Alcohol Withdrawal

Alcohol Withdrawal – General Information

Alcohol Withdrawal are the symptoms that persons who have been drinking for a long period of time experience after they quit drinking suddenly. Alcohol Withdrawal usually develops in adults, but it may also appear in teenagers, and it usually appears after five to maximum ten hours from the last drink or in some cases in seven to maximum ten days after the last drink. The risk of developing this disease is higher in heavy drinkers and in those who have other medical problems, such as pancreatitis, hepatomegaly, cardiac problems, parotid swelling, and abnormal vascularization of the skin, diabetes, head injuries, epilepsy, psychosis, respiratory disorders, poor nutrition, and conjunctival injection, and hepatic cirrhosis.
In order to determine if the patient suffers from this disease or not, his doctor or the health care provider will examine the followings:

• If the patient has tachycardia
• If the patient has tachypnea – meaning rapid breathing
• If the patient has high temperature
• If the patient has shaky hands or feet, or even general body shakes
• If the patient has abnormal eye movements
• If the patient has  abnormal heart rhythms
• If the patient has internal bleeding
• If the patient has liver failure
• If the patient has dehydration
• A toxicology test may be done as well
• Other blood tests, if the doctor considers them necessary

If the patients have three or even more of there symptoms, the doctor will immediately begin or prescribe the treatment, in order to reduce the symptoms and to improve the overall health.

Alcohol Withdrawal – Symptoms

It is well known the fact that any medical disorder (including Alcohol Withdrawal) can trigger a variety of symptoms. Therefore, some of this medical condition's most uncommon symptoms have not been listed (mentioned) here. This is why we strongly recommend you to contact your personal health care provider whenever you develop any unusual, bothersome or unpleasant symptoms. Your personal physician will be able to tell you if you are suffering from Alcohol Withdrawal or from any other medical disorder.
Here is a list of the most common symptoms of the Alcohol Withdrawal:

• Feeling of jumpiness or nervousness
• Feeling of shakiness
• Anxiety
• Fever
• Irritability
• Easily excited
• Emotional volatility
• Rapid emotional changes
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Difficulty in thinking clearly
• Nightmares
• Pulsating headaches
• Sweating of the palms of the hands or the face
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Loss of appetite
• Insomnia
• Sleeping difficulty
• Paleness
• Rapid heart rate
• Enlarged and dilated pupils
• Skin, clammy
• Abnormal movements such as involuntary movements of the eyelids or tremor of the hands and feet.
• A state of confusion
• Visual hallucinations (also known as delirium tremens)
• Sound hallucinations
• Smell hallucinations – can last for several hours, as well as the sound and visual hallucinations
• Aggressive behavior
• Agitation
• Increased blood pressure
• Convulsions
• Seizures
• Memory problems also known as “black outs”
• Shifts in breathing, blood pressure and temperature
• Heart attacks
• Strokes

Alcohol Withdrawal - Treatment

Like in any other medical disorder, the scope of the treatment in patients with Alcohol Withdrawal is to reduce the symptoms and to calm the patient as fast as possible. The majority of the people suffering from Alcohol Withdrawal have mild symptoms, which include trembling, agitation, sleeping problems, lack of appetite, brief seizures and hallucinations. The treatment of these symptoms is based on anti-anxiety drugs, such as:

• Diazepam – which can be administered intravenously or orally, and has the duration of action higher than other drugs (which include midazolam and lorazepam).
• Benzodiazepines – these are tranquilizers, such as Valium. These drugs inhibit the excitability of the nervous cells, which exist in the brain and help in the prevention of the symptom’s progression. The benzodiazepines are prescribed usually for two weeks, because of their side-effects. Their side-effect may include:
• Drowsiness
• Agitation
• Respiratory problems
• Weight gain, because they increase the appetite
• Interaction with other drugs such as contraceptives, cimetidine and antihistamines.

• Beta Blockers – such as propranolol and atnnolol which slow the heart rate and decrease the tremor.
• Anti seizures drugs – such as carbamazepine or divalproex sodium.
• Delirium tremens drugs – such as lidocaine (which is also known as Xylocaine) which is usually prescribed to patients who suffer from disturbed heart rates.
• Psychosis treatment – doctors usually prescribe antipsychotic drugs, such as Haloperidol

Here is a list of other drugs that may be prescribed by the doctors, in patients with Alcohol Withdrawal:

• Thiamine
• Folare
• Multivitamins
• Valium
• Librium
• Ativan
• Serax
• Carbamazepine
• Propanol
• Atenol
• Diazepam
• Lorazepam
• Naltrexone
• Atenolol
• Catapres
• Catapres TTS-1,2 or 3
• Chlordiazepoxide
• Clonidine
• Clonidine tablets
• Clorazepate
• Diastat
• Dizac
• Duraclom
• Libritabs
• Librium
• Mitran
• Oxazepam
• Poxi
• Tenormin
• Tranexene SD
• Tranexene T-Tab

The treatment of patients with Alcohol Withdrawal may also include a detoxification therapy. This therapy, also known as Detox, is a short course of a medicine that prevents the occurrence of withdrawal symptoms. This medicine is usually chlordiazepoxide, which is a benzodiazepine. Your health provider will prescribe you high doses of this medicine at first, but during the treatment the dose will decrease gradually. The patients must not consume alcohol during the treatment, and the family and friends is of big importance and help.
The detoxification therapy may also improve other health problems, be them physical or mental. The persons who can benefit from this treatment are the following:

• People with no social or family support
• People who suffer from physical disorders due to alcoholism
• People who had tried to renounce to alcohol but they have failed
• People who have a history of withdraw symptoms