Hangover after the anniversary weekend? Could a vitamin drip Simon Cowell used give you a boost — or is it a crazy fad? (2023)

Hangover after the anniversary weekend? Could a vitamin drip Simon Cowell used give you a boost — or is it a crazy fad?

• Party Drip, a vitamin cocktail, is proving popular as a quick fix for a hangover
• Rihanna tweeted a picture of her arm on an IV after a night of partying last month
• Simon Cowell admitted to using a hangover tool last year
• The cost of the drip port is £225 per treatment
  

VonSara Lawrence for MailOnline

Updated: 06:29 EDT, June 6, 2012

I'm lying in a hospital bed watching a nurse insert an IV drip into my left arm.

It stings a bit and almost immediately I notice a strong vitamin C taste in my mouth like I ate oranges.

As the fluid level in the bag slowly decreases, I feel brighter and sharper and my severe headaches subside.

After 20 minutes, I look in my hand mirror and notice that my bleary, bloodshot eyes have cleared as well.

Still, I can't help but feel a little guilty. You see, I am not being treated for a serious illness - there are certainly no life-saving drugs in the IV.

I suffer from nothing worse than a hangover and I'm tied to what's known as "party drip" - a cocktail of vitamins designed to serve as a quick fix to a busy night out.

Many deluded devotees consider it a near-magical potion that allows them to drink alcohol as often as they like throughout the night with no side effects.

The latest celebrity advocate is pop singer Rihanna, who tweeted a picture of her arm connected to an IV last month after a night out partying. Although it was reported at the time that she was hospitalized after a night of excess, she actually underwent a medical procedure that took celebrity circles by storm.

And after infusions found a ready market in Hollywood, they're growing in popularity in the UK.

Doctors and other experts warn, however, that not only does the drop make alcohol dangerous to drink, but in the wrong hands, it could also cause patients to experience a range of side effects, from mild infections to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock (a severe allergic reaction). .

So far the treatment is only available in the UK in a handful of exclusive clinics and health clubs for more than £200 apiece - but it's attracting a growing customer base.

Last year, Simon Cowell admitted he enjoys a weekly IV of B12, magnesium, vitamin C and what he says is "something for the liver" - a procedure recommended to him by Dannii Minogue.

"When you do it, it's an incredibly warm feeling," he said. "You can feel all the vitamins flowing through you. It calms and energizes for a few days."

When I speak to another convert, stewardess Nicky Bailey, 32, she admits she uses a "party drip" once a month.

She had her first £225 treatment in December at the EF Medispa near her home in Kensington, west London. "In the run-up to Christmas, I was busy working and socializing," she says.

"I was exhausted, exhausted and hungover and needed hydration and a good vitamin boost to get through the party season."

"Usually my hangover lasts 24 hours and my headache doesn't go away until the evening of the next day."

"I feel groggy, have glassy eyes, a brain that feels like spaghetti and an inability to focus."

"After the IV I felt like everything bad had been filtered out and I was clear again.

"My mind was sharp, the headaches were gone and I was even able to go shopping, which I never do the next morning."

Far from worrying about the impact her drunken lifestyle might have on her health, Nicky sees the drop as her ticket to more partying.

"I have to give something back to my body because I take so much from it," she says.

"I'm going to Ibiza with friends for a week's holiday next month and I've already booked my session for my return."

An early proponent of the party drip is Heather Bird, 42, the founder of HB Health in Knightsbridge, a clinic that offers a variety of intravenous vitamin infusions.

She started using the "drop" in 2000 and still uses it regularly. "I've cut back on partying for the past few years, but I used to be out every night except Sunday," she says.

"This year I was flown to Mexico for Philip Green's 60th birthday celebration, which was great. I also had great fun with Simon Cowell and Kate Moss at Philip's 59th birthday at Mosimann's private dining club in Belgravia."

Heather claims her body needs help to cope with the fast-paced lifestyle she enjoys - and the Party Drip offers a perfect solution.

"I gave myself four days of draining time to stay fit for the anniversary weekend party," she says.

"My penthouse on the Albert Bridge overlooks the river, so I was partying non-stop and I wanted to look good and feel good."

But dr Adam Cunliffe, Senior Lecturer in Human Nutrition at London South Bank University, says of the drops: "They're a lot of rubbish." People should rein in their excesses.

"I'm not aware of any studies showing real physiological benefits." Celebrity endorsement is not proof.

"The notion that pumping up on vitamins and minerals can restore balance to an unhealthy lifestyle is a lot of mumbo jumbo when there's no medical, scientific, or clinical research to back it up."

He's convinced that most of the purported benefits come from rapid rehydration.

"The clinics assume that their customers have a shortage," he says.

"The other assumption is that an excess of vitamins and minerals has some benefit, when in reality, if you are not deficient in something and get more of it, it does next to nothing except get it excreted in the urine. "

Of the potential dangers, Dr. Cunliffe: "If the procedure is performed by a qualified doctor who knows how to find a vein and uses clean needles, and the contents of the infusion are from a reputable pharmaceutical supplier, there is no reason for it to be dangerous."

"What's dangerous is a less-authentic system that offers the service at a much lower price, potentially sacrificing value."

"People who want to do what the stars do but don't have the same money, they may end up in situations where clinical standards are not high. There are all kinds of risks, including infections and anaphylactic shock."

HB Health and EF Medispa, where I try the Party Drip, employ qualified nurses under the supervision of a doctor.

Jonathan Chick, Professor of Health Sciences at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh, says: "Caution has to be taken with the infusion - some people get fluid overload, which is dangerous."

“In addition, some vitamin supplements can, in rare cases, trigger anaphylactic shock.

"A hangover is never dangerous, but a heavy drinking session could be." If you can't control your drinking, you may need to reconsider your relationship with alcohol."

also dr Mark Wright, consultant liver specialist at University Hospital Southampton, has had his say on vitamin drops.

"Medically, it's useless," he says. "What worries me is the idea that you can spend now and pay with your body later - you can't abuse alcohol and expect that to be a quick fix."

"I work with the British Liver Trust and our message is that you need to drink in moderation and ideally have three or four alcohol-free days a week. No amount of intravenous vitamins can change that."

When I try the party drip, I put it through a thorough test. I book an appointment at EF Medispa and spend a busy evening at London's Groucho Club the night before.

I sip two Twinkle cocktails — a delicious but potent concoction of champagne, vodka, and elderflower liqueur — in front of four tall glasses of white wine and an espresso martini.

I stumble out at 3am and barely remember the drive home. The next day I feel so frail that I can't go to my regular early morning spin class.

I feel shocking - headaches, nausea and an overwhelming sense of doom.

I can't stand breakfast so I head to the EF Medispa. There's a menu of eight drops that promise to boost your immune system, ease anxiety, or boost your metabolism.

I opt for the vitality booster treatment, a so-called instant pick-me-up with vitamin C, B vitamin complex and the minerals selenium, magnesium, zinc and chromium.

Being hooked up to an IV line means staying in the hospital ill, so using it to overcome a hangover feels utterly wrong.

However, the better I feel, the less I care. An irresponsible attitude that scares me how easily others could become addicted to it.

It takes 30 minutes to empty the bag. When I leave the spa, whether it's in my head or not, I'm so energized that I powerwalk the three miles home.

I'm definitely feeling better, although maybe that's just because of the "placebo effect", rehydration and the passage of time.

And I have to Dr. Agree with Wright that "it's a dangerous game." If party drops became "part of my routine," I'd treat my body more like an amusement park than a temple.

And the price to pay is well over £225 each.