Oops I did it again! Hangover cures to try this New Year's

The pounding in your head, the churning in your stomach. The little wooly sweaters someone has mysteriously knit onto your teeth overnight. Yes, you have a hangover now what?

• #SafeDrinkingTips social media campaign launched

Obviously, avoiding the situation in the first place would have been ideal. But mistakes happen alcohol lowers your inhibitions, after all, and sometimes you lose track of your drinks not to mention your favourite scarf/gloves/underwear.

Hail Caesar

Olde Dublin Pub owner Liam Dolan has been in the bar business for decades, so I asked him if he had a favourite hangover cure.

"I wish I did!" he laughed. "We tend to give them the hangover, not cure them!"

Match drink for drink, water with alcohol. Erin MacKenzie, P.E.I Pharmacists Association

Dolan does, however, recommend a next-morning cocktail of a large Caesar (vodka and clamato juice with a dash of hot and Worcestershire sauces and often a nice cool celery stick) or simply adding clamato or tomato juice to a beer.

Professional advice

"We recommend making sure you stay hydrated," is the number one tip from P.E.I. Pharmacists Association Executive Director Erin MacKenzie. "Match drink for drink, water with alcohol," when you are out having a few cocktails.

Alcohol is a diuretic, MacKenzie said, which leads to dehydration. She also points to the province's new safe drinking guidelinesto make sure you know your limits.

For next-day pain relief, MacKenzie suggests either acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil) work well, but each has drawbacks.

Since both acetaminophen and alcohol are metabolized by the liver, she said too much acetaminophen can tax and even harm the liver. Ibuprofen and alcohol are both hard on your stomach's lining, which can become irritated eating food with the pills is advised. Do not exceed the recommended dose on the package, and check with your pharmacist for drug interactions if you are taking any other medications, she notes.

Ginger in tea, tablet or natural form can help settle stomachs, MacKenzie adds.

Your suggestions

I asked you for your favourite hangover cures via Twitter and Facebook, and you didn't disappoint.

Greasy breakfasts topped the list for most of you, at local diners or takeout.

"Fish n' chips so greasy that you could squeeze a gallon of oil out of them," suggested Brian Cormier of Moncton, N.B.

"A big old greasy burger," tweeted Evan Jackson.

"Pancakes. Sucks the poison right out of you," wroteShawn Connolly of Charlottetown.

Several people also advocated eating raw oysters or soda crackers and drinking green tea.

Rehydrate

Hydration was advocated by many, both as prevention and cure.

"Drink as absolutely as much water or G2 as you can at bedtime, take three Advil and you're good to go," posted Jason Doucette.

"Three extra-strength Tylenol with a large glass of cold water early in the morning," writes Robert Benoit.

"Lots, lots, lots of water and bacon," suggested Scott Dingwell.

Hair of the dog

"Don't sober up," was the tongue-in-cheek advice of Margo Connors of Charlottetown.

"More and more beer. No cure, just a postponement," said Dave Howard.

Then it gets weird

One reader suggests sex is a good hangover remedy. Many others said they just stayed in bed orwent back to bed to sleep. But a few cures sound more than a tad unorthodox.

"Pickle juice!" wrote Derrick Maclean of Grande Prairie, Alta., who suggested drinking a 4-ounce glass followed by the same amount of mussel juice.

Jenepher Reynolds said she takes the homepathic remedy nux vomica, which is believed to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and goes for a 10-kilometre run.

"Go to beach and stand in water up to your nose, 45 minutes in summer, 5 minutes in winter," offered Scott D. Lewis on Facebook.

"Two soda crackers with a thick layer of butter covered in black pepper," posted Doug Gallant. "Burns all the crap off your stomach. Keep cold water nearby."

"It's a strange one," admits Charlottetown's Amanda Perey, "but if you put a wedge of lemon under each armpit it is said to balance your PH levels quickly thus thwarting the hangover. An old family cure." Perey did not say whether she had tried said remedy.

"Some of these cures sound worse than a hangover," pointed out Emily Smith. Even the ones that do sound kind of fun, though, are unlikely to work: scientists say the only surefire way to cure a hangover isnot to drink in the first place.

• MORE P.E.I. NEWS I'People are coming back to the natural tree:' P.E.I. grower reflects on Christmas tree trends
• MORE P.E.I. NEWS IChristmas in a P.E.I. nursing home: 'They make it feel as if it is our home'