IV vitamin therapy: The wellness fad experts say is ‘expensive pee’

This treatment, which costs between $40 and $500, is used by celebs and the wellness obsessed. But experts say the risks outweigh any unlikely benefits.

With celebrities like Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber and Chrissy Teigen flaunting IV drip therapy, Aussie clinics say they’ve seen a significant spike in the demand for the pricey treatments.

However, experts warn intravenous vitamin therapies are not as useful as proclaimed on social media, with some noting them as potentially dangerous.

Vital IV therapy managing director, Gareth Hill, said high dose vitamin C and Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) infusions had increased in popularity at his clinic.

Vitamin C is promoted as working to build immunity, while NAD+ is claimed to encourage slowed ageing and improved energy levels.

Mr Hill noted people over 40 were commonly purchasing their treatments, ranging between $35 to $349.

Kendall Jenner flaunting IV drip therapy.

Conditions like hangovers, dehydration and even pregnancy were claimed to be treated at varying clinics.

Fresh Treatments manager, Skye Rutledge said treatments had also increased in popularity recently and her clients weren’t deterred by the cost, which ranged from $115 to $499.

“Last week we had 86 returning clients,” she said.

Those aged between 35 and 40 were most commonly seen in the clinic, with ‘The Ultimate’ – which says it targets vitamin deficiency – their most purchased IV therapy.

But Blair Aitken, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swinburne’s Center for Mental Health and Brain Sciences said IV wellness treatments were not backed by evidence.

In most research surrounding intravenous infusions of vitamins, patients felt only short-term benefits, which he said was a result of the placebo effect.

Hailey Bieber also seen using it.

Plus, with the likelihood of vitamins excreted through the urine and not absorbed, he said treatments make “expensive pee.”

IV drip user Darren Lucas said he got hooked up to IV treatments after a big night out to overcome symptoms like nausea and headaches.

“The drips brought me back to base zero and I started feeling better again,” he said.

Although IV drips provide extra fluid, which is beneficial for a hangover, Dr Aitken said staying hydrated and eating a healthy, balanced meal would be safer and more cost effective.

Camilla Thompson, wellness coach, said she’s had IV therapies six times and would regularly use drips if not for the cost.

“I personally feel much better after having them … they helped my immunity and overall health,” she said.

Camilla Thompson has used IV drip therapy in the hope it will improve her immunity.

Although she didn’t notice long-term effects, she said the Myer’s cocktail (commonly consisting of various vitamins, magnesium and calcium), reduced her symptoms of sickness significantly.

Agreeing the differences felt may have been placebo, she said they still positively impacted her.

“Placebo or not, if it made you feel better, it was a positive outcome,” she said.

Theodora Ghaitidis, 51, said treatments improved her health in numerous ways.

Diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, she felt that vitamins injected directly, would be more efficient than consuming them.

In doing so, she said her health significantly improved.

“My overall quality of life was better, because my health was better,” she said.

Karen Clements, 60, said she started regularly receiving a Myer’s cocktail (before progressing to customised drips), after she saw significant improvement in her health both short and long term.

“I’ve definitely seen improvement in my health but I think that also has to do with my consistency with treatments,” she said.

Theodora Ghaitidis recieved IV treatments because she wanted to improve her health.

Claire Rickard, Professor of Infection Prevention and Vascular Access at the University of Queensland, said risks significantly outweighed the unlikely benefits of these procedures.

When a puncture is made to the skin, bacteria and viruses have direct entry, allowing them to enter the bloodstream.

“Bloodstream infections were a very serious, major risk … once you develop one, it’s very difficult to treat” she said.

Theodora Ghaitidis was diagnosed with IBS.

Additionally IV drips can hit a nerve or artery, or even cause damage to the veins themselves.

She noted people who repeatedly access IV drips in their youth may suffer more as time progresses.

“In their later life, they may need therapy intravenously and can no longer use those easy veins because they’ve been thrombosed or have collapsed,” she said.

A spokesman for the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) said marketing within the industry has outpaced the medical justification for many treatments.

“Clinics providing unproven infusion services must be honest with their clients about the lack of scientific evidence supporting their use,” they said.

Ms Rutledge from Fresh treatments said that as a wellness clinic, means they don’t claim to cure, only to help.

Chrissy Teigen is another celebrity who has shown herself doing the wellness trend.

“An IV’s main purpose is to support deficiency and help with hydration, we’re very aware we must not make therapeutic claims,” she said.

Dr Ramya Raman, Vice President and Western Australian Chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners said adverse effects often occur from having too much of something.

“Sometimes it’s just as important to not overload too many vitamins,” she said.

“There needs to be balance and reasoning for why it’s being done.”

Noting that patients should be careful when undertaking any treatment, she says it’s important to ask your GP for advice.

Originally published as IV vitamin therapy: The wellness fad experts say is ‘expensive pee’