IV Infusion Therapy: Vitamins to the Rescue

​Our bodies are marvelous machines. The body’s systems operate efficiently and well, largely unseen and untended by us, to keep us alive and functioning. Except when they don’t. Sometimes, we get sick. That’s when they need help.

​The best ways to help our body are the ones it will recognize, the natural methods that don’t usurp, but cooperate with what it does on its own. That’s why Integrative Family Medicine offers IV infusion, or hydration, therapy. IV therapy delivers supplements directly into the bloodstream where cells can access them immediately and they can start doing their work. It’s not a drug. It’s an extra delivery of the nutritional components the body needs so it can do what it does best.

There are any number of patients who benefit from this. Those who have digestive absorption issues from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, and Colitis fall into this category. So do patients who take prescription medication that affects digestive absorption. For them, IV transmission of supplements can make up the difference and keep them healthy. Patients who take Metformin, blood pressure medication, or even acid reducers can regain lost vitality through IV therapy. 
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In addition, infusion can defend systems that are, particularly as patients age, bombarded by free radicals. A free radical is an unstable atom that injures healthy cells in a process called oxidation. As people get older, free radicals occur more often. They have a natural enemy, however. Antioxidants capture free radicals and make it possible for the body to segregate and eliminate them. Because they behave as the body’s crimefighters, antioxidants are important  and one of the most efficient is glutathione. Intravenous delivery of glutathione helps healthy people stay that way and some studies support evidence that it can even combat the effects of aging. In addition, glutathione, when given with Vitamin C, increases the effectiveness of C’s immunity-promoting properties. 
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In these days of COVID-19, IV therapy can be a powerful tool to help patients recover quickly. The first line of defense, after symptoms of the virus appear, is to treat the symptoms themselves. IV therapy delivers help more quickly than oral medications and our Immunity IV contains Vitamin C, Zinc and a B vitamin. Vitamin C is well known for its immune protection and is being used in hospitals to treat COVID patients. While the C acts as a detoxifier, Zinc inhibits the replication of the virus, effectively stopping it in its tracks, giving the body’s natural defenses time to kill it. 

Strictly speaking, IV therapy is not drug treatment in that it doesn’t halt or prevent disease, but it can and often does quickly and dramatically relieve symptoms and provide an opportunity for healing. The supplements delivered in this way give many patients a boost when they’re trying to fight chronic conditions or trying to get over the hump of struggling to fight something off. For instance, magnesium infusion, which is known to relax blood vessels, can help with migraines and chronic high blood pressure. 

​IV therapy is not a drug but, in the sense that it promotes healing, is a kind of medicine. As such, it requires the prescribing signature of a certified provider to administer and, just as in traditional medicine, the compounding pharmacies need to be FDA approved. Only a few people are medically ineligible for hydration. Those with ALS and some genetic diseases, and those with severe kidney or liver disease should not have it, but for most patients, the risks are minimal and consistent with any kind of intravenous puncture; the slight risks associated with infection and injection into tissue rather than the vein.
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​​Any person considering IV therapy should be prepared to submit a medical history beforehand. At IFM, we do patient interviews and take vitals before therapy begins and we explain thoroughly what will happen during the procedure. The infusion itself takes only about thirty minutes and is painless but for those who wish it, we administer a lidocaine cream to numb the skin prior to the needle prick. Our most common IV compounds appear on our website, along with their prices. The cost of the infusion and the consultation that accompanies it are included.

It’s important to remember that infusion therapy is not a substitute for healthy hydration. The purpose of the fluids in IV therapy is to carry the supplement, not to administer fluids the patient lacks. A dehydrated patient will not see the full benefit of their infusion because the fluids intended to help the supplements heal will be diverted to rehydrate and can result in some discomfort when bound toxins cannot easily flush away.

In the end, there are many benefits to IV infusion therapy, but they are often overlooked, shortchanging the body’s ability to heal itself and increasing its dependence on side-effect-ridden pharmaceuticals. We opened IFM with the express purpose of offering every patient the best of what holistic modern medicine has to offer, including proven therapies and procedures that do not fit into rigidly controlled corporate models. IV infusion therapy is a technique long neglected by traditional medicine and is often a simple and elegant solution to illness. We are proud to offer it.

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