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Feng shui consultant Karena Sophia, 44, from Worcester, had an unexpected reaction to a hangover remedy
Many people will wake up on New Year’s Day with a throbbing head after drinking one too many glasses of wine the night before to ring in 2025 with. There are a myriad of hangover ‘cures’ available to try, but one natural remedy caused Karena Sophie to have a major reaction. Here, Karena tells us about trying out a natural hangover remedy which left her breaking out in hives.
She shared: “I don’t drink much now that I’m so busy with my work, but when my nephew was turning 18, I thought, ‘It won’t hurt just this once.’ I’ve always been a healthy eater, yet when it comes to wine, I don’t think about whether it’s healthy or not. I just follow my one rule: Only drink when I’m happy. Maybe it’s because I know the liver can repair itself that I don’t restrict myself when I fancy a glass of Pinot now and again. Regardless, it had been a while since I’d had a big blowout, so my body wasn’t ready for the overindulgence that night.
“I woke up feeling very sick. It was something I hadn’t felt for years and wasn’t used to. I’m an emotional freedom technique practitioner and can usually remove pain or symptoms pretty easily, but on this occasion, I didn’t have much time so I decided to try milk thistle.
“I suffer from hay fever and allergies and within minutes of taking milk thistle, I came out in hives. I took vitamin C as a natural antihistamine to counter the allergy, as I try to avoid conventional medicines.
“I’m not sure if it was the milk thistle alone or the combination with vitamin C, but the hangover sickness disappeared within half an hour. Unfortunately, the allergic rash lasted a couple of days, but I’d take the rash over the hangover any day!”