The Ins and Outs of Alcohol Detox

Millions of people suffer from addiction to alcohol. This is truly unfortunate, since alcoholism can lead to a number of physical, mental, and emotional problems. Not only can alcohol addiction lead to liver and kidney problems, it can cause problems with relationships and can lead to financial devastation. For this reason, many alcoholics ultimately turn to an alcohol detox program to help them overcome their addiction.

What is Alcohol Detox?

Alcohol detox is a form of treatment that is medically monitored. The primary goal of alcohol detox is to help the alcoholic get over his or her physical dependence upon alcohol. In this way, an alcohol detox program prepares the alcoholic for entering rehab or some form of treatment program. Therefore, alcohol detox can be considered the first step toward the long term recovery from the addiction.

Alcohol detox can take place in a variety of settings, but is most often used when the alcoholic enters an inpatient program. Regardless of the setting or the type of program the alcoholic will enter, alcohol detox must be medically supervised in order to monitor the patient’s overall health.

What are the Side Effects of Alcohol Detox?

It is important to remember that alcohol detox involves removing something from the body that the body has become accustomed to having. Therefore, when the alcohol is removed from the alcoholic’s body, the body can react in a very violent manner.

Since the alcohol detox process involves ceasing the abuse of alcohol completely and suddenly, there are a number of side effects that may occur during the process. Some of the potential side effects of alcohol detox include:

· Tremors, which is also referred to as “the shakes”
· Headaches
· Vomiting
· Perspiration
· Restlessness,
· Loss of appetite
· Insomnia
· Delirium Tremors (DT’s)
· Autonomic hyperactivity
· Seizures

In addition to the physical side effects of alcohol detox, the alcoholic may experience a number of different psychological and emotional difficulties as well.

Experts estimate that one in four people undergoing alcohol detox are at risk of having seizures if they are not properly medically treated during the alcohol detox process. In addition, the entire process can take anywhere from three to fourteen days.

How is Alcohol Detox Medically Treated?

In order to help the alcoholic through the alcohol detox process, the alcoholic may be prescribed a number of different medications. Certain anticonvulsant medications may be used to help with the side effects of alcohol detox. In addition, certain types of benzodiazepines and buprenophex may be used as well.

How is Alcohol Detox Nutritionally Treated?

Many alcohol detox programs focus on the alcoholic’s nutrition as another means of helping the body through the process. After all, the healthier and stronger the patient’s body, the better the patient will be able to fend off the side effects of the alcohol detox process. As such, many facilities have an in-house nutritionist that will put the alcoholic on a special diet that will help it to better fight off the side effects of the detox process.

How is Alcohol Detox Emotionally Treated?

Of course, for many alcoholics, the dependency upon alcohol is more psychological than it is physical. Many alcoholics have convinced themselves that they cannot live without alcohol or that they cannot function properly without the help of alcohol. Therefore, this psychological dependency must be addresses as well.

While the actually alcohol detox process involves simply removing the alcohol from the alcoholic’s body, it is essential to help the addict with the psychological aspects of addiction in order to improve the chances of a successful recovery. The more at rest the patient’s mind, the better capable the patient will be to cope with the withdrawal symptoms that accompany the detox process.

Which Aspect of the Alcohol Detox Process is the Most Important?

All three aspects of alcohol detox – medical treatment, nutritional treatment, and psychological treatment – are equally important when it comes to achieving long term results. While the physical removal of the alcohol from the addicts system is an essential first step in the process, all three components must be used together in order to form a well-rounded program.

How Can Someone Get Started with an Alcohol Detox Program?

There are numerous alcohol detox programs available throughout the country. Therefore, a person needing treatment should not have trouble finding a program in which to enroll. The real choice is determining what type of program is best for the alcoholic.

The alcoholic has essentially two different types of programs to select from. He or she can choose to get help from a residential treatment program or from an outpatient facility. With a residential treatment program, the alcoholic actually stays and lives at the facility through the duration of the program. With outpatient treatment, on the other hand, the alcoholic attends meetings at designated times but still lives at home while receiving treatment.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these program types. The primary advantage to a residential treatment program is the fact that the alcoholic can receive more intense treatment. Residential treatment is also a good choice for those with a poor support system at home. Those with a strong home support system and that need to continue working and providing for their families may choose an outpatient treatment program instead.

In either case, it will be necessary for the patient to go through some form of alcohol detox program. For those that select outpatient treatment, the alcohol detox step may involve staying at the facility for a certain period of time for the intense treatment but then being released for outpatient treatment.

Although the alcohol detox process is physically and emotionally stressful, it is a necessary step to take for those wishing to finally kick the habit. With the help of a treatment program, the process can be made as comfortable as possible and will give the patient the best chance for a successful recovery from alcohol addiction.