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WILDERMAN MEDICAL CLINIC
About Vitamin Drips Infusions
Vitamin drips are slow intravenous (IV) fluid injections composed of various vitamins and minerals suspended in water.
A single treatment can take between 20 and 60 minutes, depending on the type of infusion a person receives.
The specific concentrations of the vitamins and minerals present in the drip can differ from one product to another, or can be mixed by a pharmacist as per a medical prescription.
Vitamins and minerals are usually absorbed by the intestines, though the absorption rate may be increased by specific circumstances such as after exercise, being sick, or other situations where an individual may have lost minerals and/or vitamins (Montoro et al., 2021).
With a vitamin drip treatment, the nutrients do not need to pass through the intestines, allowing for a significant increase in the absorption of the vitamins and minerals. However, there is an upper limit to the amount of nutrients that can be stored by the body, with the excess being excreted through urination or defecation.
As such, vitamin drips should only be provided if there is a vitamin and/or mineral deficiency.
Vitamin drip infusions are frequently used in high-performance athletics; however, their benefits can reach far beyond sports. An infusion of nutrients can have a positive effect on hydration, beauty, mood, pain, and many more aspects of the average person’s day-to-day life.
What are Vitamins and Minerals?
The human body is a complex machine that requires a state of balance, called homeostasis, in order to function properly. This also requires that the essential nutrients used by the body — fat, protein, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins — are within a specific range.
An excess of nutrients can be just as harmful as not having enough.
These nutrients must be absorbed from an external source, as the human body cannot make them on its own.
Vitamins are organic molecules that can be obtained by eating meat or plant-based products. There are 13 types of vitamins: A, B (1-7,9,12), C, D, E, K; they each play an important role in the health of an individual.
Minerals are inorganic nutrients that, like vitamins, cannot be created by the human body. Minerals are usually absorbed by plants from the soil and are then passed on to humans or animals when the plants are consumed.
There are five major minerals used by the human body: calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and magnesium. Each of these minerals play a part in the proper function of the human body.
Role of vitamins and minerals on health
The human body needs various external essential nutrients in order to function properly (National Institutes of Health, 2022).
Here is a brief overview of the roles that vitamins have in your health:
| Vitamin | Main Function |
| A | Vision, immune function, reproduction, growth |
| D | Bone growth/maintenance, calcium absorption |
| E | Antioxidant, protection for cell membranes |
| K | Blood clotting, bone health |
| B1 | Energy metabolism |
| B2 | Energy metabolism |
| B3 | Energy metabolism |
| B5 | Protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism |
| B6 | Protein and fat metabolism |
| B7 | Protein, fat, and carbohydrate metabolism; hair, skin, and nail health |
| B9 | DNA synthesis; B12 activation |
| B12 | DNA synthesis; folate activation, nervous system function |
| C | Antioxidant, collagen production, immune function |
As for the major essential minerals, their primary roles include:
| Mineral | Function |
| Calcium | Bone maintenance; blood clotting; nerve, muscle, and cardiac function |
| Phosphorous | Tooth and bone maintenance; energy production |
| Potassium | Maintenance of water balance; nerve, muscle, and heart function |
| Sodium | Maintenance of water balance, nerve and muscle function |
| Magnesium | Tooth and bone maintenance; carbohydrate metabolism; nerve and muscle function |
Medical Applications
The primary use of vitamin drips, with its mixture of vitamins and minerals, is to treat dehydration caused by heat stroke, excessive vomiting, or extreme exercise (Wells et al., 2020).
However, vitamin and mineral drips also have medical applications for treating and managing chronic health conditions, including:
- Asthma (Aissani & Zitouni, 2022)
- Chronic Fatigue (Bjørklund et al., 2019)
- Migraine (Plantone et al., 2022)
- Parkinson’s disease
- Alzheimer’s
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
- Fibromyalgia (Stach et al., 2021)
- Allergies
- Sleep disorders (Manzar et al., 2017)
- Chronic malnutrition symptoms caused by gastrointestinal disorders (Montoro et al., 2021)
However, research concerning the advantages of IV nutrient infusions, such as vitamin drips, compared to oral supplements, is still ongoing.
As such, the use of vitamin drips has limited scientific supporting evidence compared to nutrient-specific treatments as most disorders, outside of gastrointestinal disorders, are linked to a specific vitamin or mineral deficiency.
Contraindications
Due to the limited research available on the medical effectiveness and safety of vitamin drips, it is not recommended for individuals who have:
- Kidney disorders
- High blood pressure issues
- Heart disorders
- Pregnant or breastfeeding individuals
- A previous allergic reaction to vitamins and/or mineral infusion
- Take anticoagulants
- No clinically reported chronic nutrient deficiency
Furthermore, vitamin drips may interact with a variety of medications, especially those who take heart, kidney, or blood supplements. Please discuss with a qualified healthcare practitioner whether vitamin drips are an appropriate option to treat any health condition or nutrient deficiency you may be experiencing.
Side Effects
Like all medical treatments, vitamin drips have potential side effects (Shane-McWhorter, 2023; Wells et al., 2020). While most of these are minor, some serious side effects may be fatal.
To reduce the chance of these serious side effects, IV vitamin drips must be given under medical supervision by a qualified medical professional and in a medical clinic.
Minor side effects include:
- Infections/redness/bleeding at the site of the infusion
- Transient low blood pressure
- Changes in blood sugar
- Fainting
- Headache
- Upset stomach
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Temporary insomnia
- Changes in sleep cycles
More serious side effects include:
- Blood clots/embolisms
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Muscle weakness
- Edema/fluid overload (a buildup of fluid within organs such as the lungs, heart, or skin)
- Peripheral nerve damage
- Anaphylaxis/severe allergic reaction
These side effects require immediate medical attention. If you have any of these side effects, please call 911 or go to the nearest emergency clinic.
Wilderman Medical Clinic
At the Wilderman Medical Clinic, we offer the following vitamin/mineral infusion options:
- Vitamindrip ORIGINAL
- Vitamindrip HYDRATION
- Vitamindrip ENGERY
- Vitamindrip RECOVERY
- Vitamindrip COSMETIC
- Vitamindrip DIET AND DETOX
- Vitamindrip ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
- Vitmaindrip MOOD SUPPORT
- Vitamindrip LIBIDO ENHANCER
- Vitamindrip ACHES AND PAINS
- Vitamindrip BRAIN HEALTH
- Vitamindrip HIGH DOSE VITAMIN C
- Vitamindrip NAD+
- Vitamindrip BOOSTERHEAL #1
- Vitamindrip BOOSTERHEAL #2
Book a consultation today to find out if a vitamin boost would benefit your health and wellbeing.
Sources:
Aissani, S., & Zitouni, A. (2022). Asthme et vitamine D chez la femme. Revue Francaise D Allergologie, 62(3), 362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reval.2022.02.176
Bjørklund, G., Dadar, M., Pen, J., Chirumbolo, S., & Aaseth, J. (2019). Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): Suggestions for a nutritional treatment in the therapeutic approach. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 109, 1000–1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2018.10.076
Manzar, D., Peter, S., Salahuddin, M., Kumalo, A., Geneto, M., Pandi-Perumal, S. R., Moscovitch, A., & BaHammam, A. S. (2017). Electrolyte imbalance and sleep problems during anti-retroviral therapy: an under-recognized problem. Sleep Science, 10(2), 64–67. https://doi.org/10.5935/1984-0063.20170011
Montoro, M., Belloc, B., & Domínguez-Cajal, M. (2021). Small and large intestine (I): malabsorption of nutrients. Nutrients, 13(4), 1254. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13041254
National Institutes of Health. (2022). Vitamin and mineral supplement fact sheets. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-VitaminsMinerals/
Plantone, D., Primiano, G., Manco, C., Locci, S., Servidei, S., & De Stefano, N. (2022). Vitamin D in neurological diseases. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24(1), 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24010087
Shane-McWhorter, L. (2023, August 10). Intravenous vitamin therapy (Myers’ cocktail). Merck Manuals Consumer Version. https://www.merckmanuals.com/en-ca/home/special-subjects/dietary-supplements-and-vitamins/intravenous-vitamin-therapy-myers-cocktail
Stach, K., Stach, W., & Augoff, K. (2021). Vitamin B6 in health and disease. Nutrients, 13(9), 3229. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093229
Wells, C., Butcher, R., McCormack, S., & Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health. (2020, October 15). Intravenous multivitamin therapy use in hospital or outpatient settings: A review of clinical Effectiveness and guidelines. NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK567072/
