Thank you to the lovely Geneviève LeJeunefor for inviting me to speak to her members of the wonderful Skirt Club about herbal medicine. Here are my post party recovery tips.

Dealing with the Hangover

Alcohol depletes the body of minerals and dehydrates the system. Rehydrate with coconut water. It is high in electrolytes, including potassium, which your body desperately needs after excessive alcohol consumption.

When you wake up have a glass of water with 1/2 teaspoon of lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of salt.  Drink this slowly to help stabilise blood sugar levels.

Ginger will settle an upset stomach, soothe nausea and help to balance blood sugar levels. Chew on a slice of fresh ginger or chop up a large chunk of ginger and boil in water for 10 minutes to make a lovely tea. Adding the juice of half a lemon and a big spoon of honey will also help to stabilise blood sugar levels.

Camomile is a common herb that many people will have in their tea cupboard. Camomile is excellent for soothing an upset gut. The used tea bags can be cooled in the fridge and then places on the eyes to soothe the morning after puffy eyes.

Can’t face food? Have a banana. Gentle on the stomach and full of potassium and electrolytes which your body will be craving.

If you can face food then eat some eggs. Eggs contain L-cysteine, an amino acid that is responsible for breaking down and releasing toxins. Add some green leafy veg or cruciferous veg as these are high in B vitamins and help support the liver.

Take some good quality Milk Thistle as it helps support healthy liver function. Other herbs that support the liver include dandelion, artichoke leaf and shisandra berry.

Relax in a bath and add some Epsom salts. The magnesium in the Epsom salts will be absorbed through the skin helping to ease the alcohol induced anxiety.

A castor oil pack is wonderfully relaxing and helps the liver to detoxify. Dip a flannel of piece of cloth in castor oil, ensure the cloth is full of castor oil but not dripping, place the cloth on your skin over the liver area, place a plastic bag over the cloth, place a towel over the plastic bag and then place a hot water bottle on top. The heat will help drive the castor oil in to the body. Relax. Do not do a castor oil pack if you are on your period or breastfeeding.

Soothing Sore Lady Parts

Those camomile tea bags once again come in useful. Camomile is anti-inflammatory so the cold teabags can be placed on sore nipples to soothe them. They can also be added to a bath so the water becomes infused with camomile to soothe sore lady lips.

Baking soda can help relieve itching, burning and swelling so is very soothing to add to a bath. Depending on how much water you have in the bath, add between one large table spoon to 2 cups of baking soda.

Calendula (marigold) is fabulous for sore nipples. Massage a little cream in to the nipples and feel almost instant relief.

For those mystery bruises try applying some arnica cream. Arnica will heal swellings and bruising quickly.

If you are feeling a little overwhelmed then add a few drops of Elm Bach Flower remedy to your water and drink throughout the day.

Please do contact me if you want to buy any of the herbs I have spoken about or any extra advice. hello@siobhancosgrave.com