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What is the goal of alcohol treatment?
The main aim of alcohol treatment is to bring the patient to a normal state as soon as possible. Three fourths of the people under the effect of alcohol show a lot of agitation, lack of sleep, and a loss of appetite. In some of them, there were symptoms of seizures, hallucinations, which slowly progressed to delirium.
Treatment
The patient is examined and then is asked to go home. A supply of medications for four days at least is given to curb his anxiety. He is then asked to come for a follow- up and then for a rehabilitation. If the withdrawal symptoms are severe then he is taken to the emergency room. It is required that the person gets support from his family at this time.
The following are the medications that an alcoholic could be given:
- Benzodiazepines : The patient is normally advised a dose of one of the anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines. These stop the nerves from getting excited and help to prove as an alcohol withdrawal treatment. This alcohol treatment method stops the person from going into delirium and thus helps to curb the risks towards seizures.
Benzodiazepines Problem
It is seen that this drug is not normally prescribed for more than a fortnight as it has certain side effects. These are as follows:
- Side Effects : This drug seems to induce drowsiness more so in the daytime and the patient constantly feels a hangover. It also has been seen that it causes agitation in some patients. The person who takes this drug also has seen to have respiratory problems which get increased with the intake of this drug. The person feels very hungry due to the drug and thus gains a lot of weight. These medicines are not a good bet when had with alcohol as they get serious if given as an overdose. The side effects are more visible in the elderly and it is better to give them only half a dose in the initial stages. These drugs should also not be had by pregnant women or nursing mothers. This drug has seen to have a drastic effect on pregnancy as it results in child birth defects etc.
- Loss of Independence : This drug makes the person feel very ineffective and inefficient. The patient thus tries to have more of this drug to relieve the irritability. Thus gradually, the patient becomes addicted to it.
- Withdrawal symptoms : Some of them who take this drug are seen to have mild symptoms of withdrawal within them. The symptoms get more with the increase of dosage.The discomforts related to taking this drug includes sleep disturbance, anxiety etc.
- Diazepam : This has a longer duration than any other medicine of this category. The patient is given an injection of diazepam through intravenous injection, and then he is given more doses during the entire withdrawal period. This routine makes the patient very sleepy. Lethargy is a common occurrence with such drugs.
Thus it is seen that the main aim of alcohol treatment is to make the person feel comfortable and help him to come out of this regular habit of alcohol consumption. The treatment pattern also aims at preventing future tendencies towards having alcohol and also generally to feel good. This prevention leads to alcohol withdrawal treatment which has to be given immediately. Withdrawal treatment ensures that the person gets a chance to be subjected to long term treatment for alcohol withdrawal.
Inpatient Treatment
This kind of detoxification programme gives the patient a chance to be subjected to careful monitoring .It is a very well supported treatment which separates the patient from any kind of stimulus to getting back to alcoholism again.
Pharmacological Management
This kind of treatment is frequently seen in people with moderate or severe alcohol withdrawal. This treatment focuses on:
- Maintaining a water and electrolyte balance
- Correcting metabolic disturbances
- Administering medication
Alcohol Withdrawal Treatment At Home
If someone is going through a feeling of wanting to get off alcohol, then he should understand that he has to work towards it and decide what should be done to go ahead with alcohol withdrawal treatment at home.
Any person who is undergoing alcohol withdrawal treatment will go through lot of mild or moderate withdrawal symptoms which are curable. There are some non drug detox programs which focus on giving support to the person throughout the alcohol withdrawal treatment program.
Thiamin consumption with proper nutrition reduces the chances of getting back to the habit.
