As much as we stand by the very real, evidence-based merits of IV infusion therapy, there’s no denying the fact that this wellness practice has been plunged into the buzzword blender.
“Cleanse and detoxify.”
“Rejuvenate.”
“Holistic ____ support.”
While we certainly don’t deny that IV therapy can accomplish these things, we’re just as jaded as you are when it comes to this kind of messaging. In that spirit, we’ve rolled out for you a list of real health concerns suffered by real, everyday people that IV therapy can actually help with.
Altitude Sickness
Simply put, altitude sickness is what happens when you thrust yourself into a low-oxygen environment, and the body says nuh-uh. As you might expect, this particular ailment is highly common among neophyte mountain climbers (or even seasoned mountaineers, in some cases). You keep going up, the atmosphere keeps getting thinner, and the oxygen content in the air keeps going down.
Obviously, if your lungs begin to fill with fluid (high altitude pulmonary edema) or if your brain begins to swell, IV infusion therapy is far from your top priority. But it can in fact help with acute mountain sickness in several ways.
Acute mountain sickness is characterized by dehydration, headache, nausea, and fatigue, among other less common symptoms. IV infusion therapy provides quick and potent rehydration, as well as essential nutrients and electrolytes to combat fatigue and confusion.
To be clear, IV therapy is not intended to be a primary treatment for any form of altitude sickness. Typically, descending to a lower altitude, resting, and receiving supplemental oxygen are used to reverse this problem before it worsens. But IV therapy can certainly alleviate your symptoms and have you feeling up to speed sooner rather than later.
Menstrual Cramps
A regularly occurring speed bump (or sinkhole) in the human experience that surely needs no introduction, any woman who has experienced moderate or severe menstrual cramps knows that it is no joking matter.
Obviously, the cardinal symptom is painful cramps—feelings of intense pressure and/or throbbing pains affecting the lower torso. But unbeknownst to those of us who are unaffected by this issue, period pain can also go hand-in-hand with nausea, dizziness, headache, fatigue, and vomiting.
Taking into account the menstrual cramps themselves and the broader umbrella of PMS symptoms, a properly formulated IV drip can make a huge impact in terms of comfort. Magnesium and calcium help to relax the uterine muscles, decreasing the intensity of the cramps. B vitamins can help to stabilize the hormonal pendulum, which comes with an entire host of added benefits like relieving mood swings. IV infusion therapy can also alleviate fatigue, headaches, bloating, and more.
Skin Health
Those of us “born in the 1900s” may remember the meteoric rise of juicing as a major health trend in the 80s and 90s. And while there were plenty of misses throughout these decades (they really rode that “fat free” train into the ground), it turns out that juicing is in fact pretty good for your skin.
Why are we talking about juicing? Because IV infusion therapy can take advantage of the same skin-boosting nutrients found in fruit and vegetable juices to enhance skin health.
For example, our Glow IV drip is packed with vitamin B, vitamin C, and biotin. Just look at the perks of vitamin C alone—this versatile antioxidant boosts collagen production, safeguards the skin against environmental stressors, and can even brighten the complexion.
Though primarily focused on skin health, antioxidant-rich infusions like our Glow drip can also help with a wide range of issues caused by the oxidative stress that it counteracts, including preventing various chronic diseases, lowering blood pressure, strengthening immunity, and much more.
Stress and Anxiety
It’s easy for the non-expert to paint mental health struggles as part of this ethereal, unpredictable realm in which only pharmaceutical interventions and “therapy therapy” can have any real impact.
But when you think about it, the chemical messengers in the body and brain that regulate your emotional state are just like everything else in a sense: they depend on certain nutrients to function.
That’s right, researchers are waking up to the “food-mood” connection, and with this mini-enlightenment have come some interesting insights on how nutrition (and hydration) can impact anxiety.
To put it simply, dehydration increases the release of “stress hormones” like cortisol. You can think of it as your body’s way of saying, Wait, are we dying? As you might expect, rehydration helps to curb this cortisol spike, decreasing the stress you feel.
But IV infusion therapy can go well beyond this more rudimentary solution, offering more targeted stress relief with the help of NAD, or nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. This coenzyme plays several key roles in the body beyond relieving stress, from energy production to addiction recovery and much more.
Stomach Bugs
Without going into great detail, those of us prone to stomach bugs are acutely aware of the body’s need for fluids during this uncomfortable time. But too often, we view hydration in a one-dimensional way when it comes to addressing this issue.
Point being, with an IV drip like our Tummy Bug formula, you can do much more than simply replenish fluids. B12, zinc, ondansetron, famotidine, and sodium chloride combine with other key nutrients in this drip to comprehensively treat gastrointestinal distress and all the fun symptoms that come with it.
Water alone is certainly better than nothing when you’re dealing with a stomach bug, but if you really want to punch back so you can feel better faster, in-clinic or mobile IV treatment with Flow IV Infusion Therapy offers a more potent and efficient approach.
