What Do IV Drips Do?
IV drips have become an increasingly prominent treatment in recent years, popping up everywhere, from wellness clinics to our social media feeds. But despite the insane level of visibility, there remains a lot of confusion about what these treatments actually help us with or if they are just another wellness trend, all hype and no substance.
If you’ve found yourself in this spot and wonder whether this treatment is right for you, this guide has you covered. Let’s break down what IV therapy actually involves, and whether you’ll reap any real benefits from it.
What exactly happens during IV therapy?
At its core, IV therapy is a very straightforward procedure. It involves an intravenous drip that delivers fluids, vitamins, minerals, and other vital nutrients directly into the bloodstream. It’s a process that doesn’t take more than an hour, during which you’ll be seated comfortably as the mixture drips steadily into your system.
The key advantage of this delivery method lies in bioavailability, which refers to how much of a nutrient your body actually absorbs. When people take vitamins orally, they must first pass through their digestive system first. Our stomach acid first breaks them down, then the liver metabolises them, and in the end, only a small portion of what you swallow makes it into your bloodstream. IV therapy can bypass this entire process, by delivering nutrients directly where your body needs them. This helps in achieving maximum absorption (100% bioavailability) in the process.
Using this method also means the effects can be felt much more quickly. While oral supplements may take hours or even days with consistent intake to show any noticeable impact, IV drips work their magic almost immediately, providing a much-needed boost almost instantly.
What are the medical uses of IV therapy?
Before we delve into the wellness applications of this treatment, it’s best to first understand why IV therapy has remained a cornerstone of medical treatment for many decades. You see, hospitals worldwide use it every day for patients who need rapid hydration, cannot take medications orally, or require immediate nutrient replenishment.
Let’s take severe dehydration as an example. Whether this issue stems from a stomach bug, food poisoning, or simple heat exhaustion, the mixture from an IV drip can easily restore your hydration levels more effectively than drinking water alone. In the same vein, patients recovering from surgery often receive IV nutrition when they’re unable to eat normally. Not only that, but people with malabsorption-related conditions, like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, also rely on IV therapy to get essential nutrients that their digestive system simply cannot process correctly.
Then there are also situations where IV medications are necessary, wherein the stomach’s acid or the liver may render an oral supplement useless. Chemotherapy, as well as the use of certain antibiotics or emergency medications, falls into this category.
What are the most common wellness uses of IV drips?
For a healthy individual, IV drips serve a completely different purpose than those discussed above. Rather than treating a specific medical condition, they’re used as a preventive approach to health, serving as a valuable supplementary tool for your lifestyle.
Immune support
When it comes to boosting your immune system, IV drips utilise a combination of vitamin C, amino acids, glutathione, and zinc. Vitamin C is perhaps the most well-known of these immune supporters, playing a crucial role in the production and function of white blood cells that fight off infections in our body. At the high doses delivered through IV therapy or otherwise, it also acts as a powerful antioxidant that can protect your cells from damage.
Glutathione, better known as the master antioxidant, works at removing free radicals from your body while supporting the liver’s detox process. Meanwhile, zinc serves in the development and function of our immune cells. Together, all these ingredients create a comprehensive immune boost that you can always rely on during cold and flu season or before periods of high stress.
Athletic recovery
Many athletes and fitness enthusiasts have gone down the IV therapy route as a recovery tool, and it’s relatively easy to catch why. After intense training, our body needs to repair muscle tissue, clear out wastes, and replenish depleted nutrients. It’s a lot of work, and though our body is naturally capable of handling it, an IV drip, specifically one with vitamin C and alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), can serve as a much-needed booster to keep things going strongly.
On the one hand, vitamin C helps our body form collagen, which is essential for repairing connective tissues and muscles. It also reduces the chances of inflammation that can occur after strenuous exercise. ALA, on the other hand, helps support mitochondrial function, enabling your cells to produce energy more efficiently. This can help speed up recovery time and allow you to return to training more quickly than you would through rest and nutrition alone.
Detoxing
Yes, your body does have natural detoxification systems that can benefit from support. But IV drips that are focused on detoxification can do wonders for your liver’s ability to process and eliminate toxins.
Glutathione, for one, binds to toxins, heavy metals, and other harmful substances, making them easier for your body to excrete. Then, vitamin C enhances this process while also protecting your cells from oxidative stress. Research has consistently shown that glutathione plays a crucial role in our body’s detoxification pathways, making it a cornerstone of detox-related intravenous therapies.
Fatigue
Suppose you’ve been dealing with persistent tiredness that good sleep and caffeine can’t fix. In that case, IV drips may be the option for you – particularly a cocktail that contains B12, B-complex vitamins, vitamin C, and alpha-lipoic acid. The B12 vitamin can help support your body’s production of red blood cells and neurological function. When combined with the other B vitamins, vitamin C, and ALA, what you’ll get is a comprehensive energy boost that can address fatigue from multiple angles in one go.
Longevity
There is no application of IV therapy more forward-thinking than its use in longevity-focused treatments, which aim to slow ageing at a cellular level and support long-term health. These drips will often feature NAD+ and glutathione as their star ingredients.
NAD+ is essentially a coenzyme found in every cell of our body. While it is essential for your body’s energy production, DNA repair, and cellular communication, its levels naturally decline as we age, a phenomenon that many scientists believe contributes to age-related health issues. Glutathione complements this by protecting cells from oxidative damage that accumulates over time.
By supplementing NAD+ through IV therapy, you can potentially restore cellular function to a level comparable to that of your younger self and slow various aspects of the ageing process.
Is IV therapy safe?
When administered under proper medical supervision, yes, IV therapy is generally safe for anyone. That said, most medical procedures carry some level of risk, which is precisely why choosing a certified and reputable clinic is so important. On the off-chance that you do experience an allergic reaction or face some other complication like minor bruising at the injection site, you will need trained medical professionals who can respond appropriately using the proper protocols.
More importantly, a clinic with such professionals will always conduct a thorough consultation before giving you the green light for IV therapy. The doctors will review your medical history, discuss your health goals, and ensure that the treatment is suitable for your specific situation before proceeding any further. While on the topic, what you should absolutely avoid at all costs are unqualified providers or facilities that lack proper medical oversight. These carry unnecessary risks that simply are not worth taking.
The bottom line on IV drips
In the end, IV drips are neither a wellness fad nor a miracle cure. They’re a legitimate medical treatment that has expanded into preventative health applications. When used appropriately and under proper medical supervision, they can offer real benefits for the right people in the right situations.
The key is being informed and thoughtful about your decision. You need to be clear about what you’re hoping to achieve, always opt for a reputable clinic, and maintain realistic expectations about what this treatment will do for you. Once you do all that, everything involving this treatment will work out just fine.
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