It's estimated that about 1 in 5 American workers between ages 20 and 30 will be at work with a hangover on Thursday.  Based on the people I know, that's a pretty believable statistic.

Before I give you some ideas on dealing with the hangover, I have to disclaim this by saying I've never had a hangover.  Now, you may be assuming that perhaps I have some aversion to alcohol...not at all.  I don't drink often, but when I do, I go all out.  Typically a little too far.  My punishment doesn't come in the form of hangovers, but rather in the blurry memories of weird and often inappropriate conversations I've had with the people I encountered throughout the evening.  Trust me, Billings is too small to be acting crazy and expect no one will find out.

So, why don't I get hangovers?  Well, like most things that we either excel or fail at, genetics is probably the biggest factor.  However, I did notice something in my case:  Cigarettes give you insane headaches.  Obviously, there is a huge list of reasons to not smoke (early, painful death that feels like you're drowning for the last few months of your life comes to mind), but for those who smoke there is the tendency to chain smoke when drinking.  Not nearly as bad now with the "no smoking inside" rules, but when you're at a backyard BBQ sucking down one cig after another, I promise you you'll end up with that dull headache for hours the following day.  So there's tip number one:  If you haven't quit smoking already because of the many logical reasons to do so, ease up when you're partying.

Second thing to do is drink lots of water.  Water is something I typically avoid, but if you've had a night of drinking, odds are you're dehydrated and a nice steady flow of water for the first few hours of the day can do wonders to make you human again.  Of course, you'll need to balance the water consumption so you don't cross the "I'm going to puke" line.

The last thing, and biggest tip I can offer is this:  Take a headache powder.  Not asprin.  Not tylenol.  Headache powder.  Here in Montana, you'll find two of the 3 popular varieties:  Goody's and B.C.  You'll want the extra strength which contains acetamenaphyn (Tylenol) and an analgesic (asprin), plus Caffeine. This stuff is crushed and comes in a little wax paper that your coworkers will assume is an illicit narcotic, but they're perfectly legal and work magic against headaches.  Of course, if you're allergic to any part of that cocktail, avoid it entirely...I'm not a doctor.

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