IV Therapy is a treatment that delivers antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and hydration ingredients directly to your body via an IV bag. Treatments, which typically last around 45 minutes, can help with anything from boosting energy to fighting the common cold.
What is IV therapy used for?
During an IV Therapy treatment, a trained medical professional will insert a needle into your vein in a specific site on your body, depending on what you’re receiving the treatment for. For example, a cold and flu IV drip includes anti-nausea and anti-inflammatory medications to help ease common symptoms such as aches and pains, headache, fever and coughing.
The contents of an IV are based on your needs and include a mixture of saline (water and sodium chloride) to help hydrate you, as well as sugars like dextrose to normalize low levels of blood sugar and increase your energy, plus electrolytes, such as sodium. Hypertonic solutions are also used in some cases to encourage water into cells using osmosis.
Many non-hospital IV treatment centers, known as “IV bars” or “drip lounges,” offer a variety of IV therapies that are accessible to anyone without a prescription. If you’re planning to undergo IV therapy on a regular basis, you may benefit from having a central line surgically placed in your chest, arm, neck or groin, which can be used for all future treatments. Some of these services also offer mobile infusions at home or in your hotel room. Contact them for details.