Miracle Booster Or Expensive Urine?

Most women visit IV bars to cure hangovers, dehydration (flu or food poisoning), jet lag or to boost skin and hair. These bars offer

a ‘special blend of vitamins and electrolytes’ - different options according to your needs. A few years ago, you would have needed a medical reason and a doctor to give the go ahead and here’s why:

*Overdosing is possible.

*Not all vitamins are safe for IV administration.

*Lack of medical evidence that it benefits your health, especially if you are eating regularly and well.

*The injection site can become infected, and a vein can become inflamed or blocked with a clot.

*Expensive

The Experts:

Robert H. Schmerling, MD (Harvard Health Publishing) says; “Some people who get the flu (very young/ old) need IV fluids, but they’re generally quite sick and belong in a medical facility…And the conditions for which the IVs are offered are not conditions caused by dehydration or reversed by hydration. For example, jet lag is not due to dehydration. And while oral fluids are generally recommended for hangover symptoms (among other remedies), dehydration is not the only cause of hangover symptoms. Finally, there’s a reasonable alternative to IV fluids: drinking fluids. If you’re able to drink fluids, that’s the best way to get them.”

Sophie Medlin (former clinical dietitian & lecturer in nutrition & dietetics at King’s College London) agrees with “There is simply no medical justification in any case other than intestinal failure. Typically, a patient would have a thorough medical history taken. Infusion of vitamins potentially puts the liver and kidneys under stress…And why risk possible infection when our gut is excellent at absorbing the vitamins and minerals we need? IV drips push vitamins into our bloodstream in a force-fed way. We will probably just excrete at least 90% of what’s being infused in, so actually the benefits are very minimal, if any at all.”

The World Health Organisation’s rep, Lisa Roger’s, suggests that “People only need vitamins in tiny amounts and only in the case of having a deficiency is it worth considering taking extra supplements,” she says.