Alcohol Detox
The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence reports that almost 19 million Americans abuse alcohol, and many of these individuals become dependent on the drug. An alcoholic, at some time in their lives will need to go through alcohol detoxification (detox) if and when they choose sobriety. The alcohol detox process plays an important role in the treatment and recovery from alcoholism.The main focus of alcohol detox is to eliminate all traces of alcohol while at the same time helping the individual in treatment to manage the withdrawal symptoms.
There are many types of alcohol detox programs that are available in all of the major cities. If your alcohol addiction is severe, an inpatient stay at an alcohol treatment center might be advisable. In less severe cases, outpatient treatment may be suitable. There are also residential treatment programs available that include onsite detox services. Residential alcohol treatment program lengths will vary and the treatment will last anywhere from 30 to 90 days or even longer is severe cases of alcoholism. Alcohol detox is only the beginning of your alcohol treatment program. Outpatient alcohol rehab may require the individual to go the treatment center for three to five visits per week until the program is completed. Most alcohol recovery treatment programs require that you complete the alcohol detox process before you start any other aspect of the program.
All alcohol detox services should involve a custom-designed plan which will depend on many personal factors including your age, the length of time that you have been abusing alcohol and if you are experiencing any medical issues. Inpatient residential treatment is the better option for treating alcoholism because type of program provides a safe, supportive and structured environment for alcohol detox. Residential treatment for alcohol detox can also help ease you into the treatment process by enabling you to have round the clock support and individual therapy as you begin the recovery process. Outpatient treatment may be beneficial for people recovering from less severe alcohol addictions or have no other choice due to personal circumstances. These individuals would include people who have to work at their jobs during treatment or who must return home in the evening to care for dependent children. It is important to note that outpatient alcoholism treatment statistically has a much lower rate of long term success than inpatient residential treatment. When you begin looking into alcohol detox services, be sure to consider the quality of care during the program. Look into whether the program includes alcohol relapse prevention and some type of follow up or after-care program. Regardless of which type of alcohol detox service you choose to attend; during this process you will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms of some kind.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms that are experienced by people who have stopped drinking abruptly (cold turkey) can be extremely uncomfortable, and sometimes life threatening. Because of these often serious symptoms, alcohol detox should not be attempted without the support of a professional treatment center. The severity of these alcohol withdrawal symptoms is usually dependent upon how long the individual has been dependent on the drug, and the amounts consumed. Those who drink heavily every day may have developed a very high level of dependency on alcohol and may experience some severe withdrawal symptoms. Even individuals who drink moderate amounts of alcohol daily can become dependent, and experience withdrawal if they attempt to quit drinking completely. Another group of alcoholics that will experience some level of withdrawal symptoms in detox are individuals who do not drink often, but when they choose to consume alcohol, they do so in large amounts. These binge drinkers can also be at risk for alcohol poisoning, because they consume such large amounts of alcohol. Even the "morning after hangover" of someone who only occasionally drinks to excess, is actually a mild form of alcohol withdrawal from drinking the night before, as the alcohol content of their blood begins to drop.
For some, who are less chemically dependent, withdrawal symptoms might be as "mild" as getting the shakes, night sweats , nausea, headache, anxiety and increased blood pressure. Although these alcohol withdrawal symptoms may be extremely uncomfortable and irritating, not all of these symptoms are necessarily dangerous. But these alcohol withdrawal symptoms are often accompanied by the "craving" for liquor, making the decision to continue abstinence much more difficult to make without alcohol recovery treatment support.
The most serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms are hallucinations and they can happen within eight to 48 hours after not drinking. These hallucinations are usually visual but they can also involve sounds and smells and the person can become delusional to the point that they truly believe they are experiencing these sensations. These hallucinations can sometimes last for a few hours or in rare cases, up to a week or two. Also within the first two days after quitting drinking, convulsions or seizures can occur. It is at this point at which the individual could be in danger and may need to be medically treated. In some severe cases of alcoholism, delirium tremens (DTs) may also occur as part of the alcohol detox withdrawal. Delirium tremens is a violent delirium, which could include fading in and out of consciousness while experiencing tremors and increased motor activity. Other symptoms of delirium tremors are visual hallucinations, disorientation, confusion, and in some instances an individual will have fever.
Alcohol detox alone should never be used as a complete form of alcoholism treatment. Recent studies on alcoholism have concluded that when individuals have attempted to use detox alone as a form of treatment, the results were the same as in alcoholics that had no treatment at all. The many aspects of alcoholism should be addressed in a comprehensive treatment program.
Once an individual is willing to admit that they have an addiction to alcohol, the recovery process can truly begin. The first step in is to find an alcoholism treatment center that has had a high rate of success in treating alcoholism.
