Wondering what IV hydration ingredients actually are? Most drips are simpler than the marketing suggests. There’s a fluid base, usually saline, plus a mix of electrolytes and vitamins, and sometimes a medicine for nausea or pain.
This glossary covers every ingredient on our menu: what it is, why it’s used, and how strong the evidence is.
The short version
The part of a drip with the clearest benefit is the fluid. If you’re dehydrated, especially if you’re too sick to drink, getting fluid and salts straight into your bloodstream works.
The vitamins are a different story. They’re real nutrients your body needs, but Cleveland Clinic notes there’s limited scientific evidence of a general wellness benefit from IV vitamins in people who aren’t deficient. We include them, and we’re honest that the evidence is thinner.
IV hydration ingredients: saline and electrolytes
Saline: is an IV drip just saline?
Saline is sterile salt water: sodium chloride dissolved in water at a concentration close to your body’s own fluids.
- Why it’s used: to replace lost fluid quickly, for example after sweating, vomiting or a heavy night.
- Evidence: strong, for treating dehydration. This is the main thing a drip does well.
- On our menu: Hangover Rescue and Island Hydration each contain 1,000 ml of saline. Our other drips use a hydrating base.
Electrolytes
Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electrical charge in body fluids. Cleveland Clinic lists the main ones as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, phosphate and bicarbonate, and notes they can get out of balance with vomiting, heavy sweating or not drinking enough.
- Why they’re used: to replace salts lost alongside fluid, which helps your nerves and muscles work normally.
- Evidence: good, when you’ve actually lost them through sweat, vomiting or diarrhoea.
- On our menu: Hangover Rescue and Island Hydration.
Vitamins: B-complex, B12 and vitamin C
B-complex and B12
B-complex is a group of B vitamins, including thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and B6. The NHS explains that these help the body release energy from food and keep the nervous system healthy. Several can’t be stored, so you need them regularly.
B12 helps make red blood cells and keep the nervous system healthy. The NHS notes it isn’t found naturally in fruit, vegetables or grains, so vegans can be at risk of running low.
- Why they’re used: heavy drinking and poor eating can affect your vitamin levels.
- Evidence: clear for correcting a real deficiency; limited for boosting energy or easing a hangover in people who already get enough.
- On our menu: B-complex is in every drip. B12 is in the Myers’ Cocktail and Jet Lag Reset.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps protect cells and keeps skin, blood vessels and bones healthy, according to the NHS. It also notes that vitamin C can’t be stored in the body, so you need it in your diet every day.
- Why it’s used: as an antioxidant and general nutrient support.
- Evidence: limited for hangovers or “immune boosting” in healthy people. Too much vitamin C by mouth (over 1,000 mg a day) can cause stomach pain and diarrhoea, says the NHS.
- On our menu: Hangover Rescue, Myers’ Cocktail, Jet Lag Reset, Glow & Glutathione, and as a higher dose in Immune Shield.
Minerals: magnesium, calcium and zinc
Magnesium and calcium
Magnesium helps turn food into energy and supports nerve and muscle function. Calcium is best known for bones, and Cleveland Clinic notes it also helps blood vessels contract and expand. Both are electrolytes.
- Evidence: limited for general wellness. Cleveland Clinic mentions that some IV vitamin components have shown some promise in migraine studies, but high-quality trials are still lacking.
- On our menu: magnesium and calcium are in the Myers’ Cocktail; magnesium is also in Jet Lag Reset.
Zinc
Zinc helps the body make new cells and enzymes, process food and heal wounds, according to the NHS. It also warns that too much zinc over time reduces how much copper you absorb.
- Evidence: limited for preventing or shortening illness in people who aren’t deficient.
- On our menu: Immune Shield.
Glutathione and biotin
Glutathione is an antioxidant your body makes itself, built from three amino acids. It’s popular in skin-focused drips. A 2025 review in Cureus found that IV glutathione for skin lightening had short-lived effects and real safety concerns, including allergic reactions. We don’t offer or promote it for changing skin colour. For a realistic look at what it can and can’t do, see our guide to glutathione drips and skin.
Biotin is a B vitamin the body uses to make fatty acids. The NHS notes that gut bacteria make biotin, so it isn’t clear whether you need extra from your diet.
- Evidence: limited for both, especially for visible skin changes.
- On our menu: Glow & Glutathione contains glutathione, vitamin C, biotin and a hydration base. Immune Shield includes a glutathione push.
Anti-nausea medicine and pain relief
These aren’t vitamins. They’re medicines, and they’re the reason many people feel noticeably better after a hangover drip.
- Why they’re used: to ease nausea, vomiting and headache.
- Evidence: these medicines are well established for treating symptoms. They work because they’re medicines, not because they’re in a drip.
- On our menu: only in Hangover Rescue, and only if the nurse assesses they’re suitable for you after screening.
Which drip contains what
| Drip | Main ingredients |
|---|---|
| Hangover Rescue | Saline 1,000 ml, electrolytes, B-complex, vitamin C, plus anti-nausea and pain relief if assessed |
| Island Hydration | Saline 1,000 ml, electrolytes, B-complex |
| Myers’ Cocktail | Magnesium, calcium, B-complex, B12, vitamin C in a hydrating base |
| Immune Shield | High-dose vitamin C, zinc, B-complex, glutathione push |
| Jet Lag Reset | Hydration base with B12, magnesium, B-complex, vitamin C |
| Glow & Glutathione | Glutathione, vitamin C, biotin, hydration base |
Not sure which suits you? Our guide on which IV drip to choose walks through it, and prices are on our drip menu. A registered nurse screens everyone before every drip and can adjust or decline a drip if an ingredient isn’t right for you. When you’re ready, book a drip at the clinic or your hotel.
When to go to hospital instead
A vitamin drip isn’t the right care for serious illness. Call 1669 or go to hospital if you have chest pain, difficulty breathing, confusion, a seizure, a very high fever, severe stomach pain, or can’t keep fluids down for many hours. Seek help straight away for swelling of the face or lips, or wheezing, during or after any drip.
The nearest hospitals are Wattanapat Hospital Ao Nang, Bangkok Hospital Krabi and Krabi Hospital.
Frequently asked questions
What are the main IV hydration ingredients?
Most hydration drips are built on saline (sterile salt water) with added electrolytes. Many also include B vitamins and vitamin C. Our Island Hydration drip is saline, electrolytes and B-complex.
What are the Myers’ Cocktail ingredients?
Ours contains magnesium, calcium, B-complex, B12 and vitamin C in a hydrating base. Recipes vary between providers.
What are the ingredients in a hangover drip?
Our Hangover Rescue contains 1,000 ml of saline, electrolytes, B-complex and vitamin C, plus anti-nausea medicine and pain relief if the nurse assesses they’re suitable.
Do you offer NAD+ drips?
No. Everything we offer is on our drip menu and explained in this guide.
Ready to feel better?
A registered nurse can come to your hotel or villa in Ao Nang and nearby beaches, or visit our clinic.
Photo: Furkan İnce on Pexels