What is the Success Rate of Medical Detoxification?

Many recovering addicts and their families ask what is the success rate of medical detoxification. Treatment centers are reluctant to publish medical detox success rates because of patient confidentiality concerns. According to the authors of “Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology,” (2013, 3rd ed.), medical detox success rates depend upon the substance-related addiction from which the addict is recovering, and where the medical detox treatment is administered. A recap of medical detox success includes:

Opioid

“Heroinism’s” long history of pharmacotherapy and varying success rates. Recent abuse of opioid derivatives has outpaced heroin use. Most medical detox therapies rely upon “short-term” substitution of another narcotic for the addictive substance. Methadone is often used for this purpose in treating opioid addiction as it successfully suppresses opioid withdrawal symptoms resulting from opioid abstinence. Methadone administration continues for one to six months. Recent therapeutic options include the use of a partial agonist (often buprenorphine) to manage withdrawal. The medical detox treatment helps stabilize the patient so that treatment continues in a drug-free environment. Medical detox research understands that total ‘cold-turkey’ abstinence or placebo methods place the recovering addict at grave risk.

Treatment Programs and Success Rates of Opioid Withdrawal

Abstinence percentages of research studies following opiodic withdrawal management and medical detox progams report lower than average success, approximately 10 to 19 percent. Recent research following inpatient treatment with clonidine show astounding success rates of 80 to 90 percent, according to authors Alan F. Schatzberg, M.D. and Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D. Comparative outpatient treatment with clonidine has been less successful, with rates of about 31 to 36 percent published for recovering heroin addicts treated as outpatients. Researchers theorize that the reason for lower outpatient success rates has to do with continuing availability of opioids. According to Mayo Clinic, not all patients can tolerate clonidine. Risks of clonidine treatment include:

• chest pain and discomfort
• irregular heartbeat/pulse; tachycardia
• pounding/slow heartbeat

For those reasons, alpha-adrenergic agonists such as guanfacine, lofexidine and guanabenz have been studied as detox medicines. These drugs appear to have fewer cardiovascular risks associated with medical detox treatment.

Other Regimens for Opioid Medical Detox

Naltrexone has been studied as a potentially competitive agonist (added to clonidine) regimen with the goal of hastening relief of withdrawal symptoms while blocking the impact of any continuing opioids taken by the addict. Research studies following treatment progress with naltrexone show high success rates of 82 percent as patients completed detox in five days or less with one daily does of clonidine combined with 12.5 mg of naltrexone.

Rapid Medical Detox for Opioid Addiction has Been Studied

According to the authors, patients were first anesthetized (methohexital or midazolam) and then given naltrexone to accelerate the abstinence passage. Some patients successfully completed medical detoxification in approximately 48 hours. However, the patients required other medical interventions, including intubation; i.v. fluids; or mechanical ventilating) because they bore the risks of general anesthesia. According to studies of Collins et al (2005), patients phased through rapid detox strategies using anesthetics fared no better than addicts submitting to longer-term medical detox strategies.

Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000

According to DATA 2000, treatment allowed for opioid dependence treatment, doctors may treat recovering addicts as outpatients or in a residential treatment center. Medicines used must be FDA approved. The treating physician must be a uniquely qualified, having a U.S. DEA license to prescribe medical detox therapies to patients under the law.

 

5 Tips On Making Detox Work for You

At the most basic level, a detox program holds you long enough to get the last physical vestiges of a drug out of your system. This program holds you in one place, making sure that you have food, shelter, and protection until you have dealt with the physical aspects of your addiction. Though detox can be difficult and though getting through is certainly an achievement, it is still important to understand that this is only the first step of your recovery. Take a moment to consider these five steps to make sure that you are getting the most out of your time in a detox center.

1. Use the Counseling

If there is counseling at the place where you are getting detox, use it. It is always a good idea to talk to people about your issues, and you will discover that insights are entirely possible. Use the counseling to get new resources and make sure that you are taking in everything that you can. This can help you move forward more quickly with your recovery.

2. Plan a Network

When you are in detox, there may be rules about whether you are allowed to contact anyone at all. When you are alone, you will find that this is a good time to start planning what kind of network you are going to have when you get out. Think about people who you know are willing to help you, and the people who you will go to first. They may be people who can help you with physical things like food or shelter, or they may be able to help you with the emotional after-effects of detox.

3. Look Towards the Near Future

Plenty of people in detox look forward to a distant future where they have their addiction taken care of and where they are completely healed. While it is important to have distant goals to think about, you should also think about the near future. The part directly after detox is not going to be easy, and in many ways, it is more difficult, more boring, yo might think! and more tedious than what detox was like.

4. Keep a Journal

You can have a lot of revelations about yourself and what you realize about where you have been when you are in detox. Many people with addictions end up doing a lot of back and forth, in that they come to the same conclusions over and over again. The truth is that you can have a lot of revelations about yourself when you are in detox, and you can hang on to them if you write them down. Ask for a journal, or even just some paper to help you get started.

5. Take the Treatment That Is Offered

Professional centers offer various treatment methods that can help ease the discomfort associated with withdrawals, in order to increase the chances of success during detox. These treatment methods can range from yoga, acupuncture, exercise therapy, nutritional therapy, and art therapy. Some clients with severe withdrawal may be offered medication under a doctor’s guidance to ease their symptoms and possibly prevent life-threatening conditions. Some people that enter a detox center are convinced that they should never partake in the treatment methods offered. This can lead to them missing out on opportunities that can be very helpful to them.

If you are in a spot where you need to think about detoxing, remember that there is a whole new world waiting for you afterwards. Some people go straight from detox to a rehabilitation center, and this gives you a lot of the support that you might need to move ahead. Make sure that you know what your plan is before you close the doors of the detox center behind you, and you’ll be in better shape than you might think.

 

What the First 24 Hours of Detox is Like

Possible Symptoms in the First 24 Hours

Alcohol and drug addictions are serious conditions not to be taken lightly. Although most drugs and alcohol are poisonous to the body, when they are heavily abused, they become part of a “new normal” for the addict’s bodily functions. Taking alcohol or drugs out of the system could put the body into a state of shock. The first 24 hours of detoxing from drugs or alcohol is a critical period. Early withdrawal symptoms are possible including:

• Anxiety
• Hallucinations
• Insomnia
• Disorientation
• Nervousness
• Rapid heart rate
• Tremors
• Profuse sweating
• Headaches
• Paranoia
• Mood swings
• Withdrawal seizures
• Hyperactivity
• Heart palpitations
• Depression
• Gastrointestinal upset
• Irritability
• Emotional Instability
• Fatigue – Both physical and emotional
• Involuntary eyelid tremors
• Loss of appetite
• Fever
• Blackouts

Details About Symptoms That Can Occur In The First 24 Hours

While substances are being consumed they are bathing the brains neurons and causing the neuron’s functions to be diminished. This diminished functioning becomes evident shortly after the removal of the substance. This is what leads to many of the above nervous system dysfunctions seen above such as anxiety, nervousness, shaking, hyperactivity and depression.

The seizures and blackouts that can occur within that first day of withdrawal can endanger the person by causing them to fall, hit their head or bite their tongue. The falls could also lead to sprained muscles or broken bones. During a seizure it is common to bite the tongue. Biting the tongue could cause bleeding and swelling. There is a large vein that runs through the tongueand a great loss of blood could be suffered and swelling of the tongue may obstruct the person’s airway.

Why Detoxification Under Medical Care Is Important

There are multiple different types of detox. Because the symptoms of detoxification can range from mild to extremely dangerous and can happen at a moment’s notice, it is always preferable to detox under the direct care of a doctor or a facility specialoized in medical monitoring of those who are in detox.

What Happens In The First 24 Hours At a Detox Facility?

The person suffering from addiction will be asked a series of questions to determine his or her treatment plan. The length of time spent in a detoxification program and the measures taken will be determined by multiple factors. The questions asked to determine these factors could include:

• Do you have any medical disorders besides the addiction that could somehow interfere with your treatments?
• Do you have any mental disorders that we should know about?
• How long have you been substance abusing?
• What kinds of substances have you been abusing?
• What amount of alcohol or other drug content have you been consuming in a 24 hour period?
• Have you experienced any large traumas in your life?
• If so, have any traumas you experienced been due to substance abuse?

Severe alcohol and drug addictions become so heavy a burden that the withdrawal of these substances will become physically evident within 5-24 hours of the last use. Get knowledgeable help before beginning the detoxification process. In 2013 there are more advanced detox types available than ever before.

 

What is Medical Detoxification

An addiction to drugs or alcohol represents a habit that is almost impossible to break without help, and for many years individuals who have been addicted have been heading to rehabilitation facilities to help get into a state of recovery. In recent years, there has also been an emergence of medical detoxification opportunities, and this is a method of ridding one’s self of a chemical dependence through the use of certain medication.

Traditional Detoxification

Detoxification has existed as a variety of methods for several years, although the act of receiving medical detox is something that has been popular only in the last fifty years within standard treatment protocols. Doctors often rely on a three-step process for drug detoxification created by The United States Department of Health and Human Services:

1. Evaluation: Doctors will first test a patient to see what types of drugs might be in their system.
2. Stabilization: Detoxification will commence through medication or the natural means of time.
3. Treatment: Once a person is free of toxins, he or she will be recommended for further treatment.

Rapid detox is a method sometimes utilized to reduce the number of days or weeks a person will have to suffer through withdrawal symptoms. But the process does come with certain risks, and unfortunately, the rising popularity of this method has caused some difficulties in certain patients exiting the detoxification process in a healthy way.

Recently, a particularly fast method of detoxification called “ultra rapid” has come into existence, and this means that someone might have all the drugs in their body removed in just a few hours and have no withdrawal symptoms. There have been studies by different groups, such as a group from Australia that suggested rapid detoxification was an effective way of starting an addict onto the road to recovery.

Outpatient Detoxification

One option for an individual seeking medical detoxification is an outpatient method where the detox might be performed in a doctor’s office, after which standard follow-ups would occur. This method usually carries the most controversy with it since a person isn’t under the constant care of a medical professional, and must go into the doctor’s office of his own volition.

One of the issues that some recently addicted people experience with this method is the formation of an addiction to the other drugs taken during the detoxification process. For example, methadone treatments used during heroin detoxification do carry the risk of addiction, and a person will still experience lengthy withdrawal symptoms during this type of medical detoxification.

Inpatient Detoxification

An inpatient style of detoxification requires the individual to remain in a treatment or medical facility for the entirety of the detoxification process. The type of detox process undertaken might be a rapid detox, after which enrollment in a treatment facility would be the best course of action. In some cases, an inpatient detoxification may be performed more quickly due to the constant presence of medical personnel during the detox process.

Alternatively, traditional medical detoxification that might take much longer would also require a stay within the medical facility until the patient’s system was free of drugs and withdrawal symptoms. Traditional treatment time frames for slow medical detox might be anywhere from six days to two weeks.

When a person decides to seek treatment for an addiction to drugs or alcohol, one of the discussions held with a medical professional might be regarding the medical detoxification process. Each method does carry with it certain risks and advantages, and it’s important for individuals seeking treatment to make sure that their choice of detoxification style will benefit their level of willpower and will include counseling and further treatment.

 

5 Mistakes People Make During Medical Detox

Not everyone knows what to expect from medical detox. As a critical part of drug rehab, medical detox makes a significant difference in recovery rates: people who go through detox are 20% more likely to get clean and kick their addiction. However, before beginning detox and rehab, it is important to be prepared and to know what to expect from the staff and from yourself. Knowing some of the common mistakes people make during detox can help you avoid them.

Mistake #1: Not Asking Questions

Although the staff on your treatment team will do their best to prepare you for the detox process, they won’t be able to answer any questions you have if you do not ask them. Even when they do go over information about detox, it is easy to forget about specific points because of withdrawal symptoms you have or if you are intoxicated at the time they give you the information. You may need to ask questions about:

• withdrawal symptoms, especially if a particular symptom you are having is so severe that you are afraid for your health
• how long withdrawal symptoms are expected to last
• how long detox will last

These are only a few questions you may have. The rehab facility staff members are there to make sure you feel as secure as possible, and they should be happy to answer any questions you have.

Mistake #2: Expecting too Much too Quickly

Detox is a slow process because your body needs time to rid itself of all of the drugs or alcohol that you’ve taken. Depending on what substances are in your body and how long you have been addicted, detox could last for weeks. Some people coming off of drugs, such as crack cocaine, experience withdrawal symptoms for up to 90 days. Although it is difficult to remember when you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms, you must remember that your symptoms will pass. Most people only need up to one week for detox.

Mistake #3: Thinking That After Detox, Recovery Will be Easy

Recovery is a difficult path, and it does not end after detox is over. People in detox should prepare themselves for cravings for drugs. Between 40 and 60% of people who complete a rehab program, including detox and therapy, will experience at least one relapse in the four years following their completion of the program. Although detox makes your recovery more likely, it will not make it certain.

Mistake #4: Not Having a Plan for After Detox

Most inpatient detox facilities strongly encourage their patients to undergo treatment after detox is finished. Many addicts do not think that far ahead and are simply trying to get through the day. Once detox is finished, you may feel the urge to leave the facility because you are thankful that detox is over. However, you need to work with staff to make a plan for treatment and sober living. Having a plan gives you something to refer to when you are feeling lost or unsure of your future.

Mistake #5: Thinking That Detox is Enough

After finishing detox, you may feel as though you don’t need to complete counseling or a program. However, people who complete a treatment program after their detox remain sober for 40% longer than people who only go through detox. Many more do not relapse at all. Following through with treatment makes sure that you not only stay sober, but that you form connections with other people in recovery so that you have support from other people, which is crucial to getting and staying clean.

 

What is it Like to Experience Withdrawal From Drugs?

As a destructive addiction, drug use impacts the body in extremely negative ways, and various drugs cause everything from permanent changes in behavior to organ failure to death. Unfortunately, sometimes the threat of death isn’t enough to cause someone to make the decision to attempt recovery since the withdrawal symptoms from some drugs are terrible and almost unbearable. Most people addicted to drugs must undergo a detox program to quit drugs because the process itself may cause health problems and the feelings of withdrawal can cause someone to relapse quickly.

Different withdrawal symptoms may result from addiction to depressants, stimulants, or opioids, so a medical professional will often create specific types of detox plans (sometimes called withdrawal therapy) depending on the type of addiction. The effects of withdrawal are often the exact opposite of the type of experience a person would have while abusing the drug. This means that the naturally addictive properties of drugs are made much worse because of the reversal of a person’s “high” into a type of unbearable pain. It is particularly common for drug addicts to avoid recovery just to avoid withdrawal symptoms. The National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine offers some startling timelines regarding when withdrawal symptoms may impact the body. The effects of withdrawal may begin anywhere from a few hours after the last use, such as with stimulants like cocaine, or after a few days, such as with hallucinogenic drugs like marijuana.

Depressants

Different types of depressants include drugs like barbiturates (Phenobarbital and Nembutal), alcohol (ethanol), gamma hydroxybutyric acid (sleeping pills), and benzodiazepines (Xanax and Valium). Side effects from withdrawal range from minor to extreme. Some of the lesser types of withdrawal symptoms include:

• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Sweating

There are also a variety of much worse symptoms that heavy addiction to depressants will cause on the body during the detoxification process and those symptoms often include:

• Hallucinations
• Tremors
• Seizures

Opioids

Whenever someone is prescribed a drug for pain after surgery or after an accident, the drug offered will be opioids. Different types of opioids to which people commonly become addicted include Oxycontin, codeine, and morphine. Heroin is also a type of opioid although it hasn’t been used for medicinal purposes for over a hundred years since it was declared a harmful narcotic by the United States government with the 1914 Harrison Narcotic Act. The impact of opioid withdrawal is always severe and will begin within 24 hours of the last use of the drug. Some of the less stressful types of withdrawal symptoms for opioids include:

• Anxiety
• Cravings
• Sweating

The most severe symptoms are extensive and extreme and mean that quitting this type of drug represents one of the hardest types of detoxification. Severe symptoms include:

• High Blood Pressure
• Diarrhea
• Insomnia
• Stomach Cramps
• Vomiting

Stimulants

As the name would suggest, stimulants increase the level of alertness within the body, and one of the most destructive elements of stimulant addiction is that the body experiences an increased tolerance for the drug over time. This means addicts must take higher concentrations of drugs during a long addiction. Different types of stimulants include drugs like cocaine, ephedrine (common as a herbal supplement), and even caffeine. Some of the basic symptoms of withdrawal from stimulants, like cocaine, include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Fatigue

More advanced symptoms of withdrawal that come during the recovery process include:

• Paranoia
• Psychosis
• Thoughts of Suicide

The best way to avoid having to experience withdrawal symptoms is to avoid addiction in the first place. Unfortunately, millions of people are addicted to various types of drugs and must undergo an extraordinarily difficult detoxification filled with unbearable pain and withdrawal. The rates of drug abuse are climbing each year, which means more people than ever will have to go through withdrawal in order to quit a drug addiction. It’s important to have a strong support system during any attempts to recover from drug addiction.

The Different Types Of Medical Detox Available To Addicts

Drug addiction is complex. There are both mental and physical factors at work. Twenty-three million people suffer from addiction, but only around 10 percent get medically supervised treatment. Serious addiction requires medical intervention prior to rehabilitation with drug therapy to manage the withdrawal symptoms. Without this treatment protocol, certain addicts will be unable to handle the side effects. In some cases, cold turkey withdrawal can be life threatening.

The type of medical detoxification depends on the addiction and the addict. Different forms of abuse produce a variety of withdrawal symptoms. Medical staff takes into account the overall health of the addict, the type of abuse, the level of addiction, and the length of use when deciding what detoxification drugs to use.

Addiction to Depressants

The type of substance abuse is the first factor doctors evaluate to create an effective detox program. Side effects from withdrawal to depressants like barbiturates include:

• Restlessness
• Anxiety
• Sweating
• Lack of sleep

The addict may suffer hallucinations, tremors, and seizures. The body reacts by increasing the blood pressure and heart rate plus raising the temperature level. Medical treatment involves slowly weaning the patient off the substance and using detoxification drugs to stabilize the nerve cells.

Addiction to Stimulants

This is the easiest of detoxifications to manage. Stimulants include cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamines. Most require no drug therapy. Patients may feel anxious, suffer depression, and be suicidal, so supervision is critical as the addict comes off the drug. In some cases, the physician may prescribe medication to manage psychosis or depression.

Opioids

Opioids include some common street drugs such as heroin, morphine, and OxyContin. The side effects depend primarily on the physical health of the addict and level of dependence. Coming down from serious opioid addiction is the most dangerous of all detoxifications. The side effects range from a runny nose to cardiac arrest.

Medical detoxification improves the chances of success as doctors will use drug therapy to manage the symptoms. For example, clonidine helps to regulate the blood pressure and ondansetron hydrochloride is for nausea. The most critical aspect may be the use of an artificial opiate like methadone. This helps reduce the cravings for the drug during the recovery period.

Rapid Detox

Ultra rapid detox is another approach to medical intervention for heroin addicts. Withdrawal can induce intense pain that lasts for days, and that keeps some addicts from seeking help. Rapid detox requires medical professionals to put the patient to sleep and administer drugs that force the detoxification. This medication is not available without anesthesia because of the extreme pain as the body detoxifies.

There is no medical proof that rapid detox is a better approach to withdrawal than other types of medical treatments. It is just faster. When the patient wakes up, there will still be significant symptoms of withdrawal such as cravings and discomfort. The severity of this treatment can put the patient at risk, as well.

Detoxification from substance abuse is not easy. Drug therapy can help assist in the process, however, and make it more tolerable. That improves the chances of success. Relapse rates are high, even with medical detox. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that as many as 60 percent of addicts will relapse at some point.

Drug addiction requires long-term care similar to chronic illnesses, such as diabetes or asthma. Care plans deal with both the biological and psychological components of the disease. Utilizing a managed medical detoxification program is just the first step on a long the road to recovery.

 

3 Detoxification Methods that Don’t Work

Anyone who is thinking about “detoxing”–quitting any drug (including alcohol) and getting its remains all out of the body–has likely heard some well-intentioned good advice about how to detox without ever stepping foot inside a clinic.

In other words, they’ve been given home-spun advice that probably just doesn’t work.

The people who give this advice usually mean well. It’s possible that one of them has used one of these “methods” to help themselves (and cost themselves more time and trouble than they really had to). And it seems like almost everyone knows someone they are sure beat their drug or alcohol problem with some type of “homegrown detox”.

These methods aren’t actually good ways to quit anything. And they can be dangerous to those who try! Here are the three most popular detoxification methods that don’t work, as well as advice on why anyone seeking help should avoid them.

Juice Detox and Other “In a Box Detox Diets”

Some holistic health enthusiasts claim that various “detox diets,” the “juice detox,” or even “colon cleansing,” are effective methods of detoxing from drugs and alcohol. And it’s true that many people do feel a burst of energy or other well-being while on them, and immediately after.
First off, these were designed for cleaning the human body of “impurities” (mostly inorganic chemical additives) in general, and weren’t specifically made for addiction.

Secondly, their use even as “general detox” programs–ridding the human body of “impurities” it collects–has yet to be proven. There not one single recorded case of anyone ever using a “juice detox” or “detox diet” to cure any addiction of any types. In fact, these diets have never been scientifically proven to do anything!
Why do so many people swear by them? These diets involve giving up artificial colors and flavors, and most people do feel better, healthier, and more energetic when those are removed.

Studies have also shown that most people walk around under hydrated, Since most of these “detox diets” consist of a lot of juice or other hydration (sometimes that’s even all they consist of), the people on them are likely to become more healthily hydrated for a short time. This could also be responsible for the healthier complexion and skin tone that many people report when they try a detox diet.

For anyone who eats too much processed food and doesn’t drink enough water (realistically, that means most people on the planet!), these diets might help them feel better for a short while–if it doesn’t hurt them due to malnutrition.

But none of these “detox methods” are what a user needs to help them quit drugs or alcohol.

Tapering Off On One’s Own

Going on the theory that treatment for some drugs (typically opiates) involves successively smaller doses of an addicts drug of choice (or something similar), many addicts try and taper off their usage in order to break an addiction. Very few are successful. Some even die in the process.

This is true for illegal drugs, as well as legal drugs like alcohol. In fact, this method is perhaps even less successful with alcohol than with other drugs!
That’s because those who have problems with alcohol can’t keep it at “just a few drinks”. One drink nearly always turns into more. And more than one drink is practically guaranteed to turn into several.

There are drugs, like some opiates, that can actually cause dangerous symptoms for users who go cold turkey after a long period of addiction. It’s good when someone can recognize so well what their needs are. But it can end in disaster when a drug abuser tries to provide their own treatment. It’s much safer to get help.

Rapid Detoxification aka “Cold Turkey”

Then there is the occasional “old school” 12-stepper who likes to brag about how they beat their addiction by simply cutting themselves off from everyone and everything for a while. They may claim to have gone to a hotel in a different city, gone camping, or just locked themselves in their rooms. Sometimes, the story involves a single other person who watched over them and cared for them during their period of cold turkey withdrawals.

There are a lot of things that can go wrong when a person goes through cold-turkey withdrawals from heavy opiate, alcohol, or other drug usage. It’s common for withdrawals to cause convulsions without the proper medication–and a trained professional who knows the exact does a person needs. There is enough going on during these convulsions that a person could conceivably bite their own tongue in two! The average person–even the average doctor or nurse–isn’t trained to handle or prevent this.

Get the Help you Need

Trained teams at rehab clinics know how to prevent these things from happening. Friends and family, no matter how well-meaning, typically don’t know how to prevent these kinds of things–much less deal with them when they happen.

Many addicts want to try these methods simply because they don’t like asking for help. And while that’s understandable–most addicts were let down early in life by adult figures who should have been helping them–the first active step on the road to recovery is simply to ask for help.

The Dangers of Alcohol around Children

A Widespread Problem

People are aware of the dangers that alcohol abuse and addiction can inflict on a person who is dealing with an alcohol problem first-hand. However, it can be difficult to fully appreciate what children experience when they are frequently around adults who abuse alcohol.

This problem may be more common than people realize. In fact, an estimated 7.5 million children share a household with at least one parent who has dealt with an alcohol abuse within the past year. Unfortunately, when children spend significant amounts of time around adults with alcohol problems, those children can be subjected to numerous dangers and long-term negative consequences. Here are just a few of the problems that can affect children in these situations.

1: Issues with Bonding

Even infants and young toddlers can potentially suffer from setbacks when their caretakers are abusing alcohol. During babies’ early stages of development, parents or other caretakers usually bond with babies and learn to pick up on cues about what the infants want and need.

However, when adults are under the influence of alcohol, they frequently miss these important signs. As a result, they may not provide adequate levels of care for babies and toddlers. If babies aren’t receiving any responses to their cries, they’ll stop trying to get attention altogether. This detachment can lead children to have continued bonding issues and long-term problems forming healthy relationships.

2: Risk of Accidents

When an inebriated parent is caring for a child of any age, there’s always greater chance that an accident may occur. Adults who are under the influence of alcohol are likely to experience the following symptoms:

• Unsteadiness
• Poor concentration
• Reduced perception
• Impaired motor function
• Poor reasoning abilities
• Trouble focusing

Any one of these impairments could lead a parent to cause an accident that could injure a younger child. An even greater concern is the risk that an inebriated parent may pass out and leave a child unattended. When young kids are left without supervision they are at greater risk for sustaining physical injuries, drowning, starting fires or even wandering off and going missing.

Older children are also at risk for accidents, especially if their parents aren’t enforcing household rules. With a lack of supervision in place, teens and adolescents may engage in risky activities inside and outside of the house. These behaviors can potentially lead to car accidents, drug and alcohol experimentation and other dangers.

3: Lack of Trust

There’s yet another significant side effect of growing up in a household with parents or other adults who have alcohol abuse problems. These children may feel that they can’t rely on authority figures.

This lack of trust may simply be attributed to a parent’s inability to care for a child on a consistent basis. Because these children aren’t sure what to expect with each new day, they may become cautious and skeptical. An alcoholic parent might also fail to follow through with important commitments, such as school meetings or other events that are important to a child.

Unfortunately, children who grow up in these situations can carry their trust issues into adulthood and have difficulty forming meaningful relationships over the long term.

4: Potential for Mimicking Behavior

Perhaps one of the most potentially damaging effects of abusing alcohol around kids is that children are at risk for copying that adult behavior and abusing alcohol themselves. This may start when kids are very young and gain access to their parents’ alcohol supply. A lack of parental supervision can also contribute to drinking problems at young ages.

However, even if children don’t participate in underage drinking, they are still at a higher risk for having alcohol problems during adulthood. That’s because as children, they may witness their parents using alcohol as a coping method and consider it to be a normal strategy for handling stress, anxiety, sadness or any number of negative emotions.

Helping Adults and Helping Kids

While these dangers are very real, the good news is that adults can seek professional addiction treatment that can help them overcome their alcohol problems. In addition to becoming healthier, adults who recover from alcoholism will also create brighter futures for the children in their lives.

When you need to seek out addiction help

It’s easy to say that someone has a “drug problem” and with about 2.5 million Americans abusing prescription meds alone in the last year, you may be correct. But how do you know when a person is addicted and really needs to seek help?

Signs of Addiction

• Changes in sleep patterns – sleeping too much or not sleeping at all.
• Changes in eating habits – becoming suddenly anorexic, binging and purging, or constantly eating.
• Bloodshot eyes or frequent nose bleeds.
• Suffering from constant exhaustion.
• Stealing from friends and family to obtain money for drugs.
• Taking drugs or drinking alcohol just to function.
• Stealing drugs or alcohol from other people’s homes or medicine cabinets.
• Changing friends – gaining new friends that abuse drugs or are addicts.
• Lowered productivity.
• Doing illegal things while high or drunk.
• Getting “black- out” drunk.
• Hiding track marks.
• Secretive behavior or lying.
• Excessive paranoia or defensiveness about drug habit.
• Unexplained injuries or accidents.
• Absences from work or school along with a decline in performance.
• Sudden mood swings or periods of irritability or agitation.
• Inability to focus or lack of coordination.
• Periods of agitation followed by depression.
• Seeking drugs or alcohol on a consistent basis.
• Hiding caches of drugs or alcohol “just in case” one cannot get them at a later time.
• Having to take more of a drug (or drink more alcohol) to achieve the same effect – known as increased tolerance.
• Self-medicating for imagined ailments.
• Self-medicating with street drugs, alcohol, or medications not prescribed to you.
• Reduced effectiveness of drugs or alcohol – a sign of increased tolerance.
• Withdrawal symptoms when you stop taking the drug.

Some of these signs are very clear and explicit. If you are showing these signs, you are likely suffering from addiction and you need to get help. Other signs are simple indications that your body is fighting the drugs or alcohol which you are taking. If you keep taking the drugs or alcohol on a continuous basis, you may become addicted if you are not already. A sure sign of addiction is a person suffering from withdrawal symptoms when they try to stop taking the drug.

Withdrawal Symptoms

Different drugs have different withdrawal symptoms. However, there are some withdrawal symptoms which are common to most drugs. These are:

• Intense cravings for the drug
• Headaches
• Nausea; vomiting; diarrhea
• Anxiety; irritability; depression
• Inability to concentrate
• Tightness in chest; accelerated heart rate; heart palpitations
• Sweating; fever
• Trouble breathing
• Seizures
• Heart attacks
• Tremors
• Delirium Tremens (literally, “trembling delirium”)
• Hallucinations

Solutions

The best solution to the widespread problem of addiction is prevention and education. There are many groups who are dedicated to educating the youth of our communities about drugs and addiction. There are also programs which help educate parents, school teachers, business professionals, and ethnic groups about the dangers of drugs and addiction. These groups have great results. An educated person can make their own decisions, and are far more likely to make the sensible ones.

Those already addicted can utilize the medical detox program at Best Drug Rehab. This program helps an addict off of drugs using medication, nutrition, and counseling. After the detox process is completed and the addict is drug-free, a customized program is created to help the individual find the reasons behind his or her addiction and help them resolve these issues permanently. The goal is for the addict to graduate and live a healthy, happy, drug-free life.