“Just get a sparkling water, put a lime in it, and have fun,” he says. If you are going to detox from alcohol at home, there are a few ways you can ease the process. Your body will detox itself whether or not you take these steps, but you may find the process less uncomfortable if you follow them. Stopping alcohol on your own at home can seem like an appealing option, but it is very dangerous. It is only ever okay to detox from alcohol at home after consulting a doctor who knows your situation.
In alcohol detox treatment, medical providers work to safely remove alcohol from your body so that you don’t experience painful or uncomfortable withdrawal. Detox treatment usually occurs in a detox center such as a hospital or treatment facility under the supervision of medical professionals. They monitor you, provide what you need throughout the process, and administer medications to help slowly wean you off of alcohol. Alcohol detox programs evaluate and monitor withdrawal symptoms, physical health, and mental health. Alcohol detox can be a dangerous process, which is why it’s typically best handled by a medical professional at a detox or rehab center. Alcohol detoxification involves withdrawal, and withdrawal involves physical symptoms.
Severe Symptoms
However, if you are unable to get professional oversight, you can minimize the risk of severe alcohol withdrawal symptoms in several ways. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can be easily confused for other issues like allergies, cold/flu, anxiety, and insomnia. Depending on the person’s drinking pattern, alcohol withdrawal symptoms can start as soon as a few hours after the last drink to several days after drinking is stopped. Periods of alcohol withdrawal can last 4 to 5 days after symptoms start. If your body is used to a certain amount of alcohol, you may feel certain effects when you stop. How you feel when you stop drinking is largely based on how often and how heavily you drink.
If you start to have any withdrawal symptoms, it means you’re cutting down too fast. Keep drinking at your most recent safe level for another week, then start cutting down again. Because one serious risk of alcohol detox is death, the benefits of at-home detox typically only make sense if withdrawal is expected https://en.forexdata.info/is-there-a-connection-between-narcissism-and/ to be mild. Someone wanting to detox at home should always consult with their doctor to understand the risks specific to their situation. At The Recovery Village Atlanta, we have many medical detox options to help meet your lifestyle while giving you the best chance of a successful and comfortable recovery.
Support Groups
You may also consider joining an online support group to help you feel less alone. It might also be worth checking out a 12-step program in your area, like Alcoholics Anonymous or SMART Recovery, to see if it feels like something that might be useful for you. Emotionally, you Alcohol intolerance Diagnosis & treatment may feel some anxiety or sadness about ending a chapter of your life and nervousness about the future. You can become conditioned to reach for a drink when your environment offers up certain cues. Overall, do whatever you can to make yourself as comfortable as possible.
While in many cases, home detox from alcohol can be safely done, there are always potential issues with alcohol detoxing at home. If severe symptoms of detoxification manifest, opting for at-home detoxification may hinder prompt medical attention. Besides, detoxing at home may result in an isolated experience, leaving you without assistance when you need it most. Behavioral treatment programs are helpful for people who want to quit drinking. These programs involve working with a team of mental health professionals in a group and individual setting. Unstable vital signs increase the risk of complications and can be managed with medications.
What is Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome (AWS)?
While tapering, you may increase or decrease the speed of the taper. The important thing is always to be drinking less each day than you were the day before. Because of how withdrawal works, detox symptoms are generally the opposite of the effects of alcohol. The effects of withdrawal caused by an overactive brain continue until the brain can readjust to the absence of alcohol. Ultimately, you should only ever detox at home after consulting a trained medical professional familiar with your substance use history.
- If you want to detox from alcohol at home, you should do it safely.
- The pH scale indicates whether a solution is more acidic (lower pH) or alkaline (higher pH).
- If that’s where you’re setting your expectations, you might feel like you gave up something you loved (getting really drunk) for no good reason, even when that’s objectively not true.
- Make sure you drink plenty of fluids during this time as it will help rehydrate your body and get rid of toxins.
- It allows you to manage alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the comfort of your own home with little cost.
Slowly reduce the amount of alcohol you consume each day until you reach sobriety. If you begin to experience serious withdrawal symptoms, drink enough to make the symptoms subside. That difficulty is why alcohol detox and alcohol withdrawal treatment is administered by medical professionals at rehab facilities throughout the country.