It was dubbed the “party girl”drip after Rihanna tweeted apicture of her arm hooked up toan intravenous (IV) drip

containing a cocktail of vitaminsand nutrients. After that, a flurry ofHollywood stars booked into privateclinics for IV treatments, to theconsternation of some medicalexperts who pointed out it wasn’tmeant as a hangover cure.

Celebrities said to have used thedrips include Cindy Crawford, GeriHalliwell as well as Simon Cowell,who commented at the time: “It givesyou energy for a good few daysafterwards.”

Since then, the IV drip has madeits way into the beauty industry,where it is used for a range ofapplications such as detoxification,immunity stimulation, skin healthand a feeling of general well-being.

At the Skin, Body and HealthClinic in Fourways, nearly 100patients have embarked on an IVtreatment programme since it wasintroduced last June. It isadministered by integrative andaesthetic medical practitionerDr Burt Jooste, who says he hassuccessfully used IV therapy onpatients with everything from stressand anxiety to digestive disordersand even fibromyalgia.

“An infusion of high-qualityvitamins means they are 100 percentavailable to the bloodstream, asopposed to taking vitamins orally,which allows only a percentagethrough after being metabolised.

“It eases transport of thesevitamins to cells all over the body,revitalising all the organs, from liverto skin.

“Results differ from patient topatient, but there is always animprovement in the patient’scomplaint and often in other areas ofconcern, like insomnia ordepression.”

Mention of IV infusions forreasons other than treating medicalpatients draws sharp criticism frommost medical doctors, however.

Endocrinologist Dr David Segaldismisses it, saying: “You get all thenutrients you need from the foodthat you eat, if you eat healthily.”

Professor Tessa van der Merwe,an endocrinologist at Tshwane’sWaterfall City Hospital, states: “We do not support this notion at all.In a healthy patient the benefit willbe minuscule, if at all.

“Intravenous infusions should bestrictly reserved for deficiencies thatmay occur in post-bariatric (weightloss surgery) patients and isspecifically prescribed to address alife-threatening shortage identifiedin blood testing, such as an iron orvitamin A deficiency.”

Given that there is no researchproving the efficiency of IVtreatments, there is only anecdotalevidence of its efficacy. And it doesseem to have its followers.

Vanessa Welke, 42, is a projectmanager who suffered “burn-out”after she managed the newextension to a casino. “I was takingGlucophage (diabetes medication)

because I was heading towards Type II diabetes. Dr Jooste sent mefor blood tests, and formulated acocktail of vitamins andsupplements.

“I did a course of IV treatments,twice a week, and in April and May, Ihad only three IV treatments. I nolonger have to take insulin andeverything has improved. Myhormones are stable, my skintexture is great and I sleep very wellfor a change.”

Jooste says the IV treatmentprogramme typically runs once a

week over four weeks, then onceevery two weeks for eight weeks. AnIV drip with selected vitamins andminerals is inserted in your arm forabout 30 to 60 minutes each session.

Each IV treatment costs R950.“I make up a cocktail of vitamins

based on the specific needs of thepatient. The vitamins and mineralsare gradually introduced to optimallevels. By the third or fourthtreatment, there is normally amarked difference in energy levels,alertness, productivity and sleeppatterns,” he says.

The drip contains magnesium,calcium, B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5,B6, B9, and B12), selenium, vitaminC, manganese and zinc.

“The IV infusions also includephosphorylcholine, a phospholipidthat helps to repair cell membranes,so liver and memory function, forinstance, is improved. Anothernutrient we normally include isglutathione, an extremely effectiveantioxidant that our bodies onlymake small quantities of and whichyou can’t ingest orally,” says Jooste.

Vitamin C is particularlyeffective when administered with anIV drip.

“The antiviral effects of vitaminC are seen when blood levels arearound 10-15 milligrams a decilitre.This level is achievable with IV

therapy, but not orally.” Jooste says that most people have

some form of a gastrointestinal tractproblem, leading to poor absorptionof nutrients.

“We have done numerousadvanced stool analyses on manypatients, and haven’t found anynormal gut so far.”

Also, the poor level of nutritientsin our food (due to mass production,pollution, etc) and high levels oftoxins and free radicals (due topesticides, GM foods, etc) mean “weneed to supplement our bodies tocorrect the deficiencies we have, tofight against chronic diseases,degenerative diseases and cancers”.

Before designing a cocktail ofnutrients, Jooste may send thepatient for a blood test to gaugedeficiencies and hormonal levels.

The IV drip is inserted in thecrease of the inner forearm using asmall “butterfly” needle.

“Most people tolerate it verywell,” he says.

Oral supplements are alsoprescribed to maintain the desiredresults.

“People these days want to lookgood on the outside, but also feelgood on the inside. It’s about healthrenewal,” Jooste says.

However, according to Segal, therisks of optional IV treatments

outweigh the benefits, which in anyevent probably amount to “a placeboeffect” (meaning the improvement isa patient’s perception rather thanreal).

“There is always a slight risk ofan air bubble or the needle beingaccidentally injected into tissuerather than the vein. Why risk it? IVtreatments should be prescribedonly if there’s a medical need,” hesays.

Jooste counters that “to say thatIV infusion has only a placebo effectis uninformed opinion”.

“With any procedure there arerisks. We use sterile techniques at alltimes when setting up our infusions.Each patient’s ingredients are

carefully mixed in our sterile bio-identical lab in Cape Town, soeach patient receives their own vialevery time they come for theirinfusions. We know exactly what isin each IV bag before it isadministered to the patient.”

Intravenous treatments haveproved highly beneficial to patientswith iron deficiencies.

Johannesburg copywritingtrainer Tiffany Markman says heriron levels were low due to donatingblood, so her doctor her sent for IVinfusions at the Rosebank Clinic.“She said it would take two years toget my iron levels to normal bytaking oral supplements, as opposedto just four IV treatments once a

month. I literally felt better as theneedle went in,” she says.

Tshwane writer EleanorMomberg, who is also iron deficient,was required to receive dripscontaining iron twice a week foralmost six months at Unitas Hospitalin Centurion. “The injection workedwell, given that I have a problemwith absorption of medicines andvitamins. I still take strong irontablets,” she says.CONTACTS● Visit www.healthrenewal.co.za to find aHealth Renewal branch near you.● The Skin, Body & Health RenewalFourways is at the Pineslopes ShoppingCentre, across from Montecasino. Call011 467 8742.

A SHOT IN THE ARM FOR WHAT AILSYOU: NEW FAD HITS SOUTH AFRICA

12 TUESDAY JUNE 10 2014 The Starlifestylecontact verveE-mail verve@inl.co.zaSMS 32546 (Each SMS costs R1)

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Hooking yourself to a drip to get your vitaminintake seems radical, and it is, according to themedical fraternity. Yet IV infusions are gainingan avid following by people who say they feel

rejuvenated, writes Helen Grange

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Singer Rihanna and model Cara Delevingne are among the stars who have posted pictures of themselves on IV drips.

At a media day at Skin, Body, Health & Hair Renewal in Fourways, nurse Rowan Retzlaff putsVictor Snyders on a vitamin drip. PICTURE: SUPPLIED

Dr Burt Jooste

DEMETRIA L LUCAS

Q I’m a married woman andhave gone to lunch with aman 12 years younger for the

past few days. He calls me his “bigsis”, and we talk a lot about religion,sports, etc, but there’s nothingphysical. Is this cheating?Disrespectful? My husband shouldn’thave a say, considering an affair hehad in 2011. Am I wrong here? – CN

A Yes. After many years ofhearing from readers abouttheir dating and relationship

dilemmas – and, to be fair, makingmy own bad decisions – I’ve learntthat if you have to ask whether yourinteractions with the opposite sex arecrossing the line, then they probablyare. And if you don’t want to tell yourpartner about what you’re up to, thenyes, you’re definitely wrong.

Frankly, it sounds as if you mightbe toying with the idea of an affair –an emotional one for now – as a wayto get back at your husband. So youknow you’re playing a dangerousgame here, and while it might be funright now, you’re going to lose in thelong run.

Since you didn’t say, I’m curiousabout where you met this young manmore than a decade your junior, andhow you and he were able to keep incontact after that initial meeting. Ishe a new co-worker? Someone youmet online?

Also, although you only recentlybegan breaking bread with him, itseems like you may have had anongoing interaction of some sort if

he’s comfortable calling you his “bigsis”. That doesn’t happen after twolunches. So it’s not that you’ve seenhim only twice and you haven’t toldyour husband. It’s that you and theyoung man have been contactingeach other in some capacity over alonger duration of time, and it’sescalated from texting-talking-e-mailing to face-to-face interactions.

I’m also curious about what,exactly, is so important that you twomust dine together two days in a row.

You’ve said that you don’t really talkabout anything of any depth, so ...

Let’s not pretend with each other.You’re grown, and so am I. And so isthe younger man you’re hanging outwith now, who I’d bet is attractive andyou have great chemistry with – andwho, despite calling you “big sis”,probably looks at you the way yourhusband hasn’t in years. You like theattention, and the novelty of a newface with a new perspective does itfor you, too. So you’re justifying what

is essentially dating someone otherthan your husband because you’restill upset about the affair he hadthree years ago.

You’re still married, so, yes, yourhusband gets a say-so in your lunchdate. And yes, he gets a say-so even ifhe cheated on you three years ago.You haven’t told your husband aboutthe boy toy because you know he’snot going to be okay with thisrelationship, whatever the nature ofit is. And you certainly wouldn’twant him taking a woman 12 yearsyounger to lunch.

When your husband cheated, youforgave him and decided to stay inthe marriage. That doesn’t give you apass to do the same thing. You’retrying to play this tit-for-tat game allthis time later because you’re stillhurt. If you want to remain married,address the hurt you’ve been holdingon to all these years, instead ofdistracting yourself with a youngerman or seeking revenge.

Call the younger man and tellhim, “We can’t be friends any more,”because it is inappropriate anddisrespectful to your marriage tocarry on with him. And when you gethome, tell your husband that you stillhaven’t resolved your feelings abouthis affair and you want to go tocouples therapy to hash out yourfeelings and save this marriage. –The Root/The Washington Post NewsService

Does lunch with a boy toy mean youare cheating on your husband? YES

Relationship counsellor: If the dates are innocent, there’sno reason to keep them secret from your spouse