NELSON — On Aug. 15, local nurse practitioner Jessica Colby, MSN, WHNP-C opened Revive Vitamin & Hydration Infusion Lounge in the Town of Nelson (3227 US-20, Cazenovia).

The new business specializes in intravenous (IV) vitamin therapy, a treatment that delivers vitamins and minerals directly to the bloodstream.

According to the Revive website, the technique bypasses the digestive system, ensuring that all dosed supplements are immediately available on a cellular level.

“With traditional oral supplements, the digestive system metabolizes these nutrients significantly, reducing the absorption rate to anywhere from 8-40%,” the website states. “IV delivery leads to 99.9% absorption, allowing for maximum impact and minimal waste. Restoring, optimizing and maintaining vitamin and nutrient levels this way improves the body’s state of health and overall well-being.”

Colby said IV vitamin therapy has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but its benefits have been anecdotally reported for decades.

“Not just anybody can do this,” she added. “You need to be a nurse practitioner or, in certain states, a physician. And you need to have a DEA license to obtain/prescribe the vitamins.”

The Revive website advertises that IV therapy can help increase energy levels, promote faster weight loss, relieve hangovers, treat certain nutrient deficiencies, cleanse the body of toxins and free radicals, promote better cardiovascular health, ease anxiety and promote relaxation, increase wellness, relieve pregnancy symptoms, DNA repair, support addiction recovery, reduce acne, promote hydration, help manage autoimmune disease symptoms, effectively deliver immune-boosting antioxidants, accelerate wound healing, reduce symptoms of migraines, help with age management, improve athletic performance and recovery, and enhance beauty.

“You’re treating symptoms with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and micronutrients that your body either produces on its own — but sometimes, for whatever reason, is not producing enough of — or requires from your diet,” said Colby. “Our diets are usually deficient in these types of things no matter how well we eat because the majority of us have some type of digestive malfunction where we are not absorbing to our maximum capacity. [IV therapy] works around that and gets those vitamins to a cellular level.”

Colby added that the treatment can be particularly useful for people with certain gastrointestinal conditions that prevent proper absorption of nutrients.

Revive offers an extensive infusion menu, including the “Ultimate Detox Blend,” the “De-Stress Blend,” the “Pain Relief Blend,” and the “Myers’ Infusion,” a popular mix of B vitamins, vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium based on the first vitamin infusion mix, developed by John Myers, M.D. in 1954.

“My menu is a little bit bigger than most vitamin clinics, because I was really trying to make it so someone could find what they were looking for,” Colby said.

Upon each client’s arrival, Colby takes time to collect a brief health history and discuss their individual goals and symptoms to determine the most suitable infusion mix and treatment frequency.

The infusions are administered in a space that Colby described as quiet, calm, and relaxing.

“[The lounge has] great chairs that vibrate and recline if people want a little nap or massage during their infusion,” she said. “They can do whatever they like — read, sleep, be on their phone, chat with a friend, listen to music.”

In addition to infusions, Revive also offers subcutaneous and intramuscular injections of certain nutrients, such as vitamin B12 for energy and vitamin D3 for helping to regulate mood in the winter months.

The injectable vitamins and nutrients administered by Revive are purchased only from FDA approved and regulated 503(a) and 503(b) compounding pharmacies.

Colby received her bachelor of science in nursing at Boston College and her graduate nursing degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

She said she always aspired to own a business, but for many years she was unsure of how best to incorporate her clinical skills, education, and strengths.

She was introduced to IV vitamin therapy by a friend and fellow nurse practitioner who opened a vitamin and hydration infusion lounge a couple hours away during the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the time, Colby, who has multiple autoimmune disorders and was on immunosuppressants, had stepped away from her job to protect her health prior to the release of the vaccines.

She said that while experiencing an ulcerative colitis flare-up, she sought out her friend’s services to help her absorb nutrients, feel a little better, and have more energy.

Despite several hospitalizations and medications, the flare-up did not subside, and Colby was forced to undergo three surgeries, the first of which was a year ago.

She recalled that she was unable to work at that point and couldn’t get the idea of IV vitamin therapy out of her head.

According to Colby, her interest in the technique was inspired not only by the benefits she personally experienced, but also by the potential she saw in it for helping others.

“I worked a lot in women’s health,” she said. “I would come across women who lost days [at a time] to something like a migraine, where they would be in their bed, unable to care for their family or themselves or go to their jobs because they just needed dark and quiet. There’s an infusion, which is really focused on migraine relief, that [people in that state can get] and it just knocks it right out. This idea of feeling better and getting back to living is really what got me hooked.”

To learn more about IV vitamin therapy, Colby took a course and started researching the treatment.

“I thought, ‘This is it; this is what I can see myself doing,’” she said. “. . . Learning [the business side] kind of kept me sane while I was recovering from my three surgeries.”

For Colby, who has resided in Cazenovia for the past four years, starting her business within her own community was important. Not only did she believe her services could benefit the population, but she was also eager to get to know people better after two years of the pandemic and a year of self-isolation due to her health.

She learned about her current space, located above the Reflections of You salon near Nelson Corners, during a hair appointment with Stephanie Parkhurst-Haight, owner of both the salon and the building.

“We kept talking about it, and we felt like it was a very good fit,” said Colby, who spent several months renovating the second floor with help from her family.

Since opening, Colby has already worked with clients seeking help with COVID recovery, weight loss, increased energy, and boosted immunity.

The entrepreneur said that given the number of event venues in town, she is hoping to offer her services — particularly her “Hangover Relief Blend” and “Beauty Blend” infusions — to wedding parties leading up to and following the big day.

To learn more about Revive and its offerings, visit revive-iv-infusion.com.