An alternative treatment to the cold and flu is popping up in the Denver area and the country: IV Bars.
They’re known for helping you get rid of a hangover, but people are also using them to combat illness.
Hydrate, a local IV bar in the Bonnie Brae and Highlands neighborhoods, has a specific cold/flu bag for clients who feel a sickness coming on or are already in the throws of it.
“Although it’s taking people a moment to feel comfortable with this,” registered nurse and Hydrate employee Emily Mantler told 9NEWS, “we are practicing the same way we would at the hospital.”
Mantler is one of many nurses who works part time at Hydrate in between her emergency room shifts.
The bar is regulated by both the FDA and State Board of Pharmacy, and there’s a doctor who oversees all of the treatment plans.
“I think this is the way that healthcare is going,” Mantler said. “People are going to be not wanting the sterile white walls, the white gowns, those starchy bed sheets.”
Although Hydrate doesn’t claim their IV bags will cure you, customers who have gone in when they felt sick said getting the IV helped.
“I instantly felt better that day,” client Corinne Toenjes said. “So now I keep it going on a regular basis.”
“It wasn’t like an immediate fix,” client Kara Dingboom said, “but I think it definitely helped expedite the process of getting better.”
But is this the placebo effect in action? 9NEWS medical expert Dr. Comilla Sasson thinks that could be the case.
“I’m getting an IV, I’m getting all of these fluids, I’m going to feel better…that may be part of what actually makes people feel better.”
Dr. Sasson told us the effectiveness of the IV depends on what vitamins and minerals that are already in your body.
“If you’re eating healthy, having a lot of vitamin C, mag before you got sick, you may not even need the extra boost in the IV. It may be that you already have those stores available.”
But still, clients of Hydrate swear by the results they’ve seen.
