It’s becoming more common to see spas offering IV therapy proclaiming the benefits of their vitamin cocktail, and hydrating effects. These centers advertise that IV infusion does everything from cure hangovers to boost your immunity. Some even suggest that their treatment is more efficient than staying hydrated, following a healthy lifestyle, and even just taking their medicine orally. Can these really treatments improve our health? Read more to find out.
In 2018, celebrity Kendall Jenner was hospitalized due to a reaction to a vitamin IV drip. This treatment is often touted as a cure-all and many celebrities are willing to pay the hefty price to feel better. This treatment, though, is not without risks, the most common being some kind of reaction between the IV treatment and the current medicine a patient is taking.
Advertised Benefits
These IV drip boutiques advertise many benefits from the treatment, and typically include the following:
- Improve your immunity
- Eliminate hangovers
- Clear your complexion
- Help you lose weight
- Alleviate chronic pain
- Detoxify your body
- Increase your fitness performance and recovery
- Enhance your focus
- Boost your libido
Spas and treatment centers tout their long last effects of IV vitamin treatments, but those fantastic results come with a price tag. The treatments usually start at $200 and go up from there.
Hydration
According to Dr. Sam Torbati, co-chair of Emergency Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, “for the most part, people report feeling better after these treatments because it’s a rapid way to receive hydration.” Hydration is essential, but you can usually accomplish that on your own with a good hydration schedule. Unfortunately, most of us walk around dehydrated most of the time, so it makes sense that we’d feel better when properly hydrated.
IV treatments are said to be effective since they bypass the stomach, delivering contents straight into the bloodstream. Dr. Torbati urges caution here. IV treatments bypass the body’s filters and safeguards. When you are injecting something directly into your bloodstream you must know the product is safe. Houston Methodist Hospital stresses that these drips have no clinically-validated study confirming that IV hydration therapy or vitamin therapy has any real benefit to you.
Your better, less expensive, option is a solid plan for hydration, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and self-care. Save your money for a different spa treatment–like a massage or a facial.
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