Many people want to know whether it is safe to detox from alcohol at home. The truth is there are some severe negative effects that can occur with alcohol detox, so it isn’t advised to detox at home from alcohol. With this being said, we would like to talk to you more about the risks associated with at home alcohol detox and what other options you have to get sober.
Risks to Detox from Alcohol at Home
A lot of people think it is safe to detox from alcohol at home. However, this isn’t true. There are some possibly severe, fatal risks that can occur when someone tries going through alcohol detox, especially when doing so on their own.
When you quit drinking suddenly, your body will likely react with several withdrawal symptoms. In most cases, these symptoms are tough to manage, last for many weeks and can be quite uncomfortable. Without receiving the proper medications from a professional detox treatment program, you may have an even harder time when you detox from alcohol at home.
Some other risks associated with detoxing from alcohol, especially on your own, include:
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
- Heart failure
- Delirium tremens
If you are using drugs along with alcohol, it is even more dangerous to detox from alcohol at home.If you are a drinker and/or a drug user, we highly recommend receiving professional detox treatment to overcome the alcohol addiction or substance use disorder.
Another factor to consider is how uncomfortable it is to detox from alcohol. Many people will find the process so uncomfortable, they begin drinking again. This relapse may lead to alcohol poisoning or even fatal reactions in the body due to not being used to drinking.
Mental Health Issues and Alcohol Addiction
There are also millions of people who struggle with mental health issues and alcohol addiction. For example, you might have a personality disorder, anxiety disorder or another mental health condition. If you were self-medicating with alcohol to treat these issues, we do recommend that you get co-occurring disorder treatment right away. This treatment is going to help treat the alcohol addiction and mental health disorder at the same time. By getting this type of treatment, there is a much better chance that you can overcome the addiction and manage your mental health symptoms.
Benefits and Downsides to At-Home Alcohol Detox
As noted above, detoxing from alcohol can be dangerous and very uncomfortable, especially when you are trying to do it without medical supervision. With this being said, we do want to share with you some of the benefits and downsides of at-home alcohol detox.
Some of the benefits when you try to detox from alcohol at home include:
- Being in your own house
- Less financial obligations
- More anonymity
Some of the downsides to at-home alcohol detox include:
- More of a risk to experience mental and physical health effects
- No to little symptom relief (like you would get in a medical detox program)
- Higher risk of relapsing
- Higher chances of relationship issues due to not being able to overcome your addiction
If you are ready to overcome an alcohol addiction, we highly recommend you choose the safest, best option to do so. Here at Harmony Health Group, we have alcohol detox treatment programs that can help you through this process.
Did You Decide to Detox from Alcohol at Home
Even though a medical detox program is the best and safest option to detox from alcohol, some people do decide to still go through with at-home alcohol detox. If you are going this route when overcoming an alcohol addiction, we have some recommendations that may make it a bit safer and more comfortable which include:
- Get all the alcohol out of your home
- Don’t let anyone who is drinking in your home
- Empty your schedule as you don’t know what withdrawal symptoms you will need to deal with
- Have support – find an accountability partner who can help you through the detox process
- Stay hydrated – vitamin drinks and water are going to be your best friend during this process
- Be sure to have balanced meals – protein shakes, vegetables, fruits, lean sources of protein, and whole grains are all great options
- Ask your doctor about taking mineral and vitamin supplements throughout the detox process – they may need to check your levels through a blood test before making any of these recommendations
If you do go through any severe withdrawal symptoms, please seek immediate medical attention. You can do this at a local emergency room or an immediate placement in an alcohol detox facility.
Why Medical Detox is the Best, Safest Option
Since there are so many severe withdrawal symptoms possible when you detox from alcohol, medical detox is the best, safest route. Some of the reasons for this include being able to receive the following:
- Medications to help relieve or prevent certain withdrawal symptoms
- Peer support
- Relapse prevention techniques
- Structured, safe, and substance-free environment
- Therapeutic interventions
- Aftercare treatment
- Better transition into a professional addiction treatment program
Now that you know why medical detox is the best, safest option when you want to detox from alcohol, it is a good idea to learn what treatment options there are.
Medical Detox Treatment Options
Have you decided or are you thinking about entering a medical detox treatment program? If so, there are some medical detox treatment options available that you should know about including:
- Inpatient treatment – receive around-the-clock care while you go through the detox process
- Outpatient treatment – regularly visiting the detox facility for medications or treatments while you detox from alcohol at home
These are the main two treatment options when you detox from alcohol. There are customizable treatment options when detoxing from alcohol, as well. You can reach out to our professional Harmony Health Group team to find out more about which option might be the best for you. It may vary depending on how severe your alcohol addiction is, what other drugs you may have been using, previous attempts at getting sober and some other factors, as well.
Get Started in Recovery by Detoxing from Alcohol
As noted above, there are different options you have when it comes to detoxing from alcohol. Yes, some people do try to detox from alcohol at home. However, due to the severity of many withdrawal symptoms, this can be quite dangerous or even life-threatening. Here at Harmony Health Group, we highly recommend that anyone who needs to overcome an alcohol addiction get professional medical detox help. You can do this through an inpatient or outpatient setting.
Contact us today to get started in recovery when you detox from alcohol.