Intravenous · fluids and nutrients
IV Therapy
Fluid and nutrients given into a vein, under clinical supervision, after an assessment. It is a route of administration, not a treatment for a disease. If something is wrong, this is not the answer to it — see your family doctor.
- Minutes
- 60
- Nurse present throughout
- 1
- Assessment required
- Rx
What this is,
and what it is not
An intravenous line delivers fluid and water-soluble nutrients directly into the bloodstream instead of through the gut. That is the whole of the mechanism. Health Canada regulates what may be given this way and how it may be described, and we keep to that: we will tell you what is in the bag, why it was chosen for you, and what is known and not known about it. We will not tell you it prevents illness, slows ageing, detoxifies you, or replaces anything your doctor has prescribed — because the evidence for those claims in healthy people is weak, and saying otherwise would be advertising rather than medicine. It is given at our North Vancouver clinic under clinical supervision, and the assessment that decides whether you should have it at all comes first.
Assessment first
History, medications and relevant bloodwork before anything is ordered. Some people are turned away at this step, and that is a normal outcome.
A nurse stays with you
Someone qualified is in the room for the whole infusion, not checking in between other appointments.
You are told what is in it
Every component, every dose, on the record and on your invoice.
Usually appropriate
- You are generally well, and the assessment finds nothing that makes intravenous administration a poor idea
- There is a specific reason to use this route rather than tablets — and the assessment establishes that reason, not the booking
- You can sit for an hour with a line in your arm
- You accept that a documented benefit for wellness infusions in healthy people has not been established
Not appropriate
- Kidney disease, heart failure, or any condition where fluid load matters — this is an absolute stop, not a discussion
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- G6PD deficiency, haemochromatosis, or a history of reaction to any component
- You are unwell right now — fever, chest pain, shortness of breath, a new symptom. Go to a doctor or an emergency department, not to us.
- You are hoping this replaces a prescribed treatment, or that it will treat or prevent something
- Anyone under 19
Before
- Eat and drink normally beforehand — an empty stomach makes fainting more likely, not less
- Bring a full list of medications and supplements, including the ones you think do not count
- Recent bloodwork if you have it; we may ask for some before proceeding
- Allow ninety minutes for a first visit, because most of the first visit is the assessment
On the day
- 01AssessmentHistory, medications, allergies, and a look at whether intravenous administration is reasonable for you at all. This is the step that decides whether the rest happens.
- 02ConsentWritten consent covering the components, the known risks, and plainly what is not established. You get a copy.
- 03CannulationA line in the forearm or hand, placed with sterile technique.
- 04InfusionAround forty-five minutes, rate adjusted to how you are doing. A nurse stays in the room. Tell them immediately about any warmth, tightness, itch or breathlessness.
- 05Removal and observationLine out, pressure held, and fifteen minutes sitting before you leave.
After
- Bruising at the cannula site is common; keep the dressing on for a couple of hours
- Drink normally and eat something before you drive
- Redness, swelling or increasing pain at the site over the following days needs to be seen — call us
- Breathlessness, rash, swelling of the face or tongue at any point is an emergency. Call 911. Do not call us first.
What can go wrong
An intravenous line is a small procedure and it is still a procedure. Most of what follows is about the cannula rather than the contents; the last two are the reasons the assessment refuses some people outright.
- Bruising, tenderness or a small lump at the cannula site, lasting days
- Difficulty finding a vein, and more than one attempt
- Lightheadedness or fainting, more likely if you came in without eating
- Inflammation of the vein, or rarely infection at the site
- Fluid overload in anyone with kidney disease or heart failure — this is why those are an absolute stop rather than a discussion
- An allergic reaction to a component. A nurse stays in the room for exactly this reason, and anything you feel should be said immediately rather than waited out
Questions we get
Will this boost my immune system?
We are not going to tell you that. There is no good evidence that a nutrient infusion strengthens immunity in a healthy adult, and Health Canada does not permit that claim. If you want the honest version: for most well-nourished people, the measurable effect of a wellness infusion is the fluid.
Is it a detox?
No. Your liver and kidneys do that, and an infusion does not assist them. If anyone tells you otherwise, ask them what exactly is being removed.
Will it help a hangover?
Fluid helps dehydration, and a hangover involves dehydration among other things. That is the extent of what can honestly be said, and it is also true of drinking water.
Do I need bloodwork first?
Sometimes yes, and for some components always. The assessment decides. Booking online does not commit us to infusing you.
Can I just pick a drip off a menu?
No. What goes in the bag is decided at the assessment, and for some people the answer is that nothing does.
Does MSP cover it?
No. This is self-pay in full.
How is it priced?
Per infusion, by what is in it. The assessment is charged whether or not an infusion follows, and the current prices are on the booking page.
Is there any downtime?
No recovery period. The infusion runs about an hour with a nurse present throughout; bruising at the cannula site is common and settles over a few days, and the dressing stays on for a couple of hours. People generally eat something and drive home. Redness, swelling or increasing pain at the site over the following days is not part of ordinary recovery and needs to be seen.
Book an assessment
Book onlineWho does this
Assessments and treatments at the Lonsdale Avenue clinic in North Vancouver are carried out by MMC’s own clinicians. Who they are, what they trained in and which treatments each of them does is on the team page.
Other treatments here
Everything listed here is offered at the Lonsdale Avenue address in North Vancouver. Names, durations and prices come from the clinic’s live schedule rather than from this page, so what you see is what is bookable today.
Other places people start
These are sorted by what is bothering you rather than by treatment name. Each page says what actually helps, what does not, and when the honest answer is that nothing here is needed.
- Loose Skin After Weight LossLosing the weight is the hard part and you have done it. What is left is usually a skin problem rather than a fat problem, and those have completely different answers.
- Fatigue & Low EnergyThis is the concern where we are least likely to sell you anything, and we would rather say that at the top of the page than at the end of a consultation.
- Dullness & Uneven ToneDullness and dehydration are a texture problem, not a shape problem. That distinction decides which half of the menu is even relevant.
- Volume Loss & HollowsVolume loss is the change people describe as looking tired or gaunt without being able to name a line. It is also the one where over-treatment is most visible from across a room.
- Forehead & Frown LinesForehead and frown lines are muscle before they are skin. The question that decides your result is not the dose — it is whether the line is still only there when you move.
- Hooded Upper LidsThe line where this stops being an injectable question and becomes a surgical one is unusually clear, and you are entitled to be told which side of it you are on.
- Jawline & Contour LossThe most common reason people book here, and the one where the honest answer changes most with age. In your forties a device usually does it. In your sixties it usually does not.
- Nasolabial FoldsNasolabial folds are usually a symptom. Filling the fold itself is the most common way to end up looking heavy in the lower face.
- Stubborn Body FatA pocket that stays the same size while the rest of you changes. Usually the flanks, the lower abdomen, or under the chin. The useful question is not which machine to use — it is whether what you are looking at is fat at all.
- Under-Eye Hollows & ShadowsThe most common request here, and the one where the answer is most often no. Under-eye shadow has at least four causes and filler helps exactly one of them.