IV Therapy as a Wellness Trend

IV Therapy as a Wellness Trend

IV therapy as a medical treatment is only about 100 years old. Using vascular access to help patients receive vital medications and vitamins during a hospital stay has likely saved lives through decades of medical advancements. But what about wellness trends? In the past several years, IV therapy has gone from common medical treatment to hot new trend. IV bars and drip bars are becoming big business for those seeking to cash in on wellness. Let’s look further.
Mom comforting daughter getting IV in hospital
What is a “drip bar”?

Much like the beauty industry, the concept of IV therapy as a wellness concept largely relies upon ringing celebrity endorsements. Celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow have given the thumbs up to the idea that getting an IV to treat anything from exhaustion, hangovers, and dehydration is the path to a healthier life.

Enter the drip bar.

The drip bar concept allows paying customers to come into an establishment and receive a cocktail of vitamins and nutrients to be delivered intravenously.1

Mom comforting daughter getting IV in hospital

But what about price? While prices vary from drip bar to drip bar, many places charge upwards of $200 for a treatment.

Many times, these establishments are staffed with trained medical professionals, so the business is worked by those who know their way around an IV needle.

Still, despite that, the risk of an IV infiltration remains. While studies about IV infiltrations in drip bars are not currently available, we do know that half of all IVs in hospitals are likely to fail.

MORE: Read on the Causes, Signs, Side Effects, and Treatments for IV Infiltrations and Extravasations.

What’s in the IV bag?

We’ve already gone over what’s in an IV bag for your average hospital patient, but what about those who shell out cash for an IV infusion?

READ MORE: What’s in my IV fluid?

Turns out, many people are paying for what’s called a “Myers’ Cocktail” – a combination of IV fluids such as vitamins and electrolytes made famous by a doctor.

Mom comforting daughter getting IV in hospital
Dr. John Myers developed the mixture back in the 1960s to help some of his patients who were dealing with a myriad of illnesses. Since then, Myers’ cocktail has been studied and developed further with claims that it can treat a wide variety of conditions such as migraines, fatigue, allergies, and other issues.2 Other drip infusions claim to offer vitamin replenishment, rehydration, and detoxify patients.
IV drip bar criticisms
When it comes to most health and wellness trends, a healthy dose of skepticism and criticism is not usually far behind. While IV therapy is not being criticized considering its real-world application in the medical field and decades of research backing it, the trend of getting an IV for general wellness is. One such criticism being lobbed at the trend focuses merely on the trend being used as a money-making venture. Writing in Harvard Health Publishing, one doctor says people should avoid getting an IV unless recommended by a doctor.3 “While patient empowerment is generally a good thing, IV fluids on demand may not be the best example. Some of these services are much more about making money for those providing the service than delivering a product that’s good for your health,” the doctor wrote. Another doctor, cited in a report by CBS News, went further and blasted the treatments entirely. “The whole thing is really nonsense,” the doctor said. “It’s just catering to people’s sense that they’re taking their health into their own hands.”4
Still at a risk for IV complications

Despite many of these drip bars having certified health care professionals on staff does not mean they are completely unlikely to have issues.

There’s no such thing as the Perfect Clinician. So that means IV infiltrations and extravasations can still be an issue – even in a boutique-like atmosphere.

Once again, IV infiltrations can lead to the following:

      • Infections
      • Phlebitis
      • Compartment syndrome
      • Skin burns
      • Necrosis
      • Amputation
      • Permanent nerve damage
      • Medication dosing errors

Stay safe, and always ask questions whenever you’re getting an IV.

 

References
1How Stuff Works: – “IV Drip Bars Are a Hot Trend, But Are They Safe?”https://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/spa-health/iv-drip-therapy.htm 2 PubMed: “Intravenous nutrient therapy: the ‘Myers’ cocktail’”: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12410623/ 3Harvard Health Publishing: “Drip bar: Should you get an IV on demand?”:https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/drip-bar-should-you-get-an-iv-on-demand-2018092814899 4CBS News: “’IV lounges’ a trendy health fad, but are they safe?”: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iv-lounges-health-fad-are-they-safe/