Alcohol Detox at Home How to Detox from Alcohol Safely

They monitor you, provide what you need throughout the process, and administer medications to help slowly wean you off of alcohol. Alcohol detox programs evaluate and monitor withdrawal symptoms, physical health, and mental health. When alcohol detox is treated in an inpatient rehab facility, different medications may be used to help reduce uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. Medications can also help keep a person’s body chemicals in balance, lowering the risk for serious complications.

• This stage typically starts 3–5 years after you’ve stopped drinking.
• If you feel severe symptoms, such as hallucinations, rapid heartbeat or disorientation, call 911 immediately.
• It’s common to have a difficult time when making big changes, but good self-care practices can help you manage overwhelming feelings and take care of your mind and body.
• Just like a broken bone or infection needs time to heal, so does an overworked liver.
• The second is alcohol detox treatment programs that work to remove alcohol from your system safely.

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If you are thinking about quitting drinking, talk to your healthcare provider. Medical supervision, behavioral health treatment, and mutual-aid groups can help you through alcohol withdrawal and stay stopped. If you are a heavy or chronic drinker, it is important to get professional help to stop drinking. Your detox should be medically supervised in order to help minimize severe symptoms.

Maintain a healthy diet

Treatments can greatly reduce or eliminate most of the symptoms https://ecosoberhouse.com/ of alcohol withdrawal. Severe and complicated alcohol withdrawal requires treatment in a hospital — sometimes in the ICU. While receiving treatment, healthcare providers will want to monitor you continuously to make sure you don’t develop life-threatening complications. Mild withdrawal symptoms can be managed with hydration, rest and a quiet environment. Techniques such as mindfulness, meditation or gentle exercise might help alleviate stress. However, it’s important to seek medical advice, as withdrawal can quickly escalate to severe symptoms.

Get Help With Alcohol Addiction

Unlike other medications, disulfiram works by producing severe reactions if alcohol is consumed. For instance, if you drink while on disulfiram, you will experience unwanted effects like facial flushing, nausea, headache, weakness and low blood pressure. The negative alcohol detox effects are meant to deter you from continuing your drinking pattern. Disulfiram is not meant to reduce your alcohol cravings or restore brain functions like some other medications. Years of heavy drinking can significantly alter how the brain looks and works.

Treatments That Help With Alcohol Withdrawal

It can help you reach goals and can minimize some of the unpleasant and severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. If you want to change your relationship with alcohol, it’s important to have an honest conversation with a doctor about your drinking habits before you start tapering off. They’ll be able to help you create a tapering schedule that won’t only raise your chance of success but also avoid severe symptoms. Alcohol is a depressant that your body begins to rely on over the course of months and years of drinking.

• These stages can help prevent relapse and support people to live healthier, fuller lives.
• The brain compensates for the depressive effects of alcohol by increasing its activity.
• Over time, however, the body builds a tolerance to alcohol, and a person may have to drink more and more to get the same feeling.
• This can help your body adjust, and it can be easier to manage than quitting cold turkey.
• Follow your patient contract as well as your provider’s medication regimen and treatment recommendations.
• Depending on the extent of liver damage you have, you may need to completely abstain from alcohol in order to give your liver the best chance for recovery.

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That difficulty is why alcohol detox and alcohol withdrawal treatment is administered by medical professionals at rehab facilities throughout the country. People with alcohol use disorder should be monitored by a medical professional when withdrawing from alcohol. Moderate to heavy drinkers can also benefit from medical supervision in the acute withdrawal stage. Another medication used in the treatment of alcoholism is disulfiram.

Pros and Cons of Detoxing from Alcohol at Home

In general, going through withdrawal at home should be avoided unless your doctor recommends it. Many people with alcohol use disorder struggle with dehydration and nausea during withdrawal. Drinking lots of fluids, especially fluids with electrolytes, will help address dehydration and nausea and improve your overall health and ability to undergo withdrawal. Sodium, calcium, potassium and magnesium are common electrolytes in sports drinks.

Alcohol withdrawal can range from very mild symptoms to a severe form, known as delirium tremens. The likelihood of experiencing significant or life-threatening alcohol withdrawal depends on several factors. During this initial appointment, the provider will assess your level of alcohol use and do a blood test to check liver function and nutrient levels. Doctors may prescribe other medications to treat withdrawal-related symptoms.

Treatment providers can connect you with programs that provide the tools to help you get and stay sober. By the time you’ve completed your first week of detox, many of the withdrawal symptoms will begin to taper off. While some symptoms may persist for a few weeks, most of them are minor and can be treated with medication. Without proper medical attention, an alcohol detox can be dangerous and even life-threatening. However, once you complete the detox stage, you can continue to other stages of recovery.

Tapering off alcohol may complicate other medical conditions or co-occurring mental health disorders. For people at low risk of complications, an office visit to your primary care provider, along with at-home monitoring and virtual office visits, may suffice. People at high risk of complications should enter a short-term in-patient detox program. A rare but very serious syndrome called delirium tremens can occur during alcohol withdrawal. Also known as DTs, an estimated 2% of people with alcohol use disorder and less than 1% of the general population experience them. When detoxing from alcohol, you’ll likely be told that drinking water is a vital part of the process.