In the past few years, intravenous vitamin treatments have exploded in popularity. Rundown customers are finding them as spalike “drip bars,” or are booking house calls by concierge services. In either case, after an initial consultation, they’ll be settled in a comfy chair with an IV line pumping the intravenous vitamin cocktail of their choice into their veins.
A typical visit takes 30 to 60 minutes and costs $100 to $300 (or more). None of the therapies is FDA-approved or likely to be covered by health insurance.
IV vitamin therapy was pioneered by John Myers of Baltimore in the 1960s (the Myers Cocktail, a popular formula, was named after him by a colleague), as a method to treat conditions such as asthma attacks, migraines and fibromyalgia. A clinical study of the effect of the Myers Cocktail on fibromyalgia patients found some improvement but no statistically significant results.
More recently, concentrated vitamin infusions have been popularized by celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and Gwyneth Paltrow. The dubious claims are that they can cure hangovers, boost energy, “recharge your body’s defenses” or “turn back the hands of time.” Some clinics go further by falsely saying that IV therapy can alleviate symptoms of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and various neurodegenerative disorders.
Vitamin supplementation is not inherently harmful and can be lifesaving for babies born prematurely or people with known deficiencies. But our bodies need them in only trace amounts...
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