How to Detox Safely
Millions of individuals lose their lives each year due to alcoholism or alcohol use disorders. This happens when you excessively consume alcohol. Detox is one of the treatment options for you if you are thinking about quitting alcohol.
Alcohol detox helps reduce the harmful and dangerous side effects resulting from a person’s dependence on alcohol while going through an alcohol use disorder.
Detox is not an easy procedure to be followed, as it is painful. If you want to overcome alcoholism, detox is the primary step in the treatment.
In this blog, you will learn how you can safely detox from alcohol.
Key Takeaways
- It is unsafe to detox alone at home.
- Medically-assisted detox is helpful for those facing alcohol addiction as they are under constant medical supervision.
- The dose of prescription medications is high at the start of the treatment but gradually reduces with time.
- Individuals experience severe withdrawal symptoms during the detox process.
If any of your loved ones need detox treatment, please consult The Recovery Team for help at (800)817-1247.
Detox
Detox or detoxification is a procedure in which addictive toxins and harmful substances leave your body. It never happens in a single day or an overnight thing. This whole process is time-consuming and can take two or three weeks.
The effects could linger for several weeks. You’ll experience withdrawal symptoms that can be anything from mildly uncomfortable to excruciatingly painful, so it won’t be a pleasant procedure.
The first one to three days will see the worst symptoms. They will then gradually subside after that. You start the next stage of treatment and rehabilitation once your body is free of all drugs and alcohol.
The best way to get rid of addiction is to stop indulging in it. When you undergo alcohol detoxification, give yourself time to your body to get free from alcohol and adjust its functioning accordingly.
Alcohol detox requires a person to endure the full gamut of withdrawal symptoms, which can be painful, upsetting, and deadly.
People should go through alcohol detox at a treatment facility under medical attention because some alcohol withdrawal symptoms might be harmful. Alcohol detoxification patients are more likely to complete the treatment.
How To Safely Detox from Alcohol
Alcohol abuse causes alcohol dependence. To get out of this alcohol addiction cycle, you need professional help, as the severe symptoms can’t be treated at home. Medical treatment under the supervision of medical professionals will be the safest way and has fewer risks than at-home detox.
Medical detox is described below:
Medical Detox: Rules and Timeline
Medical detox facilities are all designed to provide a safe environment for individuals receiving the detox, but they have different rules and schedules regarding detox at an alcohol rehab center.
Knowing what you should take with you and what you shouldn’t enable you to prevent being angry. Some accept goods that contain alcohol, for example, hair products, but some may not. If you have a question about what is acceptable to bring, call the specific center and ask.
Medical treatment facilities expect the individual to remain in active withdrawal during treatment. These treatment centers expect to see signs, such as anxiety, when an individual arrives for treatment.
Alcohol and benzodiazepines are two drugs of abuse that can have potentially fatal withdrawal effects. Addicts should never try to quit using these substances alone without a doctor’s help.
Last Use
Most of the time, medical detox centers use medications to help people avoid discomfort before the treatment. People’s potential pharmaceutical needs are highly influenced by their most recent drug intake.
People should keep track of their most recent hit and how they took it before entering rehab. That is information the team will need in order to draw together an acceptable treatment program for an individual under medical supervision.
Answer All Questions
Those who are going through addiction often avoid answering questions, and this is one of the vital signs that they need detox treatment. When there is severe alcohol use for years, individuals become skilled in hiding their problems.
When enrolled in a detox treatment, there is a need to put these skills aside, like when healthcare providers ask questions. They need straight answers.
These questions usually revolve around the amount of the drug consumed by an individual and how frequently it is consumed.
Drug Tests
When healthcare professionals ask questions to you concerning previous substance abuse habits, it will help them provide the right medical support during medical detox.
In the intake procedure of medical detox, healthcare professionals sometimes perform blood and urine tests. Your primary care provider decides the treatment plan, prescription medications, and other things.
If there is severe alcohol addiction or severe alcohol use disorder, then the safest option is medically-assisted alcohol detox. This will save you from any life-threatening conditions.
Withdrawal
The primary purpose of a medical detox program is to ease severe withdrawal symptoms. Doctors at the treatment facility help individuals with prescription medications to relieve the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal in a supportive environment.
Some additional support is offered to individuals with severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that professionals monitor the withdrawal process using a withdrawal scale. They check for the existence and severity of typical symptoms of withdrawal.
These include; anxiety, GI symptoms, seizures, high blood pressure, and more.
Individuals experiencing severe symptoms need medications to soothe their discomfort. However, individuals with minor withdrawal symptoms may get less intense medications.
Medications
If there are severe withdrawal symptoms or medical conditions, your medical expert will suggest you use medications. This will ease both severe and mild symptoms during substance abuse treatment.
At the beginning of the alcohol detox program, the dose of medications is larger than average to discontinue the alcohol cravings. But as the treatment (medically-supervised detox) proceeds, the dose gets smaller as per the individual’s health.
Head to Rehab
When a patient reaches the stability level during recovery and does not consume any medications for any mild symptoms, then the patient can start a rehab process. This is the best time to leave the medical detox and participate in the addiction treatment program.
According to NIDA, a rehab program aims to get patients back to a productive level of functioning at home and in the community. Teams can achieve this through therapy, support groups, and other means.
Medical detox providers may oversee the transition from detox to rehab because they believe in the effectiveness of rehab.
Supplemental Programs
When patients are enrolled in an alcohol rehab program, they don’t just consume medications all day. But are encouraged to do different activities, which is the best option for them to remain busy.
The supplemental activities help the patient keep his mind busy. The mental health of an individual is vital; that’s why activities that improve the mental health of an individual are highly encouraged at a rehab center.
Road to Recovery
You can overcome alcohol addiction and have a sober life. The important thing to keep in mind is that self-detoxing from alcohol at home is never safe.
The largest risk group for difficulties from alcohol withdrawal are heavy drinkers and people who have previously tried to self-detox.
Although enrolling in a treatment program can scare you, it’s the safest approach to detox from alcohol. Friends and relatives might be a source of emotional support, but the truth is they lack the medical training necessary to understand what eases alcohol withdrawal.
A group of medically qualified specialists who can assist you through the withdrawal process and direct you to recovery can help if you enroll in alcohol addiction treatment.