All of us have had our evenings of indulgence when we just can’t seem to stop reaching for that next round.

It is all fun and games until the next morning arrives!

What if we tell you that there is an intravenous (IV) treatment – packed with antioxidants, vitamins, electrolytes, and minerals – to rid you of the terrors associated with a hangover?

Hangover IV Drip: A vitamin-cocktail elixir 

There are so many remedies to cure a hangover, but the best and fastest one so far is the Hangover IV Drip.

This miraculous IV drip for hangovers contains a scientific blend of fluids and vitamins that can cure the worst symptoms of your ‘night out’ instantly.

It works swiftly by going directly into your bloodstream, so you don’t have to waste your time waiting for the symptoms to vanish after eating the painkillers.

What’s in an IV drip for a hangover?

• IV Saline: Drinking alcohol represses certain enzymes and hormones in your body, such as antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which plays a vital role in reabsorbing water back into your system.

  Also, alcohol is a potent diuretic. So, it pulls the fluids of your body out real quick. Drinking alcohol may seem enjoyable, but it can cause severe dehydration in your body.

  An IV drip for hangovers contains IV saline, which is the first step to getting you out of trouble. Another plus point of taking this IV is that you don’t have to drink all the fluid with a sour stomach and nausea. 

• Vitamin B complex: B vitamins are water-soluble vitamins, and their substantial amounts are required in the blood to keep you conscious.

  Since alcohol is a diuretic, it robs you out of these vitamins when they are excreted. Loss of vitamin B complex leaves you fatigued, irritated, and with a heavy head. The Vitamin B complex in the drip will revive your blood vitamin levels for you to be back in the game.

• Vitamin B12: Cobalamin (B12) is also an essential vitamin that’s hard to take orally with a throbbing head and unsettled stomach.

  Therefore, the addition of cobalamin in IV treatment for hangovers helps you to get your mind focused and have some energy to get back to work.

• Glutathione: Working along with an enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, glutathione directly acts to deplete the toxic alcohol byproducts and a chemical called acetaldehyde.

  Secondly, glutathione is a potent anti-inflammatory enzyme that hinders the activation of cytokines. But, when you gulp down too much alcohol, your liver is unable to provide that much glutathione.

  Therefore, it is also added in IV therapy for a hangover to detoxify your blood and get rid of those cytokines and other inflammatory entities from the body. 

• Anti-emetic medicine: Alcohol brings out the worst in your stomach in the form of GIT irritation and its mucosal damage.

  This situation leads to the over-accumulation of gastric acid and pancreatic juice in the stomach. Also, it extends the digestion time of the meal. You will start feeling nauseous, and if you consume too much, you’ll probably throw it out.

  The anti-emetic medicines will help you out here by acting directly to block the transmission of those weird signals to the central nervous system.

• Headache and pain killers: A fast-acting treatment for throbbing headaches and lassitude is highly desirable in hangover cures.

  An anti-inflammatory drug added to the hangover drip will do it quickly by inhibiting the formation of inflammatory byproducts in the body, which are getting high after drinking.

  This is by far the quickest way to get your lost energy back or feel well enough to operate.

Do IV drips work for hangovers?

Still, wrapping your head around the idea?

To get a better grip on why and how it may work, let’s first look at the typical hangover symptoms:

• Being Lethargic and weariness 
• Dry mouth 
• Tinnitus
• Light and sound sensitivity 
• Nausea or vomiting
• Throbbing headache
• Loss of physical balance

IV therapy for hangovers provides you with a mixture of intravenous fluids immediately without needing to take anything orally (which is probably tricky due to an upset stomach). 

Since the IV drip delivers all the essentials such as nutrients, water, and medication directly into your blood without going through the digestive process, it definitely speeds up your recovery time and makes you feel good faster.

Also, the cocktail of vitamins and minerals for a hangover commonly carries anti-emetic and analgesic medications in it as well.

These indications usually last for the next day if they remain untreated.

How does this treatment work?

You must first understand what you do to your body when consuming alcohol:

• Alcohol goes down in your stomach and, after metabolism, splits into a smaller chemical ‘acetaldehyde’. It is a very toxic substance, and your body wants to dump it out right away. 
• For this purpose, the liver starts doing its job of detoxifying glutathione. But there is only a specific amount of glutathione produced by the liver at a given time. 
• If it is not enough, then the body will automatically find another way to dump it out, which is throwing up! 
• It shows that your body still has a lot of garbage to eliminate. But when you throw all the toxins away, you also get rid of all the water content and essential nutrients and minerals from your stomach and blood.
• Hence, an IV for hangovers helps you regain your natural levels of minerals and nutrients and rehydrates your body to help you feel brand new again. 

Who should get a Hangover IV Drip?

As the first course of action, hangover symptoms are evaluated in the person to determine eligibility. Usually, people with a weak stomach or higher alcohol sensitivity are advised to take this therapy right away after a party night to rebuild those lost vital nutrients. 

The type of drip also depends on the severity of the person’s hangover symptoms.

Normally, a standard type of IV is given, which comprises normal saline or ringer lactate solution along with vitamin B-complex, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, zinc, and glutathione.

But if the person has other related symptoms such as nausea and headache, then anti-emetic and analgesic medications are also added to the drip to speed up the recovery process.

Symptoms fought by a hangover drip

• Dehydration: Alcohol has ethanol in it which increases the flow of urine. So, when you drink lots and lots of alcohol, it will take a large amount of body fluid along with it from your body, making you dehydrated.
• Headache: Dehydration will ultimately overstimulate your brain cells, and you will become more sensitive to light. These, along with other side effects, will give you a nasty headache and an inability to focus.
• Body aches: Loss of so much water from the body along with essential nutrients and electrolytes will make your muscles sore and leave your body feeling tired. 
• Upset stomach: Alcohol is acidic in nature, and so is the pH of your stomach. So, when you drink too much of it, your digestive system gets upset due to the accumulation of too much acid in the stomach, therefore, leading to gut irritation.

IV bags for hangovers help you to get rid of all these dreadful side effects so you can start your next day without being exhausted or eating whatever you want, unaccompanied by the fear of throwing up or spending the next half hour in the toilet. 

Hangover Drip FAQs

Who administers hangover drips?

All the candidates go through a consultation with a medical practitioner before starting the procedure. And when everything is clear and understood, the IV is administered by a registered medical nurse or practitioner. 

How much time does it take to end?

Mostly, an IV bag for a hangover (500ml) takes almost 1 hour to finish. Sometimes it takes more than that because the speed of the drip is adjusted according to the suitability of the recipient.

How often can you get these drips?

These drips do not contain any harmful or addictive substances. So, these are 100% safe to get whenever you need them. But it would help if you waited a week between treatments to avoid punctured veins.

Are these safe to use?

It is also a frequently asked question related to the safety of this therapy. To make it clear, it has to be added that it does not have any harmful side effects. But if there are, they are mild and rare.

However, during the process, if you feel anything acute such as an anaphylactic attack symptom, tell the nurse immediately and visit your nearest hospital to get treated. 

What is a hangover IV called?

Multiple terms are being used for this IV drip for hangovers. Because its constituents include ringer lactate along with multivitamins and other nutrients, it is also used for other purposes, such as treating jet lags of passengers to make them combat the after-effects of long flights. 

Other commonly used names for this drip are given below:

• Jet lag eraser
• Hydro fix
• Epic hangover recovery

Why do people get an IV when hungover?

The after-effects of alcohol usually show up at about the same time when the alcohol completely gets excreted from your system. commonly when you get up the next day after a big night out. 

By making a reservation for yourself for an IV hangover treatment, you can have fun on your night out and almost skip every bit of the painful aftermath.

Of course, you do have to bear a little with a prick and needle to get your IV fluids, but at least you can avoid the bad headaches, nausea, and oral medications completely, which is half of a treat itself 😊. 

Nepenthe Wellness Center is equipped with every necessity and ergonomically designed for your comfort.

Highly qualified personnel such as medical doctors and trained nurses are available to answer your every query about the process if it is your first time.

They will ensure that you are a suitable candidate for IV therapy before starting the treatment.

Sources:

B., & S. (2022, January 1). Is a Hangover IV Drip the Cure to Your Hangover Symptoms? Bevvy. https://bevvy.co/articles/hangover-iv-drip-cure-hangover-symptoms/20595

Scotti, A. (2020, February 11). Do ‘Miracle’ IV Drips Really Cure Hangovers? We Investigate. PureWow. https://www.purewow.com/wellness/miracle-iv-drips

3 Benefits of IV Therapy for Hangover. (2021, July). Arizona IV Medics. https://www.azivmedics.com/blog/hangovers/3-benefits-of-iv-therapy-for-hangover

Donahue, J. (2020, November 13). 14 Proven Benefits of IV Therapy – #1: Therapy for Hangovers. Hydrate. https://whydrate.com/14-proven-benefits-of-iv-therapy/