The thread about Persephone’s introduction to Jagermeister got me to reminiscing about hangover cures. Feel free to add any information you may possess regarding the subject.
I’ve been stationed in both Korea and Germany. In both locations, for whatever reason, I had the opportunity to observe (and, to my dismay, experience) a large number of hangovers. It wasn’t until I got to Korea, though, that anyone recommended any hangover cure that seemed to work reliably.
In Korea, there was a vitamin drink, available on almost every streetcorner, called Baccus-D. We’d drink one (~6-oz) bottle before going to bed and another upon arising. This tended to eliminate the majority of the unpleasant aftereffects of a drunken debauch, but only if you weren’t past the point of no return when you consumed the first dose.
I saw only one with a lable printed in English. Apparently Baccus-D contains about 10,000 times the RDA of many vitamins (most notably the B-vitamins (the ones I’m told you need most of to recover from a drunk) and all active ingredients of several anti-emetics (phosphoric acid and a load of simple sugars – mainly glucose). You can find Baccus-D (I think it’s been improved to “Baccus-F” by now) at oriental stores.
I’ve heard Red Bull (an energy drink) has a similar formulation. I’ve only started to hear ads for Red Bull in the last couple weeks. What is it, exactly? Anyone care to try Red Bull as a hangover cure and report the results back to the rest of us?
I dunno about a hangover ure, but I’ve used it to releive menstral cramps and headaches. It’s a godsend as far as that’s concerned. I was in “Fiddler on the Roof” and I had to do the Chavela dance soon, and it was so bad I thought I was going to die. Then, one of my cast-mates gave me a red bull and said “trust me”. it was wierd, but it worked. Now I always have a couple on me in case of ickyness before a show or a dance class.
red Bull is very popular over here as a mixer for vodka. It essentially turns your average vodka drinker into an insane vodka drinker. If you ever wanted a drink to guarantee you wont remember the evening, vodka and redbull is the one for you.
as a hangover cure, it sucks. It’s active ingredient, Taurine, is hopeless at curing hangovers.
The best cure I ever heard of for a hangover (I’ve yet to try it) is to scold a glass with rumplemintze, pour in water, and add a small amount of sugar.
It will either kill you ar cure you.
My favourite is an Irish breakfast and a large mug of sweet tea.
I’d bet my age is showing but we used to use Red Bull as a hangover cure too. But it was just another beer. This was in the mid to late 70’s. i don’t remember seeing it around for very long, but hoping… someone backs me up here, it was a common, cheap beer.
The best hangover cure, in my humble experience is water, lots of water.
I have found the absolute best hangover cure is plain old H2O before bed (at least 40 ounces) and sleep.
The two combined work wonders.
Of course that’s not really a cure…so take that and use that advice for the next morning.
Occasionally, while dealing with a hangover, Village Inn can be helpful. Water and coffee, 2 eggs over easy, hashbrowns with tons of catsup and a large side of bacon.
Other occasions it’s the locally owned restaurant that serves the best eggs benedict I have ever known, bacon on the side and a bloody mary. I usually reserve those for days when I am still buzzing from a Saturday night of booze, drinking and fun men.
Back when I drank, I would leave a beer on my nightstand. (preferably Mickey’s Big Mouth) As soon as my eyes opened, I would drink it down warm. Made the morning much more pleasant. Of course, if you wanted to get anything donethat day…
it requires an open mind. Because it doesn’t look like your normal Western medicine.
It’s called Po Chai Pills, available in any Asian grocery, and anywhere in Asia. It consists of little plastic vials, each filled with about 65 tiny little red pills.
Made entirely of herbs and spices, it has been widely used in Asia for a couple of generations. It’s a great remedy.
While it’s intended use is for upset tummy, [for which it is brilliant] it totally cures a hangover.
A full grown man will need to take two vials full. It’s kind of like a pepto bismo like thing. You swallow the pills with water and then, snap, you are feeling much better.
In my experience though many people just can’t get past how different it looks. But once they try it they are complete converts.
Try it out, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Cheers!
The Hotdog (Hair-of-the-dog) cure never seemed to work for me. It always seemed to me that consuming a small quantity of what did you in is akin to relieving the pain of a broken bone by whacking it with a hammer. I always got sicker when I used that method.
Consuming vast amounts of water before going to bed works pretty well to reduce a hangover, I’ll admit. I recall my friends and I used to avoid drinking water on the morning after (because you’d start feeling drunk again). However, it didn’t occur to me until years later that many of the symptoms of a hangover are caused by simple dehydration.
When I first moved to this climate (Eastern NM), I would occasionally awake with a “hangover”, even though I hadn’t had anything to drink the night before. Eventually, I figured out that this (not drinking anything) was the problem. One morning after I’d overindulged with some friends, I decided to try “curing” a hangover with a liberal dose of water. At first I just started feeling like I was getting drunk again, but eventually I started feeling better (and much sooner than if I hadn’t done anything but lay there and sweat). Really, it’s better to begin rehydration before you go to bed.
I’ve always found that plain old Gatorade works wonders for me. I’d bet if you followed some of the advice above, only substitute Gatorade for water, you would be home free.
Recovering alcoholic chiming in here…
Avoid hangovers by never giving them a chance to develop. Start the day off with a little bit of alcohol, I used ½ pint (375ml) of vodka or a six pack of beer, you will be thoroughly buzzed but can still function. As the booze wears off you will feel like stale elephant dung but its not exactly a hangover, just a really, really, tired feeling. The other thing is to drink lots of water WHILE you are drinking. It doesn’t prevent hangovers but it does lessen them and Gatorade is a godsend. Other things to help are antacids (I’ve got major GI problems to these were a must!) and ‘heavy’ food. Not your toast and orange juice but bacon, eggs, sausage, and coffee, or better yet super-napalm-death-satan-would-be-scared-hot-chili and crackers. With experience (and believe me I have plenty) you will know how bad your hangover will be and can adjust your drinking accordingly. Most folks hate hangovers, for me it was odd not to have one……
