Overdone it a bit last night? Rough around the edges? Brain a howling void of horror? You need a hangover cure.
The trouble is that we have yet to discover the sure-fire hangover cure. All crimes must be paid and there is a particularly heavy sentence for that 2am Flaming Sambucca.
If you followed the advice in yesterday’s blog, you will have taken precautionary steps to swerve your hangover. Or, at least, you will have put measures in place to reduce its effects.
Even so, you have woken up with a sore head, delicate stomach and a nagging anxious feeling. What is to be done?
If going back to bed is an option then it is not a bad idea. You don’t sleep properly when drunk and a couple of hours more kip can go a long way towards restoring equilibrium.
If a duvet day isn’t on the cards, you will have to be more pro-active.
Rehydrating should be your first step. We know that many people swear by the restorative qualities of fizzy drinks, especially Irn Bru.
We’re not fans when hungover. Sure, the sugar gives you a boost but it also leads to a crash when it wears off. And no-one wants to be burping last night’s kebab breath.
Hangover cure: water
Good old tap water and plenty of it is our recommendation. Yes, a strong cup of coffee will wake you up but we prefer our senses to be dulled rather than heightened when feeling dog rough.
The NHS recommends drinking a weak bouillon as an easily digestible way of getting some minerals and vitamins back in the system.
A big plate of carb-heavy comfort food does the job for us. I have no idea if there is any scientific basis for this but the simple pleasure of some feel good grub seems to help.
If things are really bad then mixing up a sachet of rehydrating salts – the ones used to treat people with diarrhoea and vomiting – is pretty effective.
Fresh air seems to help clear the cobwebs and there is no shame in wearing sun glasses in December if the sun is unseasonably bright.
Painkillers such as paracetamol and ibuprofen have a role in keeping the headache at a reasonable level. Avoid aspirin as this can irritate your already inflamed stomach lining.
A friend with access to medical equipment swore by the use of an oxygen mask and a saline drip but that seems rather extreme.
We get the appeal of the hair of the dog. Assuming you can remember which dog bit you.
Of course, you can kid yourself that a Bloody Mary is a good way of rehydrating and getting some healthy tomato juice inside you.
Unfortunately, the reality of the matter is that having another drink will just extend the hangover. Avoid.
To be honest, time is the only sure-fire cure for a hangover. Everything else just dulls the pain.
Weird hangover cures
While we wouldn’t want to try them, other countries have weird and wonderful hangover cures.
Last year, Ebookers pulled together a list of one hundred hangover cures from around the world and placed them on an interactive map.
From soaking your socks in vodka before going to bed to chowing down on an unhatched bird embryo served in its shell, there are a hundred reasons to say ‘Make mine a mineral water’ the next time someone asks what your poison is.