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Seen At 11: Get Off To A Hangover-Free Start In 2016

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- In less than 24 hours, Times Square will be filled with people celebrating, and watching the ball drop.

New Year's Eve celebrations often include parties and drinking, which means some people maybe spending the first day of 2016 nursing a hangover.

As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, there are go-to hangover cures that some New Yorkers swear by, but whether they work or not is a different story.

Need Help With Your Hangover? Try One Of The City's Best Cures

Dr. Daniel Yadegar from NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center said the most important thing to do when you are hungover is to drink plenty of fluids. Instead of just water or a sports drink he suggested pressed watermelon juice or coconut water.

"Coconut water, for instance, has electrolytes and it just hydrates you better than water," he said.

While you may be inclined to eat something greasy like a burger, Dr. Yadegar said you should be eating prickly pear cactus instead.

"The pads of the cactus can help hydration, so there's really no scientific evidence that it helps, but there is anecdotal evidence that people who eat this prickly pear cactus can beat a hangover or lessen the effects of a hangover," he explained.

You can take over the counter painkillers for your headache, but antacids will help with that uneasy feeling you get with a hangover.

"Alka-Seltzer has something call bicarbonate that actually helps your stomach and a lot of people when they're drinking alcohol will end up getting indigestion," Dr. Yadegar said.

Taking vitamins might also make you feel better.

"Especially B vitamins get depleted when you're drinking alcohol, so taking vitamins before or after could help replenish those vitamins," he explained.

And there are some so-called cures that Dr. Yadegar said will absolutely not help your hangover, but probably make you feel worse.

"That's another thing that's popular in other cultures is the 'hair of the dog' but that will only worsen your hangover. When you go into a sauna for instance, and sweat it out, it can potentially make you even more dehydrated," he said.

Ultimately, the best cure for a hangover is prevention, so drink in moderation, know your tolerance, and hydrate through the night.

 

 

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