Hangovers: a guide to the morning after

woman with hangover From snogging and jogging to Irn-Bru and onion soup, there's a hangover cure to suit all tastes. We share some tried and tested methods

Hangover cures:

Hangover cure recipes:

Before you start
For some of you, the battle against the hangover starts even before you take your first drink. This commonly involves lining the stomach with anything from milk, milk thistle, garlic, olive oil (four dessert spoons worth, flavoured with vanilla essence, if you want to improve the taste) or simply junk food.

Protecting the stomach makes good sense: food - and particularly dairy products - slows the absorption of alcohol, and eating foods rich in vitamins B and C will limit nutrient loss later on. It might also make you feel fuller, and therefore less keen to drink.

As you drink
Those of you who want to party all night know the importance of keeping up your fluid levels even if this means in your mixers. Favourites include soda, Irn-Bru and colas. Many of you consider fruit cocktails to be healthy, despite the addition of vodka and rum.

A more sensible suggestion is to drink one soft drink or glass of water for every two or three units of booze. But hey, who's counting?

'Make sure you eat some crisps or peanuts,' says one iVillager. 'They help with your salt levels.'

'A bag of crisps when you start to feel queasy,' suggests another. And you thought bar snacks were a cunning ploy to make you drink more...

Before bed
The next stage in hangover management is vital and starts once you've staggered back home.

'Try to stay awake as long as possible after going out and drinking water,' suggests iVillager dodgystrawberry. 'My advice is two ibuprofen,' says welshlass. 'Glug them down with a pint of water (more if you can manage).'

More useful advice comes from an anonymous iVillager who suggests taking 'double strength vitamin C tablets before you go to bed along with half a pint of water for every unit of alcohol you've had.' Just be warned: this can mean an awful lot of water.

Other bedtime cures - offered, not surprisingly, by anonymous members - include: onion soup, boiled eggs, a pint of sugary warm water, chocolate biscuits, Lucozade (cunningly remarketed from a pensioner's drink to a sports drink), Mexican-style chicken, vegetable consommé, Gatorade, a doner kebab and, if all else fails, vomiting. Hmm, perhaps it's best to stick to water!

Before work
Assuming you've survived the night, you'll now be feeling the full after-effects of an evening on the tiles. Now's the time to drink more... water, that is.

However, as one thirsty iVillager points out: 'It doesn't matter if it's nature's own or tarted up in the form of Coke, OJ, Irn-Bru or Gatorade. You can even add a vitamin tablet or a bit of weed from your garden if you need to clear your conscience, as long as it's water.'

As well as water, you suggest milkshakes, flat Coca-cola, McDonald's cola, peppermint tea, Lucozade, honey tea, strong black coffee, milk and peach juice (not all at once, of course). Those of you who opted for caffeine-based drinks obviously found that the 'hit' outweighed the diuretic effect (which makes your dehydration worse).

By far the most popular morning-after remedy is food. And lots of it. iVillager jill_louise champions the full English breakfast, which is by far the most popular cure, closely followed by a McDonald's breakfast.

Fergette swears by 'a bottle of Irn-Bru and a roll covered in butter with chips and grated cheese', while sarah recommends 'strawberry mousse and cheese on toast'.

Other items on the drinker's menu du jour are fried egg bagels, salt and vinegar crisps, gherkins with black tea, Hula Hoops, Marmite, oriental ramen noodles, Texan steaks, eggs, chips, beer, prawn korma with pilau rice, anything from Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Batchelor's Super Noodles.

Before lunch
Do you wake up with a hangover and reach for the vodka? If so, you're one of many subscribers to the 'hair of the dog' principle - the alcoholic equivalent of hangover homeopathy.

The theory is that a little of what's making you ill can help your body ease the pain.

This is a Scottish idea based on the now-forgotten practice of healing dog bites with hair pulled from the dog that bit you. The original theory may be complete nonsense, but plenty of you seem willing to put your faith in the alcoholic version.

'A good strong spicy Bloody Mary is probably best of all,' says charlottecoleman, and many of you agree. 'Slush puppies are also good', recommends one anonymous iVillager.

Some of you have a bit more class - 'Full English breakfast and a glass of Buck's Fizz,' does it for iVillager yulandab. Others just seem insane - try philiprooke's morning-after cocktail of gin, Guinness, milk and orange juice.

True believers in the 'hair of the dog' theory know, of course, that there's only one way to avoid a hangover: carry on drinking. Some of you even believe that you can drink yourself sober. Good luck to you!

After everything else
If you've tried the soft drinks, fry-ups and dog hairs and you're still feeling rough, there are a range of 'alternative therapies'.

Ease yourself into the day with a long country walk, says jill_louise, while another iVillager suggests 'a long run around Hyde Park with multiple layers of clothing to sweat all the booze out.'

'I find that a swimming pool in your back garden helps,' says cl-jimrickards. 'You can stagger back home, dip your head in, drink it dry and wake up the next day fully rehydrated.'

Unfortunately, cl-jimrickards doesn't have a swimming pool in his garden.

What about 'a long lie-in, heavy petting then a fried egg', or 'snorkelling in the Aegean'? Try it at home in a lukewarm bath,' this anonymous member recommends (the snorkelling, presumably, not the petting).

Other therapies you wanted to share included a two-hour bath, a hot shower, chilled-out music, Disney videos, marijuana, regular trips to the loo, and staying in bed with a slave to fetch drinks and offer sympathy and hugs.

And the most popular alternative therapy is put most elegantly by iVillager suchambers: 'A thick milkshake with loads of ice-cream, milk, fresh strawberries... and a good shag.'

Amen to that.