Did you know that people can suffer from alcohol addiction in the same way they suffer from drug addiction, with almost intolerable physical withdrawal symptoms, psychological cravings and destructive mood swings? Did you also know that alcohol related withdrawal can be deadly if not treated by a medical professional? Alcohol withdrawal symptoms range from sleeplessness, hand tremors and nausea, to agitation, hallucinations and anxiety. In 1999, 19,171 people died from alcohol addiction and it is estimated that 20% of untreated chronic drinkers will die from what is called “delirium tremens,” which includes severe withdrawal symptoms, such as respiratory failure, hallucinations, heart palpitations and seizures.

Prior to an addiction to alcohol, there is generally a prolonged time period when the social drinker finds that he or she is drinking more frequently, experiencing more adverse effects and is slightly losing control. Alcohol abusers start showing signs like drinking and driving, participating in dangerous activities while under the influence, continuing to drink even when problems with friends or family happen as a result of alcohol consumption and getting into physical fights. Drinking alcohol begins to interfere with not only social relations, but also obligations at work and school, and in some cases, drinking may even land an individual in legal trouble. These are early warning signs that alcohol use is crossing over into alcohol abuse.

Roughly 5-10% of acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms result in delirium tremens (DTs), a potentially fatal episode of feverishness, hallucinations, high blood pressure, rapid breathing and tremors. The alcohol addiction sufferer has a 35% chance of dying from the DTs if not treated by a professional and a 5% chance of death even if treated. It’s believed that the DTs are caused by drinking excessively over a long period of time (for instance 6-7 pints per day for a month or longer), or may also be caused by binge drinking without eating all day. A drug like Valium or an anti-seizure medication may be required, in addition to carefully monitoring hydration and the administering of vitamins.

More On: Preventing Alcohol Addiction

Technorati Tags: alcohol, alcoholism, alcohol addiction, preventing alcohol addiction

Quickly bookmark Stopping Your Alcohol Addiction at:                                                

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 at 7:51 am and is filed under Health & Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.