Alcohol Withdrawal Signs and Symptoms
Alcohol withdrawal may be described as a group of symptoms that may occur from suddenly stopping alcohol consumption after a history of a drinking problem . Common symptoms include but are not limited to loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, fever , chills, lack of coordination and sleeping problems. The shakes are what is commonly discussed as well.
These withdrawal symptoms are however do not occur in all cases but are likely to occur to any person who has a long or a short drinking history and stops suddenly. There is no proven way of judging the likelihood of withdrawal symptoms.
One of the ways used to manage withdrawal symptoms is detoxification. This refers to the process of removing alcohol from the body without harmlessly. There are two methods of detoxification, namely; non–drug and drug based detox treatment. It is advisable that either choice be done under doctor’s supervision either at home or in an alcohol rehab facility.
Non drug detox focuses on naturally assisting the body to get rid of the alcohol safely. This treatment has been described as one of the safest way to treat mild alcohol withdrawal symptoms without medications. Non-drug detox programs use pervading social support and monitoring during the entire rehabilitation process. There are other non drug detox programs that use mineral and nutrition therapy in treatment.
Drug based detox is usually prescribed for severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms and treating chronic alcoholics. It is argued that using drugs reduces the likelihood of brain damage and seizures. Benzodiazepine such as Librium, Valium, Ativan and Serax are some of the drugs used to facilitate this. Prometa is a more recent med used for alcohol withdrawal. Doctors use a progressive decrease in dosage over the treatment period. Antabuse drugs can also be prescribed as follow up treatment to help the victim overcome the desire to return to drinking. They trigger negative effects if alcohol is consumed.
Cravings and urges can be a struggle so it is important to have a good support system as well as healthy substitutes to succeed in alcohol withdrawal.