What new dystopian hell is this?

[CircleofWillis]

Drip bars!

I walked past one yesterday and was shocked into stopping and staring at people lounging, chatting to friends and browsing on their phones with an IV in their arms. It was nearly full as well.

Apparently it delivers vitamins to the blood stream or muscles, bypassing the gut.

Didn't IVs use to be for serious medical intervention? How has that morphed into something cool?

I feel so old.

It’s more effective though. I’ve not had an IV but I have had B12 injections and they are so much more effective than the oral route. IV iron is meant to be particularly good as once you’re anaemic it’s actually quite difficult to get up to optimal levels from meat (if you eat it) or tablets.

I had an unnecessary drip once. In labour. All of the fluid sank to my ankles. It wasn't pretty.

@Cheeselog B12 needs a cofactor in the stomach to be absorbed which the vast majority of people have. To be vitamin b12 deficient you have to be lacking intrinsic factor so b12 has to be given by injection.
B12 tablets are useful

Sent too soon.
B12 tablets are only appropriate in vegans who do not get enough in their diet

A fool and their money are easily parted. See also botox / fillers / TV subscriptions / the beauty industry generally / stuff "influencers" tell you to buy / the fashion industry generally / home improvement fads... the list goes on. Its just late period capitalism. Engage in it or don't. It's up to you.

I was admitted to A&E in a very intoxicated state (and in MH crisis before anyone jumps on me and say I was wasting NHS time).
Got put on a drip, and felt fine the next day.
Also knew many junior docs who would routinely do this themselves.

I've been trying these approaches for years. Because I have IBD they don't work (am now trying sublingual b12, no improvement to date but relativelyearly days).

Welcome to the future.

Blade runner / Transmetropolitan anyone?

We ain’t seen nothing yet.

All hail the “free market” …… 🙄

We have had snake oil salesmen and quacks since the days of the plague and the black death.
I certainly wouldn't have any iv vitamins or iron unless prescribed/administered by a qualified HCP after appropriate blood tests rather than these charletons who have done a three week online run through.

@fiftiesmum I have intrinsic factor but when I was B12 deficient I was prescribed a course of injections to bring me back up to par quickly. Other stomach conditions can stop it being absorbed too - I was tested for coeliac and eventually put it down to lactose intolerance.

i don’t have much faith in your medical background if you think normal saline is ‘too salty’. or that you don’t know that cannulas can only be inserted by qualified HCP such as registered nurses

That’s got to be illegal? As an qualified physiotherapist and medical acupuncturist I wasn’t allowed to practice acupuncture (which is much safer, as there’s usually no bodily fluids, the needles are tiny, sterile and there’s no mediation going in) in a private hospital or an NHS rehab centre because I wasn’t a doctor, and they weren’t public hospitals, despite being a medial professional with a recognised qualification. I would have had to be licensed by the local council as a tattooist, or qualify as phlebotomist. Which was bonkers, but not so bonkers as a drip bar. I thought the hayfever injections doing the rounds were a bit dodgy, but drips are just lunacy.

Alcohol is a diuretic. You feel crap the next day after a long night, due to dehydration.
I drip can quickly correct dehydration and replace electrolytes. So there is logic to using them to fix a hangover...but easier and cheaper just to drink a few glasses of water with electrolyte tablets added the night you get home and again when you wake up.
I think he 'vitamin infusion' is likely a load of bollocks.

If you read my posts you will see I never claimed to be a medical professional. From the neck down the human body is a mystery to me 😁

Yes, many countries routinely use it for bad hangovers. The secret is not magic vitamins of course, but hydration, even a basic saline solution will do.

Secret to no hangover is pre and morning after fibre, vit b12 and probiotics😉

The drips are such a gimmick. I am honestly surprised they are still somewhere

I really hope they are not offering iron infusions, the risk of an anaphylactic allergic reaction, while fairly rare (1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000) is still a concern in a non medical setting.

I've never seen a drip bar, but I've seen attention seeking celebrities put pics of themselves attached to drips on social media. That was a few years ago though.
I agree it seems risky in a non medical setting