Hangover cures don't usually work

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A survey of conventional and complementary cures for hangover concludes there is little to recommend them.
Too much alcohol can leave you with the upset stomach and headache of a hangover. Various cures have been recommended over the years, from water, painkillers and vitamin C to artichoke extract. But do any of them actually work? A team at the Department of Complementary Medicine at Exeter University, England, now reports on a survey of the evidence on hangover cures.

They found clinical trials on eight different cures: propranolol (a beta blocker), tropisetron (an anti-nausea drug), tolfenamic acid (a painkiller), fructose/glucose, borage, artichoke and prickly pear - all herbal remedies - and a yeast-based preparation. Only borage, the yeast-based preparation and tolfenamic acid seemed to show any benefit at all as a hangover cure. Therefore it looks as if the only sure way of avoiding a hangover is to drink in moderation, or not at all.

Source
British Medical Journal 24th December 2005

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