Alcohol Detox at Home How to Detox from Alcohol Safely
When you quit drinking, you’ll probably notice that the colds, flu, and other illnesses you always seem to catch happen less often. When you do get sick, you’ll probably feel like you recover more easily when you’re sober. If you have any alcohol detox of these risk factors, it’s important that you withdraw from alcohol at a medical facility that’s equipped to prevent and treat alcohol-related complications. Doctors may prescribe other medications to treat withdrawal-related symptoms.
Some people who don’t require a lot of supervision might simply check in with their regular doctor’s office or a home health agency at scheduled intervals during their detox. Some people attend a daytime program at a hospital or substance abuse treatment facility but go home at night. When a person decides to quit drinking, they should consider seeking professional help. This help may take the form of rehab or working with medical professionals to reduce alcohol consumption gradually over the course of a few weeks. Moderate symptoms include hallucinations and alcohol withdrawal seizures (rum fits) that can occur 12 to 24 hours after cessation of alcohol and are typically generalized in nature.
Alcohol Withdrawal: How to Get Through It
Recovery from AUD is marked by stages of abstinence, withdrawal, repair, and growth. While the process may take several years, the outcome is a happier, healthier life where you have the freedom to fulfill your full potential. While the abstinence stage of withdrawal causes mostly physical symptoms, post-acute withdrawal is very psychological and emotional.
- The mental challenge of this stage is not to let anything make you feel defeated.
- Excessive drinking can lead to the build-up of toxic, highly cancer-causing (carcinogenic) compounds that contribute to inflammation in your body, especially in your liver.
Rehabilitation facilities can help you on your path to sobriety by addressing alcohol withdrawal symptoms and becoming involved in sober living support groups, like AA. If you’re a heavy drinker, you may need to wean off alcohol to let your body adjust. If you’re experiencing severe symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, be sure to talk to a healthcare provider. When detox occurs in a medical center, healthcare professionals often use medication to treat the symptoms of withdrawal. Doctors may prescribe benzodiazepines to manage seizures and other alcohol withdrawal symptoms. To avoid severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms, you should slowly reduce alcohol consumption.
Weight Management
Working to stop alcohol use to improve quality of life is the main treatment goal. Avoid people who may encourage you to drink alcohol or may not support your decision to stop. It may be easier on your rehabilitation https://ecosoberhouse.com/ to skip visits with “drinking buddies” or avoid gatherings with a focus on drinking. Withdrawal syndrome can be dangerous, particularly if a person experiences severe hallucinations or seizures.
- In general, the course of alcohol withdrawal is highly variable and somewhat unpredictable.
- Quitting alcohol won’t just protect your physical health—it can also improve your mental well-being.
- This is what causes you to feel light-headed or tipsy after multiple alcoholic drinks.
- 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.