How Dangerous Is Detoxing From Alcohol
What Is Alcohol Detox?
Alcohol detoxification, or alcohol detox, is simple on the surface. When a person stops drinking alcohol, two things happen: first, the body finishes breaking down the alcohol already present. As the alcohol level drops, the central nervous system (CNS) is no longer suppressed.
Processing alcohol is hard on the body. Alcohol is poisonous, so the liver has to filter it and convert it into something less deadly. In the process, the liver produces other compounds that cause unpleasant dangerous side effects. Some of those side effects can be dangerous, too.
As the alcohol level lowers, the central nervous system tries to come back up to speed. But long-term alcohol use trains the nervous system to work harder to compensate for the depressant effects of alcohol. It’s like a person getting used to carrying 50-pound weights, and then all at once trying to run without them.
Why Detoxing from Alcohol Alone is Dangerous
The initial symptoms of detoxing are what most people associate with the process, but they aren’t the only symptoms. Starting at about six hours after the last drink, people with substance use disorder can experience things like:
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
Anxiety
Headache or migraine
Restlessness
Insomnia
Sweating
Irritability
But these are just the start of the withdrawal process. After 24 hours, and up to 72 hours after the last drink, people may experience symptoms like:
Uncontrollable tremors
Lack of physical coordination
High blood pressure
Heart palpitations
Cognitive dysfunction
Hallucinations
Loss of consciousness
Seizures
It’s Impossible to Predict Who Might Develop Serious Symptoms from Alcohol Detox
The uncertainty around how severe detox symptoms will become is a major reason why it’s dangerous for people to try and quit drinking alone. It’s difficult to watch symptoms that can become dangerous. It’s even more difficult if you don’t have the equipment or someone with medical knowledge.
It’s even more difficult to administer emergency medication for life-threatening symptoms.
How to Detox from Alcohol in MA Safely
The best way to make sure that a person undergoes an alcohol detox in Massachusetts safely is to enter residential treatment at a facility that specializes in drug detox in MA. While the rehab process can seem daunting, medically-monitored detox lowers the dangers that come along with severe withdrawal symptoms.
The process of entering alcohol rehab is fairly simple.
First, patients undergo assessment, where treatment specialists ask questions about physical and mental health, family history, and behaviors to understand the underlying causes for the substance use disorder. Specialists will also ask about any early symptoms the patient experiences, and other information that might help ensure safe treatment.
Next, patients begin the detox process. In some cases, this only requires supervision and occasional checking by a medical professional to ensure everything is going smoothly. Other times, this may include different medications to control or prevent the most severe detox symptoms.
Once the patient completes their detox process, they begin residential treatment. This treatment can take many different directions depending on the various factors that influence each patient’s substance use disorder.
Medical supervision means that patients can focus on getting through the detox process and preparing for their recovery's more active treatment phase. In addition, medication and trained professionals make a big difference in preventing detox from becoming an emergency.
Alcohol Detox in Massachusetts Doesn’t Have to be Dangerous.
Undergoing alcohol detox alone is a dangerous proposition, and it can even be hazardous to experience withdrawal with an untrained person present. The safest way to detox in MA is to enter a facility with medical professionals.
Trained professionals can monitor, prevent, and treat potentially dangerous symptoms before they can cause problems. By taking the risk out of detox, people with substance use disorder can put all their efforts into recovery.
To learn more about the alcohol detox process and its benefits, contact Mayflower Recovery today
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