With the pop-up of IV hydration businesses in Austin, medical clinics are using creative means to make IV drips a glamorous way to treat hangovers. IV hydration businesses cater to a variety of groups and events by administering IV treatments of fluid and medicine to almost instantly counter hangovers or dehydration.
At IVitamin, an IV hydration spa, clients can choose from nine different cocktails. Jordan Cobb, co-founder of IVitamin, said the treatments have fast-acting benefits.
“If you’re doing a full liter bag, it takes about 30 to 40 minutes of you sitting in the chair getting the fluids,” Cobb said. “If you’re super depleted, you’re going to feel the effects almost instantly.”
Rolling RevIVal, a clinic operating out of a renovated airport shuttle bus, brands a party theme with quotes such as “party like a rockstar tonight, feel like a celebrity tomorrow” written on the exterior. Michelle Eades, a co-founder of Rolling RevIVal, said the experience doesn’t feel like a medical treatment.
“If you get on this bus when there’s a hydration party, they’re just talking and laughing and sharing the pictures they took the previous nights,” Eades said.
The IVs can include nausea and headache medicine, and clients need to sign a consent form before receiving drips.
“Because this is a medical treatment, we have our medical director that we work under just like a medical spa,” Eades said. “Even though it’s just fluid, it has a prescription.”
Throughout the five years Rolling RevIVal has been in business, Eades said more people are familiar with what the service is each year. She said the drinking culture and volume of bachelor parties in Austin makes the city a good location for IV businesses.
“(Austin’s) definitely a good place (for this), because everybody’s health and wellness-aware,” Cobb said. “It’s a very work hard, play hard type city.”
Companies will also rent out the bus for events. Eades said film distribution company Neon bought 100 treatments for their employees last year during South By Southwest.
IVitamin also provides services to groups and companies, but they aim for a relaxing spa setting with amenities including massage chairs and a lounge. Cobb said the company has also experienced growth in its almost three years of operation.
“It is a bit of a new concept,” Cobb said. “The fluids and vitamins and nutrients are delivered straight into the bloodstream. You get 100 percent absorption — instant delivery.”
Radio-television-film junior Renee Woolley said she saw a mobile IV hydration business while working at a wedding.
“I suspect students, especially the ones who come to school with money, will start using them when it gets more popular,” Woolley said.
IV hydration sessions average around $100 since it is a medical treatment, Eades said. Even though the treatment won’t cure viral or bacterial illness like traditional medications, some people may still prefer it over medication, Eades said.
“Fluids alone won’t fix (sickness),” Eades said. “But it’s America, and we like our solutions quick.”
