What is Alcohol Withdrawal?
If a person drinks, let’s say, a half pint or so of hard liquor per day for at least one month and then tries to abruptly stop; he or she will likely experience some form of alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Once a person is in alcohol withdrawal, the only things which will alleviate those symptoms are either another drink or some specific withdrawal medication. Since a person may be trying to quit drinking, having another drink is not a good option. For that reason, the person will need to be prescribed some medication to reduce the alcohol withdrawal. Medications like those to curb alcohol withdrawal can either be prescribed on an inpatient or outpatient basis.
Why is Alcohol Withdrawal a Bad Thing?
Besides being very uncomfortable with feeling shaky, restless and anxious; a person in severe alcohol withdrawal may develop seizures, like a shaking epileptic fit. The problem with that is, having a seizure can cause a person to quit breathing. As such, a person could die from a seizure. Medications for alcohol withdrawal symptoms are therefore used to prevent a seizure from coming off alcohol.
What is a Person Just Drinks Beer?
A person can have a problem with alcohol, even though he or she only drinks beer (or wine). A shot of liquor (one ounce) has the same amount of alcohol as one-12 ounce can of beer or one 4 ounce glass of wine. So, a half pint of liquor is equivalent to about eight cans of beer. All forms of alcohol can result in withdrawal symptoms if a person drinks enough for a long enough period of time.
Inpatient vs Outpatient Treatment?
As above, the medication to prevent or reduce alcohol withdrawal can be provided either on an inpatient or an outpatient basis. While not every facility provides outpatient treatment for alcohol withdrawal, there may be some facilities in the area which prescribe the alcohol withdrawal treatment on an outpatient basis. If a person is elderly or has some significant medical/physical problems; inpatient detox may be most appropriate. For others, who are younger and generally in a good state of health, outpatient treatment for alcohol withdrawal will probably be safe and effective.
How to Find an Outpatient Alcohol Detox Program?
An outpatient program qualified to treat alcohol withdrawal symptoms will ideally be supervised by an appropriate physician specialist like a Board Certified Addictionologist. The key here is the Board Certification aspect, because this means that the physician has both the proper educational experience plus, he or she has passed an examination process in the field of Addiction Medicine. Most all Board Certified Addiction Medicine Specialists can provide outpatient detox from alcohol, for the appropriately, otherwise healthy patient.
At The Drug and Alcohol Detox Clinic of South Mississippi, all treatments are supervised by a Board Certified Addictionologist. For more information, please call 601.261.9101 or Contact us on Twitter.
