Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

New Year's Partiers Seeking Hangover Cures Flock to 'Hydration' Clinic

By Jackie Kostek | January 1, 2013 3:29pm
 Adam Shealy and Brittany Bussell cured their NYE hangovers with IVs and bags of fluid.
Adam Shealy and Brittany Bussell cured their NYE hangovers with IVs and bags of fluid.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Jackie Kostek

RIVER NORTH — Hungover? The quickest cure is located at 222 W. Ontario St. — but it will cost you about $100.

"I barely spent any money last night, so a hundred is nothing to feel better," said Kelly, 27, who said after partying in Wrigleyville for New Year's Eve Monday night, she woke up with a massive headache. She declined to give her last name.

Instead of feeling like "crap" all day, she dragged herself out of bed and into a white leather chaise lounge chair at Revive Hydration Clinic, where she received "intravenous hydration therapy," which basically means she got hooked up to an IV, pumped with two to three bags of fluids, and chilled out for an hour watching a Steve Carell movie on a big screen television.

 Hangover patients at revive hydration clinic get hooked up to IVs and pumped with two to three bags of fluid.
Hangover patients at revive hydration clinic get hooked up to IVs and pumped with two to three bags of fluid.
View Full Caption
DNAinfo/Jackie Kostek

"I have to go to work tomorrow, so this is worth it," she said.

Adam Shealy and Brittany Bussell missed their 10:00 a.m. appointment because, well, they were hungover. But by 11:30 a.m. they were nestled into the clinic's L-shaped couch, hooked up to IVs, working their way through their first bag of fluids. One of three they would ingest during the hourlong session.

"I just hope he doesn't throw up on me," said Bussell, 30, laughing at Shealy. After a night of sipping cocktails, Bussell at the James Hotel and Shealy at a house party, Bussell said she thought a trip to the newly open Revive would be a fun way to cure the hangover.

One of the clinic's nurses, Katie Walus, said after her NYE night out, she came into work an hour early and got another nurse to hook her up for a quickie cure.

"I had three liters, and I feel great!" said Walus. The 27-year-old, who is also an IC nurse at Evanston Hospital, said one of her good friends came in with her boyfriend Tuesday morning to try to speed up her recovery. Walus said her friend "never eats when she's hungover" but she called Walus an hour after the infusion and said she was scarfing down brunch at a nearby restaurant — and another drink.

"Everyone has come in feeling hungover, and leaves feeling great!" Walus said.

Jack Dybis, a clinic doctor and full-time surgeon, said New Year's Day is on track to be the busiest day for the clinic since it opened three weeks ago, with nearly 20 patients stopping in by midday. Dybis said there are a lot of ways to cure a hangover, but his "rapid rehydration" is by far the quickest.

"People leave feeling awesome, just like that," Dybis said, with a snap of his fingers.