Vitamins and hangovers, the honest version.

What's in our Hangover drip

Our Hangover drip is $220. A nurse or paramedic brings it to your home, office or hotel, and the visit takes about 45 to 60 minutes. Here's everything in it:

• 1 liter of normal saline
• Toradol
• Zofran
• B12
• B-Complex
• Vitamin C
• Zinc
• Magnesium

The vitamins and minerals, one by one

• B12 is a water-soluble vitamin. Its other name is cobalamin.
• B-Complex is a mix of B vitamins. The B vitamins are a group that includes B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine) and B12.
• Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin and one of many antioxidants.
• Zinc is a trace mineral found in cells throughout your body.
• Magnesium is a mineral, and one of your body's electrolytes.

Two that aren't in the drip

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. It's often called the sunshine vitamin because your skin makes it in the sun. It isn't in the Hangover drip, but Vitamin D3 is on our add-in list for $25.

Glutathione isn't a vitamin at all. It's an antioxidant your body makes on its own. It's on our add-in list too, also $25.

Electrolytes and alcohol

Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge in your blood and other body fluids. Sodium, potassium and magnesium are three of them. Normal saline is sterile salt water, so it carries sodium and chloride.

Alcohol makes you pee more, so a night of drinking can leave you short on fluids.

The two medicines in the drip

Toradol is ketorolac, an NSAID (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). Zofran is ondansetron, a prescription medicine in a class called 5-HT3 receptor antagonists.

MedlinePlus notes that alcohol can make ketorolac's side effects worse, and that it shouldn't be taken with other NSAIDs like ibuprofen or naproxen, or with aspirin. So tell your nurse what you drank, when you stopped, and anything you've already taken.

Plain facts about drinking

MedlinePlus keeps it simple:

• Drink slowly, and eat before you drink.
• Have a glass of water between drinks.
• Not drinking is how you avoid a hangover.