No single medicine has been scientifically proven to cure a hangover. A systematic review of every substance claiming to treat or prevent hangovers found only very low-quality evidence for any of them, with no remedy tested more than once in a controlled trial. That said, you can treat individual hangover symptoms effectively with common, affordable options you probably already have at home.
Why No “Hangover Cure” Has Passed Scientific Testing
A systematic review published in the journal Addiction looked across all available clinical studies on hangover remedies. While some showed statistically significant improvements in symptoms, every single study suffered from serious methodological problems: small sample sizes, imprecise measurements, or poor study design. More telling, no two studies even tested the same remedy, meaning not a single result has been independently replicated. That’s the minimum bar for medical confidence, and nothing has cleared it.
This includes popular supplements marketed specifically as hangover cures. Products containing compounds like dihydromyricetin (DHM), a flavonoid extracted from the Japanese raisin tree, are widely sold as anti-hangover pills. While DHM has shown some interesting effects on liver cells in animal studies, the human evidence for hangover relief remains thin. Similarly, N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is often recommended online, but a clinical trial giving participants 1.2 grams of NAC both before and after a drinking session found it ineffective at reducing hangover symptoms compared to a placebo.
What Actually Helps: Treating Symptoms Individually
A hangover isn’t one problem. It’s several: headache, nausea, stomach irritation, dehydration, fatigue, and general inflammation. The most practical approach is targeting whichever symptoms bother you most.
For headache and body aches: Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) or aspirin are your best options. Both reduce inflammation, which is a major driver of hangover headaches. Take them with food to minimize stomach irritation, since your stomach lining is already inflamed from alcohol. Interestingly, common painkillers like these have never been formally tested in placebo-controlled hangover trials, but their anti-inflammatory mechanism directly addresses what’s happening in your body.
For nausea and upset stomach: Bismuth subsalicylate (Pepto-Bismol) forms a protective coating over your stomach lining and esophagus, shielding them from excess stomach acid. This can ease nausea, heartburn, and that queasy discomfort. Antacids like calcium carbonate (Tums) work differently, neutralizing stomach acid directly. Either approach addresses the fact that alcohol causes your stomach to produce more acid than normal, which continues irritating your stomach lining well after you stop drinking.
For severe nausea or vomiting: Prescription anti-nausea medications that block serotonin receptors in the brain are highly effective at stopping vomiting. These are the same drugs used for chemotherapy-related nausea. They’re not specifically approved for hangovers, and they carry interaction risks with antidepressants, certain antibiotics, and migraine medications. If you’re vomiting so severely that you can’t keep water down for hours, that’s worth a medical call.
One Painkiller to Avoid
Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is a poor choice during a hangover. Alcohol activates a liver enzyme that converts acetaminophen into a toxic compound. At the same time, alcohol depletes glutathione, the molecule your liver uses to neutralize that toxin. The combination creates a scenario where even doses at or below the recommended 4-gram daily limit have caused liver damage in some people. This risk is highest in people who drink regularly, skip meals, or are fasting, since all of these further deplete the liver’s protective resources.
Rehydration and Timing
Hangover symptoms peak when your blood alcohol level drops back to zero, not while you’re still drunk. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, symptoms can persist for 24 hours or longer after that point. This is why you might feel fine going to bed and wake up miserable: your body is still processing alcohol through the night, and the worst hits once it’s gone.
Dehydration is a major contributor to how bad you feel. Alcohol suppresses a hormone that tells your kidneys to retain water, so you lose fluid far faster than normal while drinking. Replacing that fluid matters more than any pill. Water works. Drinks with electrolytes (sodium, potassium) work slightly better because alcohol also depletes those minerals. Sports drinks, coconut water, or even broth all fit the bill. Drinking a large glass of water before bed and another first thing in the morning makes a noticeable difference for most people.
Hangover vs. Alcohol Withdrawal
Most hangovers are unpleasant but harmless, resolving within a day. Alcohol withdrawal is a different and potentially dangerous condition. The key differences: withdrawal symptoms begin 6 to 12 hours after your last drink and last 3 to 7 days, well beyond a typical hangover. Withdrawal can include visible shaking, a racing heartbeat, extreme confusion, hallucinations, or seizures. If someone who drinks heavily experiences any of these after stopping, that requires emergency medical attention, not a hangover remedy.
A Practical Hangover Plan
Since no single medicine covers everything, the most effective approach combines a few basics:
- Before bed: Drink 16 to 24 ounces of water. Eat something bland if you can.
- In the morning: Take ibuprofen or aspirin with food, not on an empty stomach. Avoid acetaminophen.
- For stomach issues: Use an antacid or bismuth subsalicylate if nausea or heartburn is prominent.
- Throughout the day: Keep drinking fluids with electrolytes. Eat small, easy meals when you can tolerate them. Rest.
None of this is a cure. Your body needs time to clear the inflammatory byproducts of alcohol metabolism, repair irritated tissue, and restore fluid balance. These steps simply make the wait less miserable.