A pounding headache, waves of nausea and possible vomiting? Sounds fatal until you pair it with the smell of old beer, messy hair, and a wristband.

The only hard part about partying is waking up in time for your 10 a.m. lecture the morning after Thirsty Thursday – without the hangover.

There are three simple ingredients every college student should know when trying to recover from a long and drunken night out: water, food, and medication.

Be afraid, wine night, and bring it on, ice bombs. You don’t stand a chance against these helpful tricks and tips.

Step one: Water

Waking up one hour before class will leave you with more than enough time to rid your tired body of the effects of last night’s booze. The first step involves water. Drink it, splash some on your face, let it steam out the toxins in the shower. H2O is now your friend.

The reason your head feels like you hit it on something, unless you actually did in the course of last night, is because you are extremely dehydrated. You should consume a water-bottle sized amount of water for every two shots of alcohol you drink. That means if you consumed eight jager bombs last night, you’re drinking four bottles of water this morning.

In case you haven’t made it to the mirror yet, I’m guessing you probably shouldn’t. Head straight for the shower not only to refresh yourself, but to get rid of that old beer smell, possibly smeared makeup and bed head. And for God’s sake, cut off your wristband before you even think about heading out the door.

Step two: Food

So you look and feel somewhat cleaner, but that doesn’t stop your stomach from flip-flopping to the point of dry heaves. Food is the next step on your road to recovery; it will soak up the alcohol and settle your stomach. Carbs are not the enemy right now. Eat something with substance, like a sandwich, bagel or pasta. But be careful because you don’t want it coming right back up the way it went down.

Step three: Medication

If your headache still hasn’t subsided even after you have put some healthy substances into your body, pop a couple of ibuprofens. Be careful when selecting your painkiller and make sure to steer clear of anything including the drug acetaminophen, such as Tylenol. This chemical hooks up with the alcohol in your body and converts your liver into something most resembling tar.

Additional tips

Do not put back on the same clothes you went out in; they still reek of booze. Either you spilled it on yourself or that girl in four-inch stilettos stumbled into you spilling her rum and diet everywhere, but even if you can’t smell it, someone else can. Don’t forget to grab some sunglasses because whether August or January, the sun is always brighter with a hangover.

Lastly, remember that these tips aren’t promises. If none of this works, just get back in bed.

Someone wiser told me, “You can always retake a class, but you can never relive a party.” You don’t really have to go to that 10 a.m. lecture. Let’s get real, this is college.