Alcohol Detoxification
If you love someone who is an alcoholic, or you are struggling with your own alcohol problem, you may be interested in the process of alcohol detoxification. Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can range from uncomfortable to life threatening, depending on the severity of the addiction, and detoxification can help with this process.
Alcohol detoxification is simply eliminating alcohol from the body and providing medical assistance for the symptoms of withdrawal that accompany this process. Medical professionals will generally prescribe a limited course of treatment with one of several drugs developed for this purpose. The most common is called Chlordiazepoxide. While I do not like the use of drugs in most cases, I do concede that in certain instances, such as this, they can be extremely helpful and effective in helping someone to recover from a harmful addiction.
The treatment will usually last about a week. The dosage is highest on the first day, with declining amounts on the following days. This allows the highest dosage to be used at the time when the effects of withdrawal are strongest. Close supervision by a medical professional is usually required, and the patient must agree to discontinue all alcohol use during the treatment time.
Without treatment, an alcoholic who suddenly discontinues the use of alcohol can experience mild symptoms like sweating, cravings for alcohol and trembling. More severe withdrawal symptoms can include delirium tremens, hallucinations and even convulsions in a small percentage of patients. The detoxification drugs help the body eliminate alcohol and limit these uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous symptoms.
With the use of drugs like Chlordiazepoxide, withdrawal is less dangerous and more comfortable than it would be without medicine. Most users still experience some trouble sleeping, nervousness and irritability, though.
Detoxification only addresses the physical issues of alcoholism, though, and many professional endorse a combined therapy that includes counseling or a 12 step program to follow the detoxification process. Most contend that the cravings for alcohol, both physical and psychological, will remain long after it is out of the system. Counseling and continued treatment is required to help the patient change their attitudes and resist returning to alcohol use.
In addition to counseling and support, there are several drugs that may be prescribed to help avoid a relapse and make recovery easier. Acamprosate helps reduce cravings and another drug, Disulfiram, will make the user sick if they ingest alcohol.
There is no shame in asking for assistance with an alcohol problem. Most family doctors and counselors can prescribe the detoxification treatment or make the appropriate referrals. Take advantage of the assistance available; recovering from alcoholism is an often difficult road.
Using the help available can be the difference between recovery and relapse, so ask your healthcare professional about detoxification programs today.
Sandra Kim Leong owns the resource-rich site on detoxification and cleansing. She strongly believes that detoxification should form part of one’e regular regime. For free information and articles, please visit http://www.detox-cleansing.com
Tags: alcohol detox, Alcohol Detoxification, Detox, detoxificationDetox or Detoxification - Are You Really Immune
Detox or detoxification includes two things:
1) Withdrawing poisonous substance from the body.
2) Withdrawing one’s mind and soul from the darkness of abused substances.
The term Rapid detox was first used ten years ago and was specially related to opiate addictions. But today, it is mostly used to advertise and describe various methods of detox. Rapid detox can be used to describe the methods of alcohol detoxification, drug detox and other substances.
Drug detox
It is a process to withdraw one from drug addiction. Detoxification assists the overcoming of uncomfortable symptoms at the time of drug withdrawal. The ultimate goal of drug detox is to get the body rid of toxins formed due to drug use. It is carried out in various ways depending on where you decide to receive the treatment. Most drug detox clinics provide treatment only for physical withdrawal of drugs and alcohol.
Alcohol detoxification
Alcohol detoxification is the process to withdraw one from alcohol addiction.
There are various aspects of alcohol detoxification:
1) The first aspect of alcohol detoxification is the medical aspect. There should be a medical specialist and a qualified nursing staff in order to help the patient during the procedure. It is an established fact that if a medical practitioner can set the patient’s mind calm then the entire procedure goes smoothly.
2) The second aspect of alcohol detoxification is physical. During this process there should be a nutritionist in the medical center to put the patient on a perfect meal plan. If the patient takes balanced diet then the rest of the alcohol detoxification process will go more smoothly.
3) The third and the most important aspect of alcohol detoxification is the emotional aspect. The medical center should have a trained team of psychologists and counselors to help the patient psychologically. The process can be extremely emotional at times. Specialists should be there to assist the patient move forward through emotions.
4) Alcohol detoxification always combines a therapy with medication and that of psychological counseling. These programs are often long lasting; they mostly take two to four months and needs staying at medical institutions. Therapy techniques and personal counseling assist the patients to recover from alcohol completely and more comfortably. The drugs are given to avoid withdrawal symptoms that the patients may experience. Complete recovery from alcoholism is most preferable and the ideal situation.
5) Alcohol detoxification therapies use drugs like Disulfiram, which cause a severe and immediate hangover after consuming alcohol. Drugs like Naltrexone, helps in complete and comfortable recovery.
6) Nutritional therapy has also proved helpful in alcohol detoxification. During this stage, some patients feel ‘insulin resistance syndrome’ which results in the failure of processing sugar in body. “Insulin resistance syndrome” causes behavioral upsets and mood swings. These mood swings and behavioral upsets can be controlled with specific dietary regimen. Due to these types of psychological problems one should include a dietary regimen during alcohol detoxification.
7) There are some specific programs that help heavy drinkers who are not yet alcoholics but on the same way yet to become alcoholics. Moderation management also helps such people.
Tyson J Stevenson writes on a wide variety of “every day” subjects, always with valuable news & reviews. Expect to see his name often.
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Tags: Alcohol Detoxification, Detox, detox diet, detoxification, drug detox, rapid detoxAn Introduction To Detoxification
Today we live in an increasingly toxic environment, which is detrimental to our physical, mental and emotional health. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the clothes we wear and the water we drink are all contaminated with toxic chemicals that do us substantial harm. Detoxification refers to the different methods by which we try to get rid of these toxins from our body.
The human body is assailed with toxins from both internal as well as external sources. The main external sources of toxins are by inhalation (smoking, air pollution), ingestion (chemical residues on food, in water, and in drugs and alcohol) injection (vaccination, tattoos), absorption (chemicals from paints, synthetic fabrics, plastics, pesticides) and irradiation (medical X-rays, nuclear power plants, cell phones, computer monitors, microwave ovens). Internal sources include indigestion of food, malnutrition, and mental ailments.
In ancient times man lived on a sparse diet free from pesticides, food additives, drugs and toxins. Today we consume thousands of toxins through the air, water, soil and food. Our bodies handle toxins in three ways: neutralizing, transforming and eliminating them. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals. The liver transforms toxic substances into harmless agents. Blood carries waste to the liver and kidneys and eliminates it through the bladder. Waste is also eliminated through sweat glands.
The detoxification system given to us by Mother Nature usually suffices for protecting against everyday exposure to toxins. Our major natural detoxification systems consists of respiratory (lungs, bronchial tubes, throat, sinuses, nose), gastrointestinal (liver, gallbladder, colon), urinary (kidneys, bladder and urethra), skin (sweat, sebaceous glands, tears), and lymphatic (lymph channels and nodes) systems.
Our body is designed to use natural substances. Any foreign substance will elicit a response from the immune system to try and remove it. The liver reduces toxins into compounds that the body can handle and eliminate through the kidneys (as urine), skin (as sweat), lungs (as expelled air) and bowels (as feces).
These systems usually work adequately, but the increasing toxicity of modern life necessitates artificial intervention. What is eliminated during detoxification is dead, dying or diseased cells, unwanted fatty tissue, hardened coating of mucous on intestinal wall, toxic waste in the lymphatic system and blood stream toxins in spleen, liver and kidney, mucous from lungs and sinuses, and excess cholesterol.
A detoxification program may consist of dieting (juice fasting, water fasting, raw food diet, eating less, vegetarianism), exercise, homeopathic remedies, ozone therapy, acupuncture, massage, herbal liver or kidney cleansing medicines, colon irrigation and vitamin supplements. Detoxification with regard to alcohol and drugs involves pharmacological intervention to suppress withdrawal symptoms and make recovery easier and faster.
Detoxification is the way to a healthy, vibrant lifestyle and freedom from undesirable conditions like obesity, heart disease, skin disease, diabetes, stroke and other ailments.
It is also helpful to be free from unhealthy habits like alcoholism and drug addiction.
Detoxification provides detailed information on Detoxification, Alcohol Detoxification, Drug Detoxification, Colon Detoxification and more. Detoxification is affiliated with Drug Detox.
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