks to Andy Blackburn for his take on the traditional Bloody Mary. The added sharpness of the Lemon Vodka certainly adds a kick!)
Double shot of Absolute Citron or Absolute Pepper
A big glug of Worcestershire Sauce
A splash of Tabasco
Salt & Pepper to taste
Tomato juice
Ice
Optional Celery Stick
Even though many believe that the only way to feel better is to have ‘hair of the dog’, many health care professionals believe that’s the worst thing to do. The alcohol may help your symptoms in the short term but can hurt in the long run. Hangovers are due to the toxins that course through your system from alcohol. Putting more of those toxins in your system is only going to keep toxins in your system for longer!
2: Bacon, Fizz and Fumble
This time not an alcoholic fizz! Kinsey Mckenzie believes the only way to cure a hangover is to devour a large Bacon Sandwich washed down with Fizzy water, ibuprofen – and (controversially) enjoy a rumble in the sheets with your other half.
I have to admit I was not sure about this one. Eating greasy food is bad enough, but tumbling around when your head is spinning? But when you have a hangover, you will try anything!
3: Full English Fry Up
I can’t count the amount of people who contacted me to say, ‘just whip up a fry up’. Full English breakfast. 2 sausages, eggs, bacon, fried tomato, mushrooms, beans, hash browns and fried bread. Yep. An artery clotting, heart attack inducing plate of friend food. Surely that should work, right?
Wrong. In fact, greasy food is only likely to induce heartburn, which will in turn make you feel sick. So as much as many swear by it, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that a greasy breakfast will dispense of the hangover. You do need to get calories into your system, but according to The Doctors Hangover Handbook, eating light and staying hydrated will help. In fact, Dr John Brick PdD recommends a honey sandwich!
4: A Strong Cup of Joe
What is the first thing you reach for when you are hungover? A large mug of coffee! Black, strong, stand a spoon up in it coffee. But does it help?
It seems that if you are a regular coffee drinker, you really should have a mug, because the last thing that you need is to have a headache due to caffeine withdrawal on top of your already pounding hangover headache. However, caffeine has been proven to narrow the blood vessels and raise your blood pressure, both of which will make a hangover worse! So it seems that in this case it may be a case of ‘better the devil you know’.
5: A Brisk Walk
Now this one really did set my blood to boil, but it seem everyone thinks that the best thing to do when you are hungover is put on your yoga pants and sneakers and go for a brisk walk in the morning air. Personally I couldn’t think of anything worse! But according to research a ‘gentle workout’ could indeed make you feel better. However, keeping hydrated is an important part of recovery!
So does that mean a brisk walk to the coffee machine could count?
Either way it seems that there are a few things that are proven to help. Food, water and painkillers. And if that fails, pull the duvet over your head and sleep through it…
And of course… avoiding that terrible condition called pregnancy in the first place. Then you can drink like a teenager well into your adult years!
