Effective ways to get through a post-New Year’s Eve hangover

If your New Year’s Eve plans include bubbly or booze, here’s some advice to help you bounce back on New Year’s Day.

You may do champagne cheers at midnight, but the celebration must come to an end eventually. Some of us will be counting into 2022 with a less-than-celebratory hangover.

“If you ask 20 people for how to cure a hangover, you’re probably going to get 20 different answers,” said Dr. Antonio Gonzalez from the Community Medical Care Center at 214 S. 1st St. in Immokalee.

Gonzales says there is no magic cure for too much alcohol, but there are plenty of ways to make the after-effects less severe.

“Anything to have sugar in it is going to help decrease the level of alcohol in your blood, and the hangover will get better,” Gonzalez said.

Others, however, might make it worse, like the old “hair of the dog” trick.

“Some people think that if they drink more the day after, you know, the hangover is gonna go away,” Gonzalez said. “Yeah, it will probably help you for a few seconds or a few minutes. But the hangover will come back.”

That’s where Kasey Cook, the owner of mobile therapy service Southwest Florida Health & Hydration, steps in with an IV bag. She says symptoms will disappear in just one hour.

“We are going straight to the source to get you super hydrated,” Cook said. “What we do is we work to give you that fluid and intravenously, so it goes straight into the bloodstream. It’s really super hydrating. It’s the best way to be hydrated.”

Another recommendation from Gonzalez is that if you have a headache from a hangover, take ibuprofen. Stay away from anything with acetaminophen because it can cause inflammation.

Celebrate safely! And know there are options for when you wake up feeling not-so-great on New Year’s Day. Even more important: Don’t drink and drive.