IV Hydration for Hangovers - How They Work

Adam Nadelson, MD, is the founder and CEO of The I.V. Doc, a telehealth and home visit company that provides intravenous (IV) and medical treatments for a variety of symptom sets. Adam Nadelson, MD, has received widespread media attention for the company's IV hangover treatments.

Dietary supplement companies, laypeople, and medical professionals have developed numerous hangover “cures” over the years, but there is one that science has proven to work. It's the IV hydration treatment, and it works by counteracting the dehydrating effects of alcohol.

The human pituitary gland produces a compound known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which senses when the body is low on water and reduces the rate of urine production. Alcohol actively inhibits production of this hormone, which makes the body think it has more water available than it actually does. As a result, when you drink alcohol, you urinate more liquid than you take in.

For every alcohol shot or equivalent that a person drinks, he or she urinates an extra 120 milliliters per hour. Some people try to drink enough water to compensate. Unfortunately, because alcohol is still reducing ADH production, and the alcohol itself causes an irritated and inflamed gastrointestinal tract the body has limited absorption and only retains up to a third of that.

IV hydration is more effective. It contains a balanced saline solution that is near equal to normal electrolyte levels in the body, and it can include several other vitamins and medications to address presenting symptoms. With anti-nausea medications, anti-inflammatories, and nutrient blends that include the crucial B1 vitamin, hydration treatments address not only the symptoms of hangover but also the root cause.