The Types of IV Infusions, Explained in Plain Words

The base: fluid

Every drip starts with a bag of fluid, either normal saline (salt water) or lactated Ringer's (salt water plus a few extra electrolytes). At Zen IV Spa most drips use 1 liter of lactated Ringer's; some use 2 liters. This is the part that fixes dehydration. Everything else rides in it.

1. Hydration

Fluid and electrolytes, nothing else. For the day after a hot day, a long flight, a stomach bug, or a workout. The simplest bag and often the one people need most.

2. Vitamin drips (Energy, Immune, Glow, Athletic Recovery)

The base plus a mix picked for a goal. Energy leans on B vitamins and amino acids. Immune leans on vitamin C and zinc. Glow leans on glutathione and vitamin C for skin. Athletic Recovery adds magnesium and amino acids for sore muscles. Same base, different passengers.

3. The Myers' Cocktail

The classic. Fluid with vitamin C, B-complex, B12, magnesium, and at Zen IV Spa zinc and glutathione. A general "top everything up" bag used for tiredness, after illness, and before or after a hard stretch.

4. Hangover

Fluid, B vitamins and glutathione, with optional anti-nausea or anti-pain support on a provider's order. Built for the morning after.

5. NAD+

Different from the rest. NAD+ is a molecule your cells use for energy and repair, and it has to go in slowly, so this drip takes one to four hours instead of 45 minutes. Options are 250, 500 or 1,000 mg.

6. Add-ons and shots

Single ingredients you can add to a drip (extra vitamin C, glutathione, magnesium) or get on their own as a ten-minute shot (B12, vitamin D, glutathione).

How to pick

Behind on fluids: Hydration. Run down or getting over something: Myers' or Immune. Big night: Hangover. Sore from training: Athletic Recovery. Want the energy-and-repair molecule: NAD+. Not sure: say what is going on and the provider picks with you.

What is the same in every bag

Before your first drip, a licensed provider reviews your health history on a short video call. A licensed nurse checks your blood pressure and pulse at your door, mixes the bag in front of you, and stays for the whole drip. All of New York and New Jersey, 8 AM to 11 PM. Overseen by our medical director.

Know which one you need? Book at zenivspa.com. Not sure? Book Hydration and ask the nurse.

All treatments are medical services. Every guest is screened, and every treatment is provided only under the clearance, prescription or standing protocol of a licensed medical provider. Compounded peptides are not FDA-approved unless stated. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis or a promise of results.