What is Involved in Alcohol Detoxification?

Detox is the first step that individuals take when being treated for alcoholism. They need to stop drinking alcohol, go through withdrawal symptoms and then begin a program of getting their body used to not having alcohol, which is the period known as detox. Detox is where the treatment and recovery from the disease, alcoholism starts after alcohol is out of the system. The process of withdrawal and detoxification can be dangerous for the individual to go through without medical monitoring and treatment. The person suffering from alcoholism should receive professional care from someone qualified in the treatment of alcohol problems.

Typically detox occurs in a medical hospital, or alcohol and drug detox and treatment center that is set up to handle the process. Detoxification can be done on an outpatient basis with typically fewer than 20% requiring admission. It is not unusual though for 50% of those undergoing outpatient detox to be admitted for inpatient treatment.

The process of withdrawaling from alcohol when a person is an alcoholic is a severe process and can be medically dangerous, even life threatening.

The withdrawal symptoms can be recognized by others because the individual will have the shakes, hand tremors, headaches, nausea and vomiting, sweating, will be anxious or restless, have a loss of appetite, be experiencing difficulty sleeping even suffering from insomnia, have delirium tremens (DTs), perhaps even have convulsions or be hyperactive.

Severe symptoms can include hallucinations, convulsions, seizures and rapid heartbeats and high blood pressure. This is why most who undergo withdrawal and detox need to do so as an inpatient.

Those who definitely should go through the process as an inpatient include those who have a history of severe withdrawal symptoms from past attempt to detox, those with a history of alcohol related withdrawal seizures or DTs, anyone who has had more than one past detoxifications or who has a medical history of chronic disease, medical problems or psychiatric illness. Individuals who have had recent high levels of drinking episodes or those who do not have a good dependable support system already in place and those women who are pregnant should have detox done as an inpatient for their safety.

During the withdrawal process and detoxification medications may be required such as anticonvulsants and antipsychotic drugs that can only be prescribed by a physician. Detox can be a long process that may take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks or more to complete. Some side effects from withdrawal and detox can last for as long as 12-months.

Just because an individual goes through the detoxification process is not a guarantee that they won’t start drinking alcohol again. Relapses are common for those suffering from alcoholism. Alcoholism is a chronic and progressive disease in which there is no cure and the individual will have the disease for a lifetime. Staying sober when an alcoholic is very difficult and requires support from those around him/her.

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