Several medical conditions from heat exhaustion to food poisoning can deplete your body of fluids and leave you in need of rehydration. Instead of visiting the emergency room or hospital, think healthcare professionals can get you feeling better quicky through intravenous (IV) hydration therapy. Hydration therapy replenishes your body faster and more efficiently than drinking fluids can.
Water comprises about 55% to 78% of your body. Your brain and heart are roughly 75% water. Proper hydration helps you digest foods, make saliva, balance chemicals, cushion bones and regulate body temperature. Water keeps you from overheating, especially in warm weather and during intensive exercise.
What is hydration therapy?
Hydration therapy is a simple treatment that injects fluids into your bloodstream through a thin IV line. The fluids may be a saline solution or other fluids that could possibly include electrolytes and even medication, depending on your health needs.
What conditions does hydration therapy treat?
Some of the most common reasons for hydration therapy include dehydration, postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS), migraines, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Dehydration happens when you don’t drink enough water or you lose fluids quickly through vomiting, diarrhea, sweating or frequent urination. Your cells dry out and shrivel and blood vessels constrict when your body lacks sufficient fluid Left untreated, prolonged dehydration can disrupt the distribution of salt and water in the body and lead to thicker blood, abnormal blood pressure and decreased kidney function.
What are symptoms of dehydration?
If your body is reacting to a loss of fluids, you may experience the following symptoms:
- Excessive thirst
- Decreased urination
- Dark-colored urine
- Dry lips and tongue
- Rapid breathing
- Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Dry, wrinkled skin
- Cool, blotchy hands and feet
What happens during a hydration therapy treatment?
In the comfort of our nicely appointed infusion center, a trained and personable think nurse will gently prepare your skin for a slight poke of the IV needle into a vein in your arm. After this fleeting discomfort, you can sit back and relax as IV rehydration bag slowly releases fluid solution through the IV line into your body. The hydration therapy drip takes about one hour depending on the amount of fluids needed.
How soon will the hydration therapy start working?
You will likely start feeling the positive effects of rehydration before the IV treatment is finished. Most hydration therapy patients experience the full benefits of the infusion within two to four hours after the treatment is completed.
Will I need follow-up care?
With think primary care providers right in the same building as our Infusion Services, your care can be very convenient. Simply set up an appointment with your provider to receive the hydration, and afterwards they will provide some direction for any other follow-up needs (depending upon the cause of your dehydration).
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR INFUSION SERVICES BY SPEAKING WITH YOUR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER
Think makes it easy to get hydration therapy at our Infusion Center. Think’s Infusion Services enables you to potentially bypass a visit to the Emergency Department or Hospital to receive treatment and you still have the security knowing your Primary Care provider is in the same building in case they are needed.
Our walk-in clinic treats anyone, even those who are not a think patient or do not have a primary care provider currently. To learn more about our wide-ranging healthcare services, visit our Services page online and choose your own think medical professionals by visiting our Meet Your Doctor page.