Desert Drips: Relief or Risk? Exploring IV Hydration therapy, a festival go-to

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - The second weekend of Coachella will bring another influx of festival-goers in town to spend time with friends and enjoy their favorite artists. But there is another harsh reality to the weekend, which can include some festival goers using party drugs and alcohol.

Some will turn to IV Hydration, also known as IV Vitamin Therapy, to feel better after long, hot days in the sun and late-night partying. In our latest I-Team investigation, Jeff Stahl explores how IV Hydration therapy can dramatically help you fight a hangover, but also reveals it's not a free pass to engage in risky behavior.  

Indio's JFK Memorial Hospital reports 94 Coachella festival attendees in the ER during weekend one this year, a slight drop from last year's 100 during the same time period. There were also 59 drug-related arrests during the weekend.

A quick internet search for IV Hydration returns a long list of businesses offering to elevate your energy, enhance your mood, relieve sore muscles, fortify your immune system, reduce stress, and more. It’s big business in North America, with one report from Grandview Research estimating its 2025 market at $1.35 billion, often marketed toward people recovering from partying. These businesses pop up all around the area during festival weekends.

To find out more, Jeff Stahl visited a Palm Desert IV Hydration spa, Area Hydration & Aesthetics, to see what it's all about.

Area Hydration & Esthetics Director, Dr. Reshaé Crawford, DNP, APRN said, “Our desert heat, we sweat so much. We’re depleting ourselves really, really fast. So this is a rapid way to replenish what you’ve lost.”

Crawford and her daughter operate Area Hydration and Esthetics. She says the feel-good benefits are great, especially if you’re feeling run down.

“There are things we can put in the bag to fight hangover. Like Pepsid and Toridal for headache relief, and those awful bubble guts you get after a hangover,” Crawford said.   

Jeff also asked doctors at Eisenhower Health about the therapy. Is is safe? Is it the best way to rehydrate when you get behind.  Euthym Kontaxis, MD, Director of Eisenhower Health Emergency Department said ultimately it's better to drink your fluids, “But when people get behind it gets hard to orally hydrate, and that’s where an IV hydration can help," he added.

Kontaxis confirms that, for some, IV Hydration is a great way to feel better after a long weekend out in the sun, and there’s nothing wrong with that– likening it to a spa treatment.

“A spa treatment is expensive, and it makes you feel better. Is there evidence that it’s better for you overall? I don’t know, but why not do it if you feel better,” Kontaxi said.

Form more information, visit: https://www.areahydrationaa.com/