Alcohol Detox Symptoms

Alcohol detoxification--or detox--is a painful experience that alcoholics attempting to quit the substance must go through before they begin the process of recovery. Severe alcoholics are physically dependent on alcohol--they need to drink--and if they cease immediately, they incur the devastating symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, which can be life-threatening without supervision.

Identification

• Alcohol detox is the specific term used when alcoholics stop using alcohol regularly under the supervision of a medical professional, almost always using a cocktail of prescription drugs to treat the withdrawal symptoms. Most alcoholics choose to detox either at a hospital or a rehabilitation center. The more chemically dependent the alcoholic in question is on alcohol, the more severe that the symptoms will be, and the greater the amount of supervision and treatment necessary for him to get through the detox process safely will be.

Function

• The first set of symptoms that most chemically dependent alcoholics start to feel is shaking, sweating, headache, nausea and sometimes vomiting. Strong desires to consume more alcohol generally arise when these feelings become apparent. Benzodiazepines like valium and other similar drugs are used to temper the severity of these symptoms. After not consuming alcohol for even longer, the alcoholic will then experience delirium tremens, or the "DTs."

Effects

• The delirium tremens begin appearing between 6 to 48 hours of ceasing alcohol consumption. These involve hallucinations, more violent shaking and nausea symptoms, hyperactive behavior, high light sensitivity, convulsions and even seizures. The death rate in hospitals for this set of symptoms is around 5 to 15 percent, but without supervision, it can cause death in 35 percent or more of cases, according to Dr. Michael Burns of eMedicine (see Resources).

Considerations

• In less severe cases of alcoholism, sometimes an increased intake of water and the vitamin thiamine, along with healthy food and bed rest, can be enough to handle the symptoms. Before undertaking a treatment program, alcoholics can increase their chances of a less troublesome recovery if they measure their regular alcohol intake and report it accurately to the doctors treating them. Drug dosages can then be calibrated more effectively to the needs of the person attempting recovery.

Misconceptions

• Quitting alcohol is nothing like quitting smoking or even many other drugs. Detox symptoms for serious alcoholics are more severe than those for heroin or crack addicts, and more likely to result in death even in hospital conditions. It should never be attempted alone. Detox, although physically grueling and highly risky, is only one of the first steps towards real recovery. Relapses are common, although the chances can be reduced if the recovering alcoholic begins a program of talk therapy or joins a support group.