The Job of the Risen: The Rise of the Hangover Industry

The hangover was a hit for Ellie.

A nurse from New York the one used to treat intensive care patients, now usually appears in the offices of hedge funds and hotel penthouses to administer intravenous infusions loaded with saline, vitamins and other drugs help the rich and celebrities leave behind a night of debauchery.

Ellie, who works for a company called NutriDrip and asked that his last name not be published because of a non-competition agreement he tried to "a few billionaires, many models, musicians and athletes"he commented.

"I'm on a list somewhere to share my numbers, so they call me directly", he added. "They know I will be very discreet."

What was once a low-key luxury is becoming famous in cities like New York, Las Vegas, London and Dubai. The nurses are ready to provide intravenous care a dehydrated people, alcoholic or not, at home and in their hotel rooms, at health centers and in a bus for people with hangovers at special events. They appear again and again on news sites, blogs, even in the series "Billionsfrom Showtime.

Why suffer? If you think it works – and not everyone agrees – you may find that the hangover nowadays is only for those who can not pay. The sessions cost several hundred dollars in most cases.

United States Food and Drug Administration do not comment on intravenous drops and just makes it clear that he does not regulate them. Doctors wonder if treatments are effective against hangover.

Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC, for its acronym in English) launched an offensive against one of these companies, iV Bars, which announced treatments for serious medical problems such as cancer and congestive heart failure. The company is now announcing treatments for "high performance", "rehydration" and – guessed – hangover, which nothing seems to be banned by the FTC. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

Goop, the site of Gwyneth Paltrow, wrote about eight companies that offer intravenous drugs for "detoxification, beauty, immunity and good performance", a lot of who also have hangover treatments available. The companies include Infuse Wellness in Santa Monica and NutriDrip, which has intravenous infusion bars at three locations in Manhattan and operates a division called Hangover Club (Hangover Club).

The menu of the Ned London hotel room offers intravenous services, at a cost of $ 200 for "hydration" and 260 USD for "increasing libido". A "detox" will cost you $ 365.

The V. Doc offers what he calls the treatment of "death bed" in the mornings when he can not "get up from bed or on the floor". It costs 249 USD and includes Zofran drugs for nausea, Toradol for headaches and Pepcid for heartburn.

Intravenous activity was in the spotlight in 2012, when anesthetist Jason Burke bought for $ 80,000 what is now called the Hangover Heaven bus in Las Vegas. He planned to take him to New York, but lucrative festivals kept him in the city of sin.

Burke's website, which presents his medical degrees from the University of North Carolina and Duke University, offers three intravenous hangover treatments: Salvation, Rapture or Rapture and Eternity . They cost up to 329 USD. The last two include 20 minutes of oxygen. The attention goes to your hotel room or you can receive a treatment on the bus. Group discounts and discreet billing are offered.

Burke adds that half of the people he deals with have probably consumed cocaine or ecstasy. Alcohol is the main vice of choice before applying for a hangover treatment in New York, according to Adam Nadelson of I.V. Doc and Maurice Beer of NutriDrip.

Some doctors, including those who work remotely with a nurse via teleconference, ensure that the treatment has limitations. Burke, for example, explains that he does not care about people suffering from high blood pressure or a heart rate exceeding 120 beats per minute.

NutriDrip, on the other hand, does not help patients under 18 or over 75, but has no qualms about helping someone who has been drugged with marijuana, says Beer.