Spirits at night, IV by day

Having one too many drinks is something most people indulge in — gulping down spirits, one after the other, till they are completely sloshed!

By the time you wake up several hours later — your world is spinning. A glass of lime water or fresh fruit juice as a remedy for the hangover is passe now. People have moved over that.

With the party janta partying like there is no tomorrow, every single day of the week, a new trend of sorts to beat the harsh hangover blues is fast catching up — IV therapy. Read on.

Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, one of the leading gastroenterologist in the world, confirms the use of saline. “Too much alcohol causes dehydration and people, who want to get rid of their hangover real quick, visit the hospital to take saline,” says Dr Reddy, adding, some people also take a combination of saline and multi vitamins to counter the effects of large amounts of alcohol consumption. “Chronic alcoholics are often vitamin deficient and therefore a dose of multi vitamins is added to saline which helps in a quick recovery from a hangover,” explains Dr Reddy, the Chairman of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology.

He says combining IV vitamin therapy with IV hydration therapy is intended to replenish, restore, and detoxify the body more quickly than, for example, drinking water, following a healthy diet, or taking medication orally.
“Specially formulated cocktails of nutrients, vitamins, electrolytes, antioxidants, and occasionally even medications are administered via an IV,” informs Dr Reddy.

IV Therapy

Intravenous therapy, commonly known as IV therapy, refers to a method of delivering fluid into veins with an injection from a syringe or via infusion, commonly referred to as a drip. The medical treatment helps deliver fluids, medications, and vitamins directly into the bloodstream, through the vein. It has been around for decades to treat a variety of health conditions.
Now, it’s slowly becoming the most preferred way to beat a nasty hangover, especially those who have to leave for work or college the following day. It gives one more energy, less fatigue throughout the day, and easier to go about work without feeling lethargic.

Quick fix

“Intravenous (IV) drips are a solution for people who have a little extra cash to spare. As a quick fix for hangover recovery, these IV drips have grown in popularity,” says Dr Chaitanya Challa, general physician at KIMS hospital.
They contain a combination of saline, vitamins, headache relief, and anti-nausea medications, he says. “Others doubt their true efficacy and potential risks, while some see them as an opulent and practical solution,” says the general practitioner.

Ethanol

Elaborating further, he says alcohol has a chemical called Ethanol. “Consumption of alcohol releases Ethanol in the blood, which in turn causes increased blood flow, a process that is called vasodilation. So, when the blood flow to the brain increases, it gives a terrible headache,” says Dr Chaitanya. Generally, different people react differently to different types of alcohol. “But who wants to deal with a harsh hangover the next day morning? So, many a times people are unable to drink lots of fluids or unable to eat because they are already dehydrated, depleted from energy,  lethargic because of the previous night’s alcohol. So, this concept of fluids has started which gives immediate results,” says Dr Chaitanya.

He informs that there are different types of drips available, including Multivitamin drips. “ I doubt if all of them are highly useful but it is definitely being marketed on a large scale,” says Dr Chaitanya, pointing out that the hangover hits you most because of dehydration. There are also drip with amino acids and energy boosters as well.

At home service

According to Dr Chaitanya, there are some companies who have started offering the IV therapy service at home. “There is a company called Health at Homes which sends people home to give you IV fluids and Multi vitamin fluids at home. Once the hydration improves your headache will come down,” he adds.

And now, IV bars !

The West has stretched the potential of IV therapy with IV bars and lounges popping up in malls across the US over the last few months. They call it a hydration or vitamin therapy.  According to reports, these IV therapy lounges offer a variety of vitamin and nutrient cocktails, each claiming to provide a different benefit, from weight loss to pain relief to detoxing your body, all of it with price tags of thousands of dollars. They even offer an IV drop to boost your libido, instantly.