From snogging and jogging to Irn-Bru and onion soup, there's a hangover cure to suit all tastes. Here, iVillagers share their own morning-after remedies.

Almost everyone has heard about the medical benefits of a glass or two of wine, but new research indicates that drinking beer and spirits may also be good for you. In fact, it seems that drinking to be better for you than abstaining.

The new Spanish study suggests that people who drink alcohol - wines, spirits or beers - are less likely to have medical problems than teetotallers. But while this is something to cheer, the researchers appear to have forgotten one painful medical side effect of boozing: the hangover.

Luckily, remedies for overindulgence have been around almost as long as alcohol. And, as with cures for hiccups, everyone's got an opinion.

We asked iVillagers to share their magic hangover cures. The response was overwhelming - you all obviously like a good drink - if not a little stomach churning at times. So if you feel like your head's been split with an axe and that rodents have used your mouth for a toilet, read on. And have a friend ready to hold your hair back... just in case.

Hangover cures:

• Before you start
• Before bed
• Before work
• Before lunch
• After everything else

Hangover cure recipes:

• Buck's Fizz
• Banana Milkshake
• Basic Prairie Oyster
• Bloody Prairie Oyster
• Breakfast in a glass
• Vodka Slush Puppy
• Morning-after Bloody Mary

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 dessertspoons 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,' recommends one iVillager, 'they help with your salt levels.' 'A bag of Doritos when you start to feel queasy,' says 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, 'glugged down with a pint of water (more if I can manage - which is admittedly rare).'

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. Mmm, 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 Big Breakfast (for those awake before 10.30 am). 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 (the crisps, presumably, not the frustrating toy), Marmite, oriental ramen noodles, 'two Texan steaks, four eggs, chips and beer', prawn korma with pilau rice, anything from Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Batchelor's Super Noodles.

If any of these sound familiar to you,
please visit the
iVillage Diet & Fitness channel

For more ideas on what to eat
with a sore head, read our
guide to morning-after meals

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, not surprisingly, 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 [link to come] is probably best of all,' says charlottecoleman, and many of you agree. 'Slush puppies are also good', recommends one anonymous iVillager, 'with vodka as an optional extra.'

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 is 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 want to share were 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.'

Finally, if you're experiencing hangovers on a regular basis, you might want to think of a more long-term cure. Anyone got Betty Ford's phone number?