Without the proper medical care, it can be extremely difficult to detox from alcohol at home successfully, and in some cases, it can be fatal. While these symptoms are not generally life-threatening, you shouldn’t underestimate how they can impact your ability to stop drinking alcohol. When you go cold turkey at home, you can easily feel tempted to drink again to make these symptoms stop. That’s especially true because you could be feeling sick for a number of days, with your symptoms peaking after 72 hours.

However, detoxing at home can have risks when people do not understand the alcohol withdrawal timeline  and the risks that accompany alcohol withdrawal. Typically, alcohol withdrawal symptoms begin to appear within 6-12 hours after your last drink and can last for several days. The most severe symptoms usually peak within hours and then gradually subside. Self alcohol detox at home provides nursing care throughout the detox process. The nurse will closely monitor vital signs and communicate continually with a physician who is an addiction specialist.

What is Withdrawal Like?

Many treatment programs utilize accepted Alcohol Detox Protocols for the management of alcohol withdrawal. Protocols may identify what medications to give at what time and for what symptoms. Protocols also take into consideration https://www.healthworkscollective.com/how-choose-sober-house-tips-to-focus-on/ the need to decrease the detox medication over a certain period of time. Executive Home Detox has a number of protocols for the prescribing physician or detox nurse to consider when prescribing medication for detox.

• The absence of a treatment facility hinders you from receiving medical attention, especially during a self-detox emergency.
• Footprints to Recovery offers medical detox as well as several levels of addiction treatment, so you can find the best fit for your needs.
• A doctor can provide a list of foods to eat or avoid while you medically detox to give your body the right nutrients.

If you are considering an at-home detox, you should seek professional advice to help determine what course of treatment is best suited to you. A doctor can evaluate if you have a severe form of alcohol abuse, which will determine whether you will experience minor symptoms of alcohol withdrawal that are easier to manage at home. Delirium tremens are the most severe symptom of alcohol withdrawal syndrome. If you experience this condition, symptoms may include a high heart rate, increased body temperature, and seizures. You must seek professional treatment advice if you experience any of these.

A Restful Detox

To continue your recovery journey, join support groups for recovering alcoholics, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). For regular, heavy drinkers whose bodies have become dependent on alcoholic drinks to function normally, quitting is more complex than simply saying no to the next drink. EHD has a vast network of resources for you or a family member to explore as you navigate your detox and recovery.

• Outpatient detox programs, also known as community detox, allow you to balance your work and home responsibilities while ensuring your safety through the withdrawal process.
• Our founder and president, Bill Carrick, along with the many partner physicians have decades of experience in helping our clients through our Private Home Detox.
• We promise to bring the latest science with experience and compassion in order to provide a private and effective detoxification service in the comfort your own home.
• Without the proper medical supervision, these symptoms can quickly become life-threatening.

Some people may experience mild symptoms such as low mood, anxiety, and insomnia for up to a year after detoxing. This is called post-acute withdrawal syndrome, and while the symptoms are typically mild, they are very common.3 Some medications and forms of therapy have been shown to help manage these symptoms. While many people prefer detoxing at home to seeking professional help, you should be very careful to monitor your symptoms closely and seek medical help if necessary. Home detox is the process of safely withdrawing a dependent drinker from alcohol without admission to an inpatient unit. A recent systematic review5 of 20 studies found that community detoxification was safe with high completion rates.

How Long Does it Take to Flush Alcohol Toxins?

First, why are people less likely to successfully stop drinking alcohol at home than they are in a specialized detox center? On the other hand, those who detox at home could have alcohol anywhere. Alcohol misuse is a major problem in the United States and worldwide, and many people choose to self-detox from alcohol at home.

Without medical help, your symptoms will worsen, and you will simultaneously have easier access to alcohol during detox. Second, professionals support you during medical detox and give you the tools and resources to maintain sobriety once it is over. When you quit drinking, your body will try to compensate for the lack of alcohol. For heavy drinkers this could mean withdrawal symptoms, which can be severe. Benzodiazepines, drugs that help reduce anxiety and are often prescribed for detoxing, can be habit-forming for people who drink too much. At Ria, we often prescribe gabapentin, a drug originally designed for preventing seizures.

What Else Should I Know About Detoxing at Home?

As alcohol is removed from the blood by the liver, people who are dependent on alcohol struggle with several physical and psychological symptoms of withdrawal. When someone opts for a medical detox, Top 5 Tips to Consider When Choosing a Sober House for Living they undergo the detox process while under the close supervision of medical professionals. This means that any negative side effects of withdrawal are met with swift, corrective action.

Symptoms include fever, rapid heartbeat, severe agitation, and high blood pressure. As with many substances that alter a person’s physical or mental state, regular use of alcohol can result in dependency. Once your body develops a dependency on a substance, coming off of it can not only be a difficult process mentally, but can also take a toll on your body. While you may be able to do an alcohol detox at home, you should always check with your doctor beforehand.

Detox Safely at Home: Treatment Services for Alcohol Dependence

While most people do not experience these withdrawal symptoms, they can be life-threatening when they appear. And if you’re trying alcohol detox at home, you may find yourself in need of medical care, but you could be unable to seek the help you need due to your withdrawal symptoms. For this reason and the ones listed above, alcohol detox at home is often not a good idea for people trying to quit alcohol. Quitting alcohol has numerous health benefits, and in some cases, it is a life-saving decision. The first stage in the recovery process is usually alcohol detoxification or detox. Detox involves removing alcohol and its harmful traces from your body, paving the way for effective addiction treatment and a sober life ahead.

• Another benefit of inpatient detox is that a doctor can prescribe medications (such as acamprosate, benzodiazepines, disulfiram, and naltrexone) to help you manage your withdrawal symptoms.
• By entering an alcoholism treatment program, you’ll benefit from medical care that addresses alcohol withdrawal and any underlying co-occurring disorders you have.
• Home detox is the process of safely withdrawing a dependent drinker from alcohol without admission to an inpatient unit.
• Tulip Hill is a family-owned rehabilitation center near in Murfreesboro, TN with first-hand experience in addiction recovery.
• For these reasons, it’s important to consider alternatives to safely detox from alcohol.

Alcohol is a drug and affects your body by stimulating receptors in your brain called GABA receptors. These receptors have many effects, but they play an important role in reducing anxiety and slowing bodily systems. There is no monitoring system, such as the breathalyser, for other drugs and each one requires a different strategy.