The pounding headache, the queasy stomach, the dizziness, the extreme sensitivity to light and sound, and the general overwhelming feeling of regret - all part of nature's punishment for having a little too much fun the night before.
Although most people know that drinking in moderation is best, many get caught up in the moment and can't resist the temptation to tip back a few too many with close friends.
After making late-night prayers to the "porcelain god" or the nearby trash can, some students will try any hangover remedy to end their misery.
Sitting on a blue couch at an off-campus party spot, music education freshman Paul Kelly said the sign of a really bad hangover is waking up the next day still drunk.
"You get up happy, of course, because you're still drunk, but then your head hurts and you just want to die," Kelly said.
Kelly's worst hangover was the regretful culmination of a night full of European techno music, hard liquor and some intense dancing.
"When I was in Germany, I had the worst hangover in the world after I was in a club called Zikir," Kelly said.
"I was drunk because I had vodka and then I headbanged the entire night."
Pain woke Kelly the next morning. He couldn't move his neck or his lower back.
"I had to have lunch with my host family, and I just wanted to die or throw up," he said. "It was death in a feeling. I could imagine that if you could feel death, that's what it would be like."
While most college students think hangovers result from the mistake of tipping back a few extra beers, experts on alcohol studies said it's a little more complicated.
Robert Hammond, director of Lansing's Alcohol Research Information Service, said rest is the only true relief for a gripping hangover.
"Alcohol disrupts just about everything - the digestive system, the nervous system - and it dehydrates people," he said. "Besides making people silly, it poisons the body and the body tries to get rid of it.
"There is nothing medical science, that I'm aware of, has come up with to really help with hangovers. When you overdo it, pain will persist."
Hammond said people always talk about teaching students how to drink responsibly, but fail to teach them how to abstain.
Pills and homemade remedies won't work, because they don't get at the core of the problem, he said.
And though many people begin the morning after drinking with another drink, Hammond said this isn't a solution.
"Age-old myths, like the 'hair of the dog that bit you,' just prolong the inevitable," he said.
But some students swear by certain homemade remedies and old wives' tales that are supposed to slow harmful effects to their bodies and prevent the nasty headache after a long night of drinking.
Methods of sobering up have evolved from the well-known "cold shower and a cup of coffee" to the newest trend in hangover pills.
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The Chaser, Morning Glory, Hangover Magic, RU-21 and Before the Morning After are just some of the new hangover-prevention pills that have landed on shelves.
But some students like Central Michigan University senior Mark McKenna remain skeptical about the reliability of such products.
"I almost bought those pills once," McKenna said, as he shared a pitcher of beer with a friend at The Peanut Barrel Restaurant, 521 East Grand River Ave. "The guy selling them told me not to buy them because he took them once and said he couldn't get drunk."
But most criticism of anti-hangover pills such as RU-21 comes from people who have never tried it, said Emil Chiaberi, chief executive officer of Spirit Sciences USA, Inc., which produces RU-21.
The RU-21 pill includes a combination of ingredients that are found in common foods and calculated in proportions that enhance the metabolization of alcohol, he said.
The active ingredient, succinic acid, also called amber acid, is unique and occurs naturally in the body, Chiaberi said. This acid changes the way people metabolize alcohol based on their genetic make-up, and it prevents toxic byproducts from affecting a person's system.
"When someone takes the pill, no damage is being done to their body," Chiaberi said. "But, if you take in more alcohol than your body is able to metabolize, you're not going to feel too great the next morning. This is not a miracle pill; it's not a silver bullet."
Adam Feuerstein, a telecommunication, information studies and media senior, said he no longer drinks to excess.
"I've seen the cheesy ads for the Chaser pill and thought about trying it," Feuerstein said. "I may have used it more before, but not now."
A little H20 is all Feuerstein said he needs to beat his hangover blues.
"I always drink a couple waters at the end of the night," he said, "That's my deal and it's worked for years."
Other hangover cures range from the well-known methods of taking vitamins and hitting the snooze to lemon rubbing and raw egg consumption.
As a former taxi driver, McKenna said he would hear people talk about the strangest remedies.
"I've heard a lot of people suggest self-induced vomiting to make themselves feel better," McKenna said. "My friend had a hangover package that was made of one gallon of water and a package of Swiss Cake Rolls - it seemed like a surefire remedy."
Some students swear that a either little or a lot of physical activity before falling asleep helps.
Microbiology junior Max Foster said that last year, he took part in a less-intense version of "Fight Club" on the second floor of Hubbard Hall to ironically prevent the future headache pain.
"We would have the 'Hubbard Hallway Challenge,'" Foster said. "We would run and tackle each other.
"That definitely cured a hangover."
Had a few too many?
Here are a few guidelines to follow to avoid the dreaded day-after agony of a hangover.
Do:
1. Give it time - Unfortunately, for most, the only true cure for a hangover is to watch the hours pass by and let your body recover.
2. Prevention - If you can't handle your liquor, know your limits and don't exceed them.
3. Water - Drink lots of it. Water has been proven to be the most effective way to prevent a hangover. It is best to drink plenty of water before, during and after a night of drinking.
4. Sleep - Although many will hit the snooze anyway, it's always a good idea to just "sleep it off" in the morning.
Steer Clear of:
1. The hair of the dog that bit you - Consuming more alcohol in the morning isn't the most proven method. The effects are only temporary and will only delay hangover symptoms.
2. Advil - While it may mask a hangover headache, it should never be consumed while drinking.
3. Don't mix drinks - People think that adding sugar to drinks or mixing two drinks together is a good idea. It isn't. The body just rejects the concoction and treats it like poison.
4. Cheap or dark liquors - Sorry, but the cheap stuff contains more congeners than more expensive brands. Shy away from red wines, bourbon and other dark liquors.
5. Coffee and a cold shower - Caffeine dehydrates the body, and this method will only lead to a grumpy, wide-awake drunk.
Unusual Remedies and Old Wives' Tales:
Germany - Anti-hangover shampoo. Somehow we fail to understand the sobering effects of clean hair follicles.
Singapore - Herbal soup laced with ginseng supposedly can help cure a hangover.
Mongolia - Glass of tomato juice containing a pickled sheep's eye. Ewwww.
England - Rub half a lemon under each armpit. The lemons must be rubbed clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern. Try remembering that when you're drunk. Or try a Prairie Oyster. Brandy, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, tomato ketchup, Angostura Bitters, cayenne pepper and a raw egg yolk.
Haiti - Stick 13 black-headed pins in the cork of the bottle that gave you the hangover.
Finland - Pickled herring and a cold beer.
Italy - Rice, pasta and dairy products. No tomatoes. They're acidic and can make the hangover worse.
Russia - Drink a glass of brine from homemade pickled cucumbers or sauerkraut.
Hong Kong - Swallow raw eggs or butter before drinking.
Wales - Hangover breakfast of roast pig's lung.
Assyria - Mix crushed swallows' beaks with myrrh.
Rome - Fried canaries.
Morocco - Inhaling the smoke of burning fossils and dabbing rose oil on the temples to relieve the pounding headache.
Students say:
1. Vitamins B and C - They keep you healthy but don't cure nature's punishment for partying.
2. Raw eggs and cookie dough - Some say you blend them to induce vomiting. Gross.
3. Chocolate milk and pizza rolls - A good combination any time.
4. Greasy Foods - Holy stomachache, Batman!
5. Gatorade/Slurpees and Energy Drinks - Sounds sensible enough.
6. Honey on crackers - Elementary-school snack time.
7. Self-induced vomiting before bedtime - Although extremely gross, some people swear it makes them feel better.
8. Chicken soup - Hey, it works for colds.
9. Tomato juice - Some people believe in the soothing capabilities of vegetables.
10. Hangover pills - Taking a few before drinking will help to increase metabolic processes that rid the body of toxins. It isn't, however, an excuse to binge drink.
11. Exercise and other, ahem, physical activities - Some swear that a little action, self-induced or not, will help rid the body of toxins.
Source: curea-hangover.com
