One possible solution for the New Year’s Day hangover is Goody’s headache medicine, like this six-powder packet found at Ramstein’s shoppette. (Ben Bloker/Stars and Stripes)
Some holidays, when observed in proper fashion, may require celebrants to spend the following day paying for their indulgence.
New Year’s Day may be one such occasion. But there is, regrettably, no straightforward cure for the day that follows an appropriately corrupt New Year’s Eve.
Science has yet to crack the hangover, but there is no shortage of homespun advice on how one might try.
This counter-intuitive gem is as good a place as any to start: To overcome bottle fatigue, "don’t stop drinking," said Spc. Ryan McCray, who is assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit in Vicenza, Italy.
If that’s not an option — say you have to go to work in the morning — McCray recommends going for a good run.
"By the time you’re done, you’re not hung over anymore," he said. "You’re something far worse."
Asked to clarify, he said death was the likely outcome.
Death, though, is heavy medicine, and doctors agree that it works just once.
Pfc. Chebbi Ramzi instead recommends a single beer in the morning on days you don’t have to work, and espresso on the days you do. Take it when you wake up, he said, and "most of the time it works."
For those who believe "most of the time" isn’t quite good enough, there’s only one way to overcome a hangover: Don’t get one.
But is it possible to avoid a hangover even while partaking in adult New Year’s festivities?
Sure, said Pvt. Lance Fluellen, a member of the 66th Transportation Company.
"If I know I’m gonna drink heavy, I take a headache tonic," he said. "Goody’s powder, that’s what I take" — Goody’s Extra Strength Headache Powders, that is.
And, if drink you must, "don’t mix alcohol," Fluellen said. Stick to one species of beverage, and make sure it doesn’t include energy drinks, such as Red Bull — that’s a mistake. More importantly, though, "Don’t drink on an empty stomach — that’s No. 1. That’ll mess you up right there."
That, of course, is the voice of youth.
For wisdom, follow this counsel: "Don’t drink," said Sgt. Maj. John Reynolds of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command in Kaiserslautern. "If you’re under control then you won’t have anything to worry about."
