The night begins innocently enough, just a few drinks with friends. Somehow, hours later, the achy body wakes to find it is still wearing the clothes from last night.
Oh the head, how it hurts. This massive pounding headache is very sensitive to sound. Any noise will make the head scream with pain. A battle is also raging in the stomach. The body has declared war on itself. A conversion to the vampire-ish philosophy is desperately needed, for the body cannot handle sunlight just yet.
A roadmap of stamps along the wrist tell a version of the night that is still hard to remember. The dizzy body is not a friend to mobility. For the verdict is still out on the level of drunkenness in the body.
Does this sound familiar? How can the body bounce back from such a beating when more alcohol then ever imagined possible was consumed in one single night?
“Hangover cures? Yeah I sure haven’t found one,” said Mia, junior English major. “Vitamin Water Revive is the best I’ve found.”
The generic remedy one many lean toward is not always the best solution. All around the campus many students use lots of water, sleep and some kind of pain pill to tackle their hangovers. Others insist coffee is the best help.
A personal favorite remedy for fixing the hung-over state is to take two vitamin B complex pills, lots of water, coffee and most important a greasy breakfast.
When in doubt, ask the experts. Here is what they had to say. The pharmacist approach is to drink Alka Seltzer, lots of water and take a pain pill if needed. Deanne Mitchell, R.Ph., at Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy stresses the importance of using an anti-inflammatory to treat the pain.
“Be sure to use Ibuprofen, not Tylenol,” Mitchell said.
Joseph Rigan, licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, said the gastrointestinal tract becomes dry after a night of drinking, and there is dampness left in the stomach.
First, start by figuring out a curing formula for fixing the body.
“The curing formula is key to fixing the hangover,” Rigan said.
Although some formulas may help the stomach, they may not help the head and vice-versa. Rigan said his personal favorite is a product by Pine Mountain called, Kang Ning Pian. This formula has both chrysanthemums to help repair the head, and ginger to help the stomach. Rigan suggests to take five pills before bed, five to six pills in the morning and five to six pills around lunch time. If followed as directed, it will revitalize the body and bring it back from the dead.
Vitamin-B complex can also help cure the hangover. According to Rigan, using a coenzymate B complex flavored sublingual is best. The sublingual pill dissolves under the tongue, and absorbs into the blood stream quickly.
Some students have adopted Rigan’s Vitamin B method for hangover cures, but not without their own collegiate twist.
“Vitamin B12, B8,” said Ty Shelton, a 20-year old English major. “My personal cure is to take a half a Vicodin, a Tylenol Extra-Strength, a glass of orange juice and to top it off we need a bowl of chicken noodle soup – guaranteed hangover cure.”
So, the next time a hangover hits try the natural approach or suffer with the generic water, coffee and sleep method. Use what works!
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Heidi Glauser at Heidi.Glauser@colorado.edu.
1 comment
vicodin and tylenol are contraindicated because both contain acetaminophen. Too much acetaminophen can cause ulcers in the lining of the stomach causing intense pain, especially in individuals who drink more than 3 alcoholic beverages per day.