SouthFlorida.com | City Link Magazine

Nearly everyone has woken up with a splitting headache, feeling dehydrated and nauseated, and vowing never to touch alcohol again. And nearly everyone claims to have a hangover cure, from taking over-the-counter pills to scarfing down a greasy meal before calling it a night. So as a public service of sorts, two City Link reporters tested several of the best-known remedies, with varying results and much patience on the part of their friends and colleagues.

Lots of water

Active ingredient: H2O

Alcohol consumed: Three double Jack and Cokes, one large frozen rumrunner and one large frozen mojito

Where to get it: Anywhere. As of yet, water is still readily available.

Cost: Free. But look for it to be taxed sometime in the next few years.

Results: Using the old formula of one glass of water for every drink consumed (two for each double cocktail), I downed eight glasses of water. The results were impressive. I felt absolutely fine the next morning. (Dan Sweeney)

Chaser Plus for Wine Headaches

Active ingredients: Cinchona, lobelia, nux vom, quercus gland, ranunc bulb, rhododendron and zincum met

Alcohol consumed: One bottle of Dancing Bull red wine, 2002

Where to get it: Walgreens, GNC or 888/960-9495

Cost: $2.99 for a four-pack, $5.99 for a 10-pack

Results: I followed the directions on the box and took two pills with my first drink and two more when the bottle was almost empty. I didn't wake up nauseated or with a headache, but I did have terrifying dreams all night about being in a haunted house where people were chasing me. (Joanie Cox)

Chaser Plus

Active ingredients: Cinchona, lobelia, nux vom, quercus gland, ranunc bulb and zincum met

Alcohol consumed: Two dirty martinis, amaretto on the rocks and two Coronas

Where to get it: Walgreens, GNC, CVS or 888/960-9495

Cost: $2.99 for a four-pack, $5.99 for a 10-pack

Results: I took two pills with the first dirty martini and four more as I continued drinking. I had a little trouble falling asleep, and when I woke up, I had a slight headache, no nausea. But this time, I didn't have nightmares. (JC)

Hair of the dog

Active ingredient: Bloody Mary

Alcohol consumed: Four double Bloody Marys, three Miller Lites, and two Bloody Marys the next morning

Where to get it: Most any bar will mix you up the preferred hair-of-the-dog hangover cure, the Bloody Mary. But great ones can be had at Blondie's on A1A across from Fort Lauderdale beach.

Cost: Varies; $3 per drink at Blondie's

Results: The drinks numbed the pounding headache, but I don't think they cured my hangover so much as simply dulled me to the pain. In the end, though, isn't that the point? (DS)

Drink Ease

Active ingredients: Oats, pepper, nutmeg, white hellebore and zinc

Alcohol consumed: Belvedere vodka and cranberry, two black and tans, and one shot of Southern Comfort

Where to get it: Urban Outfitters or 800/501-9715

Cost: $12

Results: The instructions on the box say to take one tablet with a large glass of water at bedtime. I woke up the next morning feeling kind of disoriented. I didn't feel sick or have a headache, but my recollection of the previous night was foggy. I think this cure had more to do with the giant glass of water I drank than the actual pill. (JC)

A big, greasy breakfast

Active ingredients: Pancakes with strawberry topping, eggs, bacon, sausage, orange juice and coffee

Alcohol consumed: Specifics unknown, but that Snoop Dogg concert sure kicked ass -- definitely in excess of three double Jack and Cokes and two beers

Where to get it: You all probably have a favorite greasy spoon. But I got the Rooty Tooty Fresh 'n' Fruity at IHOP.

Cost: Varies; $7.29 for the Rooty Tooty

Results: Yes, yes, it all makes sense: Pack a ton of greasy food down an already nauseated gullet. It certainly sobered me up at the time, but the next morning, I spent several hours seriously debating whether or not to convert to the Cult of the Porcelain God. (DS)

It's a hung-over world after all
Following are some strange hangover remedies from around the world, according to www.drinkease.com:

Australia: Eat a big T-bone steak or drink a chocolate milk shake.

France: Drink thick, hot onion soup the next morning.

Germany: Down a sour herring with a beer chaser.

Haiti: Stick 13 black-headed pins in the cork of the bottle that gave you the hangover.

Norway: Drink a heavy glass of cream.

Outer Mongolia: Eat a pickled sheep's eye in a glass of tomato juice.

Puerto Rico: Rub a lemon under your drinking arm.

Russia: Drink heavily salted cucumber juice or eat black bread soaked in water.

Switzerland: Take a sip of brandy with a dash of peppermint.