Intravenous Clinics For Health And Hydration: Are They Worth It?

I’d like my IV drip cocktail shaken not stirred, thanks. Dr Portia D’Anverrs drip feeds us the facts (and risks!) of this trendy way to rehydrate.

- Dr Portia D'Anverrs

THE TREND

Hydration clinics are popping up all over the place, offering relief from hangovers, fatigue, tiredness and dehydration. We all live busy lives, we all get a little tired sometimes, and I’m sure most of us have craved an IV drip and some painkillers after a big night out. Wouldn’t it be amazing if all it took to look and feel like a movie star, was a little ‘IVT’, as doctors call it (intravenous therapy)?

WHAT IS IT?

So, what are people signing up for when they step foot in a ‘hydration clinic’? The client can choose their delicious venous ‘cocktail’ of various vitamins and minerals from a ‘menu’. Would you like some vitamin C with your B-vitamin blitz? Or perhaps a pinch of glutathione with your soup of magnesium sulphate to get your engines purring.

Some clinics have a pre-assessment where a blood test is performed and you discuss your options with a doctor. On the day of your IV infusion, you arrive at the clinic and - after going through a questionnaire and consent form with a nurse – they whack a cannula in. Then you just lie back and relax for 30 minutes to an hour, as the cocktail infuses through your veins, heart, arteries and organs.

Some companies are offering an ‘at-home’ service, where the doctor comes to you! You could be lying back watching The Bold and the Beautiful while getting hydrated intravenously – IN the comfort of your own home!

THE COST?