What are IV drips and how do they work?
What are IV drips and how do they work?
Answers to all your questions about IV drips and our Intravenous Nutrition Therapy.
In our last blog, we talked about the benefits of IV therapy for your health and wellbeing but, now that you know the benefits, you may still have questions, such as what are IV drips and how do they work?
What are IV drips?
You may have only come across IV drips before in the context of a hospital treatment but they actually have a far wider application.
IV stands for “intravenous” meaning “within a vein” in Latin. It refers to delivering medicine, fluids or nutrients straight into the bloodstream via a vein. This allows for more consistent and accurate delivery than via an artery and is a much faster way of delivering essential nutrients than when given orally (e.g. in tablet or capsule form or when dissolved in water).
Intravenous Nutrition Therapy is a type of IV treatment.
Essentially, we use IV drips of different formulations - depending on your choice and needs - to deliver vital nutrients directly and immediately into your bloodstream, allowing your body to better absorb and utilise them.
The results include feeling more refreshed and energised, often within a few hours, as well as experiencing an ongoing boost in your energy, skin health, immune response (depending on the treatment received) over a number of days.
How do IV drips work?
When you have IV Nutrition Therapy, a small plastic tube called a catheter is placed directly into your vein via a needle. We use a numbing spray to make this comfortable for you.
Once your vein has been accessed, the needle is removed but the catheter stays in place for the duration of the treatment (about 30 to 60 minutes).
The catheter is attached to a single-use clear bag that contains your chosen IV infusion (a saline-based electrolyte solution containing a combination of vitamins and nutrients). This moves slowly through the catheter into your vein, directly into your bloodstream.
Once the infusion is complete, the catheter is removed and you can go on with your day.
Why not just take supplements?
The jury is still out on the effectiveness of oral vitamin and mineral supplements. Research from John Hopkins University found that they may have little to no benefits. The only exception being supplemental folic acid for “women with child-bearing potential”. Iron supplements may also be beneficial to this group.
Other studies suggest that some oral supplements can be beneficial for some people. Older adults, for example, may benefit from taking calcium, vitamin D or B12 supplements. Vegans and vegetarians may lack B12, calcium, zinc, iron, vitamin D and omega-3 acids, meaning they would benefit from taking multivitamins that contain these.
But even when people take oral supplements consistently and under guidance from an experienced GP or nutritionist, it’s estimated that the body absorbs less than 10% of the contained vitamins.
In part, this is because the coating of a tablet or capsule can prevent absorption, as can ingredients such as artificial sweeteners. Also, the human body’s ability to absorb vitamin tablets varies depending on diet, digestive health, overall health, age, lifestyle, hormones and more.
With IV drips, on the other hand, the nutrients are delivered directly into your bloodstream, maximising the absorption. PhDs from the University of New England have found that micronutrients need to be absorbed into the bloodstream to have the most positive impact.
What goes into an IV infusion?
Each IV infusion contains a precise mix of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. You can find the specific ingredients on the description page for each drip.
For example, the Immuno Booster drip contains Lysine, Cystine, Ornithine, Taurine, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, Methylcobalamin, while the Fat Burner Plus drip contains Galactose, Ornithine, Methionine, Arginine, Glycine, Lysine Hydrochloride, Cysteine, Taurine, Carnitine, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and Methylcobalamin in an Isotonic solution of Sodium Chloride.
As we need a fluid to carry the essential nutrients in each drip, the go-to option is saline (a mixture of salt (sodium) and water) because it’s great for boosting your hydration. You’re probably aware that sodium is an important electrolyte that’s vital for many of the body’s key functions.
Indeed, many of the drips contain electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium because they help to keep your body hydrated, regulate nerve and muscle function, and regulate your blood pressure.
Why we use the IntraVita range of vitamin drips and shots
We use the IntraVita range of intravenous nutrition drips because they have been thoroughly researched and developed by a team of leading medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, and nutritionists.
IntraVita will only supply the drips to medical professionals like us who have completed the IntraVita IV nutrient training course. We feel it’s essential to offer evidence-based treatments to ensure that you can experience maximum effectiveness and minimal side effects.
An added benefit of this range is that all of the drips are free from preservatives, gluten, genetically modified organisms (GMO), sugar, heavy metals, hexane and animal-based substances.
Are IV drips safe?
The use of IV drips for medicine and/or health and wellbeing dates back centuries and has been honed over the last hundred-plus years to be a safe treatment method.
IntraVita drips, in particular, have a safety record that goes back more than 10 years.
Although side effects are possible with any treatment, most people find that they can have an IV infusion with little to no side effects. Those that are reported are mild and self-resolve quickly. The most common side effects are some discomfort, bruising or redness at the injection site.
An IV infusion should always be administered by an experienced medical professional who has undergone the appropriate training, as is the case at Medikaur.