Hongkongers hooked up to IV drips for vitamins and hydration - do they work?
Wellness treatments delivered by intravenous drip are said to have a host of benefits, including anti-ageing properties and relief from hangovers and stress. Critics say there is no concrete evidence to support this
By injecting salty water into the veins of patients with terminal cholera, Dr Thomas Latta was remarkably successful in treating people on the brink of death during the 1831-32 cholera epidemic in Scotland. This pioneering treatment was first reported in The Lancet medical journal in June 1832, and since then intravenous (IV) fluid replacement therapy has become commonplace in hospitals for the severely sick who cannot take fluids orally for various reasons.
In June, Reviv, a international medical spa chain dedicated to elective IV hydration, opened a flagship clinic in Hong Kong. In the heart of Central on Duddell Street, the slick clinic has seen an average of about three clients a day for its menu of eight different IV injections and infusions, which cost from HK$298 to HK$3,998.
“We’ve had quite a diverse range of clients but in general, they are people who have that awareness of being healthy,” says Jenny Leung, managing director of Reviv HK.
Leung declines to reveal the specific ingredients that go into each Reviv infusion, and would only say they are “set formulas that have gone through many R&D cycles”.
