What Helps With Alcohol Withdrawal?
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Drinking heavily often or frequent alcohol abuse for a prolonged time can lead to several health issues including Wernicke’s Encephalopathy and liver disease. Many people wish to stop drinking because of the higher risk of negative, personal, and economic health effects. However, they may be hesitant because they can develop severe withdrawal symptoms when a heavy drinker suddenly stops drinking. The good news is that there are several ways you can help ease those symptoms of alcohol withdrawal, including going through alcohol detox at an addiction treatment facility.
Alcohol abuse and alcoholism can lead to several issues when attempting to stop drinking. Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) can range from mild to severe withdrawal symptoms. Some of the more dangerous withdrawal symptoms that occur with delirium tremens (DT) require medical supervision from an alcohol detox center or hospital. Some symptoms of AWS you may experience include:
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Anxiety and depression
- Headaches
- Tremors or shakes
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Hyperthermia
- Fever
- Rapid abnormal breathing
- Mood swings
- Heart palpitations
- Mood swings
- Auditory, visual and tactile hallucinations
- Withdrawal seizures
- Delirium Tremens (the most severe form of alcohol withdrawal) include severe symptoms such as seizure, alcohol hallucinosis, aggression, tremors, and impaired consciousness.
How to Cope With Alcohol Withdrawal
Withdrawal symptoms will range from mild to severe. Mild symptoms occur in those with more mild addictions and may be able to be managed at home. Most symptoms of AWS will resolve within a week with symptoms of alcohol withdrawal appearing within 24 hours of your last drink and peaking at day two or three. You should consult an alcohol detox treatment programs professional who can advise you on how to go about alcohol detoxification safely and detox strategies, such as how to taper off alcohol. Some ways to go about the management of alcohol withdrawal include:
- Drink plenty of fluids like electrolytes
- Let close friends or family know you will be going through alcohol detoxification so they can support you
- Push through alcohol cravings, they will eventually go away
- Use over-the-counter pain medications and gastrointestinal medications
- Take a cold shower
- Eat healthy fruits and vegetables
- Using intentional breathing techniques
- Meditation for calming the central nervous system
- Exercise can reduce symptoms of withdrawal syndrome
- Go for a walk
- Take a multivitamin and probiotic
- Keep yourself busy such as a hobby, reading or listening to music
- Get immediate medical attention if you start to progress into delirium tremens
Learn about the medications used to treat alcohol cravings in our blog below:
Alcohol Withdrawal Treatment
The safest and most comfortable way to go through withdrawal syndrome is through an alcohol detox program. You will receive around-the-clock medical supervision from doctors and nurses who can administer prescription addiction medicine to ease acute alcohol withdrawal and other medications to prevent severe withdrawal such as benzodiazepines for seizures and anxiety or antipsychotic medications for alcohol hallucinosis. They will also administer over-the-counter medications to help with milder withdrawal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Some FDA-approved prescription addiction medicine approved for the treatment of alcohol cravings and withdrawal are:
- Disulfiram
- Naltrexone
- Acamprosate
How Novo Detox Can Help
Novo Detox provides around-the-clock medical care, clinical management from their team of doctors and nurses, and access to life-saving addiction medicine to help patients undergoing alcohol detoxification. Our medical staff will perform a biopsychosocial assessment, lab work, history, and physical to help create an alcohol treatment plan. Your customized medical detox inpatient treatment program will be based on your Bio-Genetic metabolic profile that will help us know which medications are best for you to ease your craving for alcohol and withdrawal. Our luxury rehab facility offers five-star accommodations and common areas in our inpatient treatment rehab. Our alcohol and drug detox program includes nutritional counseling and providing organic, nutritious meals plus vegetable and fruit juices. You will also access acupuncture, herbology, reflexology, massage, Tai Chi, Yoga, Qi Gong, and meditation to aid in natural detox.
If you are struggling with alcohol addiction and are ready to start an alcohol detox program, please call us at (844) 834-1777 today.
