Inside the doors of new Destin business Hydroxy, there are no sounds of the nearby highway, no bright lights, and no sense of urgency. Instead, the atmosphere seeks to offer a relaxing ambiance with calming music, low lighting and colorful bubbling oxygen tanks.
“We came up with this idea a while back,” said business owner Carolina Santos. “The idea is that you don’t need to go to the ER for things that could easily be fixed in a relaxing atmosphere.”
Santos explained that Hydroxy offers relief for minor issues such as dehydration, headaches and heartburn using oxygen treatments and IV infusions, and all are administered by registered nurses and doctors.
“We are all nurses and we have been working in this field collectively for more than 30 years,” said Santos, who has 13 years in nursing experience, and her co-partners RN Joe Rogers and Dr. Polla Cunningham at 20 and 30 years respectively.
“When you come in we do a full physical assessment with vitals,” said Santos. “We check your pulse, blood pressure, temperature and saturations. We listen to your heart and lungs, and then we ask what your symptoms are and suggest a treatment.”
Treatments span from 30-minute oxygen breathing therapies to vitamin shots and IV packets that include minerals and magnesium. The oxygen stations can be for remedies or pure relaxation while the IV’s and shots are targeted towards specific ailments.
“The air we breathe is only 21 percent oxygen,” said Santos. “But with these hoses it pumps up to 93 percent oxygen, and aromas are added for calming and relaxing effects.”
As for the IV’s and shots, Santos explained the process is meant to boost the body’s systems with immunities, electrolytes and vitamins to quicken natural restorative and recovery processes.
“This is for the overall healthy person,” said Santos. “For instance, people who workout a lot or marathon runners, it takes a long time to recover from that, and a lot of Gatorade for the electrolytes. But here we can eliminate that and give quick relief of symptoms because you are skipping the process of absorption through the gut. One liter of IV fluids equals two gallons of water by mouth, and this way only takes an hour.”
For those skeptical of a non-clinical entity administering medical assistance, Santos said there is no reason to fear.
“I understand how people could feel fearful of it, but I have been a nurse for 13 years, and we all follow protocols and orders,” said Santos. “We are qualified to do this, and if we do not feel it is safe, we reserve the right to decline services and refer customers to nearby clinics and hospitals.”
Hydroxy is located at 230 Harbor Blvd. in Destin. For more information or for current hours visit www.hydroxyFL.com or call 460-8700.