The push is on for pills and patches that claim to block hangovers and hopefully offer a bit of preventive medicine, if you will, before that New Year's party, the Washington Times said.

"It's too late to do anything when you get a hangover but ride it out," says Will Chang, president of a Westminster, Calif., supplement company that makes a hangover patch.

Manufacturers of natural supplements are pushing preventive remedies like SoberX patches, Chaser pills and Beer Neutralizers, some with backing from doctors and university researchers.

Although the pills are more prominent, Chang says, the supplement company SoberXUSA already is "flooded" with orders for its patch, which was introduced last month.

Rather than swallow a pill, a drinker attaches the patch to any part of the body immediately before the festivities to metabolize alcohol more quickly and reduce hangover symptoms.