How to Cure a Hangover

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By Mia Carter
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How Do I Recover From a Hangover? Are There Any Hangover Remedies? Keep Reading to Find Out How to Treat a Hangover

Headache, nausea, vomiting, aches, dizziness - all symptoms of a hangover after a night of drinking. Hangovers occur for two basic reasons: alcohol withdrawal and dehydration. Curing a hangover can be difficult if you don't take the right steps. So keep reading to learn how to treat a hangover, ridding yourself of the discomfort that you feel the morning after a night of partying.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Water and lots of it!
Aspirin or another over-the-counter pain reliever
Coffee, tea or another drink with caffeine
Food (non-greasy, "light" foods like toast, eggs, etc.)
Sleep!

Step 1

DRINK WATER WHILE PARTYING: Preventing hangovers of the very severe type actually begins the night before. Alcohol dehydrates the body. Dehydration is responsible for much of the aches, headache and nausea that you feel when you're hungover. So to limit dehydration, drink one glass of water for every shot or other alcoholic drink that you consume. Drink as much water as possible before you go to bed.
Step 2

TAKE AN ASPIRIN: To limit the effects of a hangover, take an aspirin (or a Tylenol, Aleve, etc.) before bed and then again first thing in the morning. This will help treat the headaches and body aches that you feel the next day.
Step 3

TAKE A PEPTO BISMOL: When you wake up in the morning, take a couple Pepto Bismol tablets to help treat any nausea.
Step 4

EAT BREAKFAST: Hangovers often bring nausea, but this is often because the stomach is empty (and an empty stomach gets upset due to your stomach acids) and the stomach lining is irritated from the alcohol from your night of drinking. Eating may seem unappealing, but it will help to relieve and treat hangover symptoms. Do not eat anything heavy or greasy - no bacon, meats, cheese or other heavy, fatty foods. Instead, opt for toast, a bagel, fruits, eggs, cereal and food of this type.
Step 5

DRINK A COFFEE OR TEA (WITH CAFFEINE): With breakfast, you'll want to drink two cups of coffee, tea or other caffeinated beverage. The caffeine will constrict the dilated blood vessels in your head - it's these dilated blood vessels that cause a hangover headache. Two cups of coffee or tea will do the trick; don't drink any more than that because the caffeine also has a dehydrating effect.
Step 6

IF POSSIBLE, TAKE A NAP AFTER BREAKFAST: After you complete steps 2 to 5, take a nap if you can. Before napping, drink 2 full glasses of water or another clear fluid (i.e. juice or Gatorade) to help combat dehydration. A nap will help give the caffeine and aspirin time to take effect. If you don't have time for a nap, you'll be fine - you should already be feeling a bit better by this time.
Step 7

DRINK LOTS OF WATER, JUICE, GATORADE, OR OTHER CLEAR FLUIDS THE FOLLOWING DAY: The day after a night of drinking, you'll want to immediately start drinking lots of water or other clear fluids to fight off the dehydration that comes with a hangover.