Going in for surgery? Use these two vitamins to cut your hospital stay in half

If there’s ever a time your body and mind are under stress, it’s when you’re lying in a hospital bed, chained to an IV.

But if the IV needle that’s sending a solution directly into your veins is clear or colourless, it isn’t doing as much as it could to help you fight the stress that could prolong your recovery – and your hospital stay.

“I know it may sound strange, but the colour of your IV should be yellow!” explains Dr Jonathan Wright in Nutrition and Healing.

Taking Riboflavin after surgery will help you heal faster after surgery

When you’re under stress, your body uses greater quantities of B-complex vitamins. Riboflavin (or vitamin B2) is a key member of this group of vitamins – and yellow is the natural colour of riboflavin.

Adding B-complex vitamins to your IV bag will help your body handle the stress you’re going through, explains motherearthliving.com.

And while you’re at it, ask your doctor to add vitamin C to your IV's solution

The entire group of B-complex vitamins and vitamin C are so well known as stress fighters that even conventional medical practitioners acknowledge their value.

So if these vitamins are so good for you, why don’t more doctors add B-complex vitamins and vitamin C to your IV? Why aren’t they required?

The answers are fairly simple:

First and foremost, the thought simply doesn’t occur to most physicians practising in hospitals or emergency rooms – because they’re not being pushed to use them. There’s just no money in it.

“Since B-complex vitamins and vitamin C aren’t patentable, patent medication companies don’t push them – and practically no money has been dedicated to controlled studies demonstrating that they work for any particular condition,” says Dr Wright.

A word of caution… Some people are very sensitive to taking too much B-complex – or taking it too fast. Often, they become nauseous as a result. So speak to your doctor about adding as little as a 1/2cc to 1cc (cubic centimetres) of B-complex to your IV to minimise the chances of getting ill, advises Dr Wright. If you don’t have any problem with the amount, your doctor can gradually increase your intake to 1cc per short IV (less than four hours) and 1cc to 2ccs for longer ones.