Infusion therapy studios are welcoming health-seekers with big promises and even bigger fees

A little bit of risk, probably a lot less benefit

To hear Gwyneth Paltrow tell it, infusion therapy is the greatest thing since sliced sourdough bread. Sitting around for an hour or two with a needle in your arm is "beauty from the inside out" to hear her tell it.

Paltrow and others who make a business out of promoting various “wellness” cures and potions talk about it – and the injections that are a shorter but similar form of treatment – as though it was the equivalent of the invention of penicillin. She promotes it as a potent tool for treating everything from long COVID to obesity, and a profitable trend it is for her and its other boosters, expected to bring in $20 billion or so this year, nearly all of it coming directly out of consumers’ pockets, since the treatments aren’t covered by insurance.

“Let the good times flow!” gushes an ad for one such clinic in suburban Washington, D.C. “Hydration, Immunity, Athletic Performance, Hangovers, Memory, and more. Delve into the wonders of iV Drip Therapy and all of the different ways your life could be elevated through this game-changing service.”

But medical authorities aren’t so sure.

“Many providers claim that even in patients who have normal vitamin and mineral levels, IV vitamins provide additional benefits. Others claim that IV vitamin therapy can improve immunity, reduce fatigue, help with stress and treat a variety of other illnesses,” said Brent A. Bauer, M.D., director of research at the Mayo Clinic section of Integrative Medicine and Health.

Bauer says the evidence for many of these claims is limited. Healthy people should think twice before spending time and money on treatments that may do no good and that could possibly do harm.

How about a healthy diet?

Healthy people probably can get more than enough nutrition from eating an adequate diet and, possibly, taking a multivitamin or a few individual supplements to flesh it out. Children and older people and anyone with a chronic health problem should not set food in an infusion center without discussing the pros and cons with their physician, medical authorities say.

A healthy diet, adequate exercise and seven hours of sleep a night are all a normal person needs, Bauer and others say. Taking a megadose of vitamins and minerals probably won’t be beneficial and could cause serious problems for people with kidney disease, high blood pressure and other issues.

Since many Americans don’t even know whether they have high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and diabetes, jamming supplements into their system may not be wise.

Keep in mind, doctors advise, that all medical treatments carry a certain amount of risk. Treatments are generally undertaken only when there’s reasonable amount of certainty that the potential benefit outweighs the risk. Since there is no proven benefit to supplements in healthy people, any degree of risk should be avoided.

Simple risks include infection and soreness around the injection site, an allergic reaction to the treatment and even graver reactions like kidney damage or a heart arrhythmia. Older people, in particular, should proceed with caution as undiagnosed kidney disease is common in their age group.

Although it’s presented by Ms. Paltrow and others as an exciting new development, infusion therapy has been around for decades and is routinely used in hospitals to hydrate patients and administer nutrierts to patients who have trouble eating or absorbing them.

Single nutrient deficiencies like vitamin B12 or iron are often treated with infusions under medical supervision.

But the “cocktails” that IV vitamin therapy clinics create and administer are not supported by scientific evidence. There have been no clinical studies to show vitamin injections of this type offer any health benefit or are necessary for good health.

Growth can cause risks

In many areas, infusion centers are practically the new Starbucks, where friends go to hang out and soak up some nourishment. But that rapid growth can itself cause problems. Staff shortages, inadequate training and inconsistent quality of the supplements can all contribute to mistakes that can harm patients.

Unlike hospitals, there’s little to no regulation of the centers and since insurance doesn’t cover most of the treatments, there’s no insurer looking over the providers’ shoulder, making sure the proposed treatment is safe and appropriate.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration provides only light regulation of supplements and is likely to ease up even further under the tenure of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who tends to favor “natural” cures over immunization and other traditional practices.

So, as with so many things, it all comes back to “buyer, beware.” There’s no guarantee the treatments will do any good and a small but persistent possibility they may do harm.