In January of 1736, Benjamin Franklin produced a dictionary containing 228 terms that could be used in place of one word: drunkenness. According to an article in the New York Times, when that dictionary was revised just under two centuries later, only 105 terms appeared. The author, Edmund Wilson, suggested that the dictionary had grown shorter simply because drunkenness was no longer an uncommon event that should be remarked upon. He wrote, “It is possible that their partial disappearance is mainly to be accounted for by the fact that this kind of fierce and protracted drinking has now become universal, an accepted feature of social life instead of a disreputable escapade.” As drunkenness became more and more common, people noticed the behavior less and less, and they came up with fewer statements to describe the condition. Drunkenness just became the norm.

People who struggle with alcoholism may deal with this issue on a daily basis. While they struggle to control their drinking, they’re surrounded by a majority of people who also drink. Commercials tout the great taste of alcoholic beverages, and books are filled with stories of people having a great time while swilling booze. It’s hard to recover in this environment, as temptation seems omnipresent. When they’re not watching other people drink, alcoholics are likely drinking. In fact, it’s likely that they spend a large portion of every day engaged in drinking or recovering from drinking. When these users decide that they’ve had enough and they’d like to get better, the first step they’ll need to complete is detoxification. Here, they’ll allow their bodies to adjust to a lack of alcohol.

Hangovers and Detox

Detox is a natural process in which the body processes any remaining alcohol left in the tissues, and then slowly begins functioning normally without the presence of alcohol. At first glance, this might seem like a process anyone who drinks alcohol would be familiar with. After all, many people who overindulge in alcohol experience their own version of detox the next day, when they develop hangover symptoms. This set of symptoms is remarkably common. In fact, a study published in the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology demonstrates that only about 23 percent of current drinkers do not have hangovers after they drink. Studies like this seem to indicate that most people who drink have taken in too much alcohol at some point, and they’ve had to pay the price the next day as their bodies recover from the damage.

Detoxification is a bit like a hangover, as people going through both processes might experience the same symptoms, including:

Mild Discomfort Is Possible

Some people with alcoholism never experience the discomfort of hangovers. In fact, in a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 50 percent of people who had entered a treatment program for addiction reported no hangovers in the previous year, and 23 percent reported that they had never experienced a hangover at all. This doesn’t mean, however, that these people aren’t at risk for experiencing some kind of discomfort during the detox process, if they don’t get help.

People with alcoholism may have some amount of alcohol present in their bodies at all times. Their minds are always slightly sedated, and their bodies may have become accustomed to functioning in this altered state.

These symptoms tend to increase in severity for 48 to 72 hours, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, and they may persist for weeks. Without formal help, which might include medications, some people might return to drinking in order to make their symptoms go away, as the process can be severely disruptive and even a little bit frightening.

Severe Symptoms

Some people develop serious medical complications when they attempt to stop drinking. These people may see things that aren’t there, or hear noises others can’t hear. They may startle easily, and seem delusional and upset. They might also become extremely agitated, or even violent, and they may run very high fevers. Their symptoms may increase in severity until they develop seizures. A seizure can cause the body temperature to rise dramatically, and this can cause brain damage or death.

Not everyone who needs to go through detoxification will develop seizures, of course. In fact, experts suggest that seizures due to alcohol detoxification are relatively rare, and only specific types of addicted people are at risk. Often, those at the highest risk for seizure during detoxification include people who have been through detoxification many times in the past. For example, a study in the journal Biological Psychiatry found that 48 percent of people who had seizures during alcohol detox had been through five or more prior detoxifications. Researchers aren’t exactly sure why this link between prior detox and seizures exists, but some suggest the link has to do with a form of brain damage. During detox, the healing brain cells are primed to wake up quickly the next time alcohol is removed. Then, in the next detox cycle, these primed cells wake up fast and create a huge amount of chemical energy in the brain. As a result, the brain moves from sedated to wide awake incredibly quickly, and seizures can result.

Detox seizures sound incredibly frightening, and there’s no question that they’re dangerous. However, they can be effectively treated with medications. Sedative drugs can calm this excited mind back down, and as those drugs are slowly tapered, the person can make a slow transition from sedated to awake, without seizures setting in. According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, benzodiazepines reduce the severity of withdrawal, reduce seizures and reduce delirium. They can be quite helpful as people move through the process.

Getting Care

Since alcohol detoxification can quickly spin out of control and lead to serious medical complications, experts recommend that all people obtain medical help for their alcohol detoxification. Some people can move through the process on an outpatient basis, checking in with a doctor regularly while remaining under close watch by family members and friends. These sober helpers can quickly spring into action and bring the person to the hospital, should any unforeseen symptoms begin to take place. Doctors might also provide a low dose of medications for withdrawal symptoms, and then check in with the patient via telephone. If the patient is experiencing symptoms, the doctor can increase the dose. For people who absolutely cannot or will not enter formal treatment programs for addiction, this can be a good way to get through the detoxification process safely while they remain at home.

People with long histories of heavy drinking, or those who have been through multiple detoxification attempts in the past, really should enter a formal detoxification program instead of attempting the process at home. Even with the help of a doctor, the risk of complication is much too large in these people, and it’s best to obtain more intensive help, right off the bat. In a formal detox program, addicted people aren’t given medications as soon as they arrive. Instead, medical staff members use a detailed checklist to look for symptoms of a complicated withdrawal. If it seems as though people are beginning to slip into symptoms that seem to indicate that trouble is on the way, staff can intervene with medications.

In the past, medications were always given to people who entered detox programs for alcoholism, but research suggests that using a tapered approach like this results in fewer medications in most people. For example, a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who received medication based on symptoms took in 100 mg of medication, compared to people on a fixed schedule who took in 425 mg. They also moved through the process much more rapidly when they only took medications when they were needed. As this study demonstrates, a tapered approach really might be best in helping some people to improve.

Formal detox programs might also help alcoholics to understand the importance of therapy. Some addicts believe that they can simply continue with sobriety, once they’ve completed detox. These addicts are at high risk for relapse, when they’re confronted by the people and places that remind them of their drinking days, and as mentioned above, the more times an alcoholic goes through detox, the more likely it is that person will experience a medical complication. Repeats of detox should be avoided at all costs. In formal treatment programs for addiction, these people can learn new skills that can help them maintain their sobriety for the rest of their lives. In detox, therapists ensure that patients move forward with that next part of care.

It might be harder to encourage DIY detox patients to do the same. When they’re at home, surrounded by temptations and separated from therapists, they might not be motivated to move forward with this kind of care.

If you have more questions about how detox works, or you’re ready to get help for your own alcohol addiction issue, please contact us. We provide world-class addiction services in California, and we’re happy to share our stories of success with you. We know the thought of alcohol detox can be frightening, and we would like to put your mind at ease and help you to move forward with your care. Please call today.