It's because your electrolytes are out of kilter - that's why your head aches, your tummy hurts and your tongue feels so fuzzy - in other words you have a hangover. Raw eggs, Tabasco, or voodoo are unlikely to help. What you need is to get those electrolytes back on balance. You are probably familiar with the phenomenon whereby trips to the loo grow more frequent as the night goes on. According to Michael Ryan, Professor of Pharmacology at UCD, alcohol inhibits the anti-diuretic hormone, which is normally involved in helping to reabsorb water back into the body. As you drink more, you excrete more, and you experience electrolyte dysfunction, losing potassium and magnesium, which accounts for your discomfort the next morning.
It is also responsible for pains in your muscles, caused by interference with your muscle function. The groggy feeling, including the headache, happens because of the fluid disturbance, which affects the brain cells.
The additives used in alcohol often make you feel worse. This includes the ingredients used to put a head on your beer. Mixing your drinks means that you get a range of additives, which can make the hangover worse. Certain red wines are notorious for the extent of the hangover they cause, because of the tannins that are added. "All of the alcoholic products have additives either to facilitate taste or put a head on it, all of which contribute to your headache. The more you mix the more you add to that additive cocktail," said Prof Ryan. Seek advise from your pharmacist on an appropriate pain relieving product, but it appears that Dioralyte and Rehidrat, are a good bet. Simply drinking water and eating something should also make you feel better. Orange juice is a rich source of potassium and magnesium.
The true cure for a hangover, unfortunately, is time. Strong coffee won't sober you up and having a "hair of the dog that bit you" is not a good idea.
General practitioner Dr Niall O Cleirigh, whose surgery is in Pearse St in Dublin, gets the occasional telephone call from patients suffering from hangovers. He reiterates the advice of drinking plenty of water.
"If you feel awful when you get up in the morning, drink some water and maybe something milky like cornflakes. It should make you feel better, to counteract the acidity in your stomach. Paracetamol should help, but avoid codeine-paracetamol and aspirin as they are strong on the stomach. Solpadeine is not ideal as it has caffeine and codeine, but people seem to like it since it is soluble," said Dr O Cleirigh, advising Maalox if your stomach remains upset.