Amy Donohoe: ‘I got an IV drip like Miranda Kerr … but was it worth it?’

These have been a trend in Hollywood for some time with people like Kendall Jenner getting them regularly. On Monday night, Miranda Kerr reportedly got one before heading to the Met Gala.

Arriving at Dundrum Town Centre, we walked by the make-up stalls and made our way to the ‘Get a Drip’ section. We were greeted at the door and escorted to two reclining chairs with blankets on them.

After filling out the required medical forms, we were handed “menus” with various vitamin drip and injection options to choose from.

Booster shot injections started from €35. Options included things like the ‘Slim Shot’, said to “aid tiredness, fatigue”, or ‘Biotin’, said to support hair and skin health, which we could combine with a ‘Hair Health Drip’.

More commonly heard shots included ‘Vitamin B Complex’ and ‘Vitamin D’.

The drips were a little more pricey. The cheapest was the ‘Basic Hydration Drip’ for €115 and the costs went up to €260 for a ‘Hair Health Drip’.

Other drips include a ‘Fitness Drip’ that “supports active lifestyle and aids you in achieving your fitness goals”, and an ‘Anti-Aging Drip’.

We were told the ‘Energy Drip’, containing Vitamin B12 and Magnesium, is popular for anyone who comes in with a hangover.

Also on the menu were ‘Premium Drips’, with options costing anything between €500 and €950. Crazy stuff, in my opinion.

We were told we could mix and match, so both chose the ‘Hydration Drip’ and a ‘Vitamin D’ booster shot, which cost us €160 each.

According to the Brown Thomas website: “The clinics are CQC registered, and their medical staff are all either IMC registered doctors or NMBI registered nurses.”

The nurse who put the drips in, told us she used to work in a public hospital in Dublin. She spoke about how common it is for celebrities to get the drip as an energy boost before red carpet events.

Sitting there on recliners, with the drips hooked to our arms and making small talk with other people in the clinic, it was kind of like being in a hairdressers.

One elderly lady, who seemed to be a regular customer, came in asking for her weekly session.

Luke O'Brien PhD, an assistant lecturer in Sports Nutrition at Atlantic Technological University, doesn’t believe these drips are beneficial and strongly advises anyone who thinks they need them to seek it from a professional doctor.

“They’re very high doses and anything above the recommended daily allowance of vitamins or minerals doesn’t have any added health benefits,” he said.

“For the majority of people, a healthy balanced diet will provide you with the vitamins you need.

“The high amounts infused in those drips, the majority of them would be excreted in urine so you’re going to end up with expensive urine. It could even be potentially harmful in high doses,” he added.

When contacted for comment by Independent.ie, Get A Drip said: “Receiving vitamins and minerals via an IV Drip or IM injection means that all nutrients bypass the gut and any absorption issues.

“This makes IV and IM supplementation the most effective way of receiving essential nutrients.

“Supplementing your body’s nutritional needs via IV Drips and IM Booster Shots nullifies the need for daily supplementation of the same nutrients.

“For example, if you have a Vitamin B12 Booster Shot with Get A Drip, you do not need to take any daily B12 supplements in addition,” they added.

So, did it work? Our drip took around 45 minutes and before it was unhooked from us, we were given the vitamin D shot.

We felt the boost from the hydration drip almost instantly. It did refresh us. The vitamin D one took a few days to work, but my skin was glowing for about a week and it felt fresh.

Overall, it was a lovely treat and a fun experience. But it was very expensive, so I don’t see myself becoming one of their regular customers.