Your head is pounding, your mouth is dry, and your stomach is doing loops: Does this scene sound familiar to you after a memorable New Year’s Eve? How are good resolutions supposed to work if you spend the first day of the new year in bed?
The easiest solution would certainly be to simply not drink alcohol. If this option seems too radical for you, we have some tips on how to fight a hangover properly.
If you drink alcohol, drink enough water
Probably the simplest tip is: drink enough fluids. Alcohol dehydrates you by passing more urine and depriving your cells of water. By drinking plenty of water during and after consuming alcohol, you will counteract possible headaches and help the body break down the toxin. If water is too monotonous for you, you can use apple spritzer or tea. The main thing is: liquid. An insider tip: add ginger to water or tea. This can help against nausea.
The perfect hangover breakfast
The first meal after getting up makes a big difference. Classics should not be underestimated here. The Rollmops contains many minerals, the lack of which contributes significantly to the development of a hangover. The same goes for pickles. Thanks to salt and fat, whole grain bread with cheese also provides two hangover-fighting things and may be more digestible. If your stomach is not yet in the mood for a full meal, hot broth helps in three ways: It provides minerals and fluids, and the heat can also have a soothing effect on stomach problems.
The roll mop definitely has its right to exist as a classic home remedy for hangovers. : Image: Picture Alliance
But you shouldn’t approach the decision for breakfast too scientifically, explains Christian Sommerbrodt, a family doctor from Wiesbaden. “There are few practical studies on which foods help against a hangover.” Choosing the right meal is closely related to your inner attitude, says Sommerbrodt. If the thought of a roll mop makes you feel sick, it’s better to opt for other foods.
Headache pills can help
Drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen help to combat acute headaches. These are included in most medicine cabinets anyway, which is why they may save you the strenuous trip to the nearest pharmacy. “However, it is important to pay attention to comedication here,” explains Christian Sommerbrodt. For example, headache tablets can be dangerous in combination with medications for high blood pressure.
Don’t overestimate hangover remedies
Electrolyte mixtures like Elotrans have been experiencing enormous hype for several years, not least due to intensive marketing as a hangover cure. But you can also get the electrolytes you need with the home remedies mentioned above, says family doctor Sommerbrodt. This saves you money, as the prices sometimes are horrendous. In addition, Elotrans has repeatedly been sold out in recent years and has therefore been missing out on diarrhea patients for whom it was actually developed. Therefore, our recommendation is to exclude the electrolyte mixture when fighting a hangover.
The diarrhea medication Elotrans: Not the best solution for a hangover: Image: dpa
Use counter beer carefully
The classic counter-beer, i.e. continued alcohol consumption the morning after the big rush, is unlikely to be recommended by a doctor. But as long as it stays with just one beer, the method actually has a certain right to exist, according to Christian Sommerbrodt. It can have an uplifting effect and is also isotonic. It’s all about the right amount. You should neither drink more than one beer nor include counter-beer in your standard hangover-fighting repertoire. Because this quickly leads to alcohol addiction.
Published/Updated: Recommendations: 16 Julia Schaaf and Eva Schläfer Published/Updated: Recommendations: 90 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1
The main thing is to take countermeasures
According to Sommerbrodt, the worst thing you can do is – do nothing at all. “Lying quietly in bed all day and suffering doesn’t help. The main thing is that you take countermeasures in some way.” Whether this counteraction should consist of a walk in the fresh air, a hangover breakfast or taking aspirin cannot be generalized. “It’s highly individual,” says Sommerbrodt. In addition, if in doubt, the best way to combat a hangover is to simply drink less alcohol. “But readers probably don’t want to hear that.”