| Alcohol detox is basically when you stop drinking | | | | Sometimes there can be convulsions and blackouts. |
| alcohol and your body fights to purge the alcohol. This | | | | Treatment |
| is the 'cold turkey' period that everyone has heard | | | | Withdrawal can be treated with sedation. This is |
| about. | | | | usually done with benzodiazepines. |
| This is where the substitution of 'cross-tolerant drugs' | | | | Large doses are sometimes required to keep the |
| can be used to lessen the withdrawal effects. These | | | | patient completely sedated or to prevent death. |
| withdrawal effects can sometimes prove fatal. it is | | | | Benzodiazepines include - diazpam, lorazepam, and |
| extremely important that any alcohol detox is | | | | oxazepam. |
| undertaken with close supervision, preferably by | | | | Alcohol detox must be treated with care and |
| someone with a medical background. | | | | compassion. Each person is different and the |
| Symptoms | | | | treatment should be individual. Treatment must also |
| Mild or moderate symptoms include shakiness, anxiety, | | | | include provision of vitamins and nutrients. |
| rapid emotion changes, inability to think clearly, and | | | | One more thing to point out is that the |
| tiredness. Some of the more physical reactions can be | | | | benzodiazepines are in themselves addictive and are |
| headaches, nausea, loss of appetite, inability to sleep, | | | | often inappropriately prescribed. I understand that, in |
| and general twitching. | | | | some cases, there is no alternative but to prescribe |
| The symptoms can be much more severe in those | | | | them. For many who must go through alcohol detox, |
| with a longer history of alcohol misuse. These can | | | | there are other, more natural ways, of relieving the |
| include delirium tremens (DT's). The main signs of this | | | | milder symptoms. |
| are confusion, disorientation, and intense hallucinations. | | | | |