Alcohol Detox Programs in the United States
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, in 2015 there were 78,529 liver disease deaths, and 47% were because of alcohol abuse. Among all the cirrhosis deaths within the United States, roughly 48% were alcohol-related, and alcohol-related liver disease was the primary cause of almost all one in three liver transplants within the country. Excessive alcohol consumption increases your risk for cancer of the mouth, esophagus, pharynx, larynx. Liver, and breast. Alcohol abuse also increases your chances of contracting more health problems later in life. Preventing this from happening starts with an alcohol detox program. Alcohol detox is not easy to go through, because most alcoholics drink so much they cannot stop drinking without severe withdrawal occurring.
Throughout the United States are numerous alcohol detox programs and many are part of inpatient treatment programs or a separate service altogether. Getting an alcoholic to go to one detox is not easy, and almost always involves intervention. Newman Interventions has provided countless interventions to help families with an alcoholic who refuses treatment. Typically, every alcoholic believes they can stop drinking at any time. Even despite experiencing withdrawal symptoms, an alcoholic will believe they can stop drinking on their own without help. This is not the case and the first step is an alcohol detox program.
What is alcohol detox?
The detox stage is the first step in treating alcoholism and is required prior to an alcoholic entering treatment. Typically, withdrawal symptoms subside after one to two weeks, but this is dependent on the severity of the addiction. Alcohol detox is about stabilization because alcohol is a central nervous system depressant, which creates dependency and tolerance, most alcoholics require medication during detox. The medication is meant to stabilize the patient and prevent severe withdrawal pain. Essentially there are two types of detox, a traditional standard detox, and a medically supervised detox. Severe alcoholism or even heavy drinking requires a medically supervised detox. This is an inpatient service where the client stays at the hospital, clinic, or facility while they go through detox. Medically supervised detox involves 24-hour medical attention.
The medical care is needed if detox symptoms become severe, such as delirium tremens. The average alcoholic is stable within one week, unless it is a severe case then the detox process does take longer. However, detox is always necessary and cannot be avoided, unless the alcoholic is sober before they go to treatment. Yet, this is rare that an alcoholic stop drinking on their own without any detox or intervention. Even when an alcoholic starts to go to 12-step meetings, they would have had to go through a detox of some kind. Not all alcoholism is severe and requires medical detox. There are millions of Americans who are binge drinkers, and weekend-warriors where their alcohol consumption is starting to affect their lives. If this is the situation a standard or traditional detox is still needed prior to treatment because it acts as an observation period.
If you are searching for detox or treatment, Newman Interventions can help your family locate suitable programs prior to any intervention. Professional intervention is the best way to help an alcoholic understand the importance of treatment, and become committed to going to alcohol rehab. Alcoholism will always become worse, and it is never too early to intervene and save an alcoholics life.
Work Cited – NIDA, Alcohol Facts and Stats – Sept 21/19
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