Topic: AlcoholismPrevention
Prevention must begin at a relatively young age since the first instance of intoxication (drunkenness)
usually occurs during the teenage years. It is particularly important that teenagers who are at high
risk for alcoholism to receive education about alcohol and its long-term effects.
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Alcoholism : Treatment of alcoholism
Treatment of alcoholism has two parts. The first step in the treatment of alcoholism, called detoxification,
involves helping the person stop drinking and ridding his or her body of the harmful (toxic) effects of
alcohol. Because the person's body has become accustomed to alcohol, the person will need to be supported
through withdrawal. Withdrawal will be different for different patients, depending on the severity of
the alcoholism, as measured by the quantity of alcohol ingested daily and the length of time the patient
has been an alcoholic. Withdrawal symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening. Mild withdrawal
symptoms include nausea, achiness, diarrhea, difficulty sleeping, sweatiness, anxiety, and trembling.
This phase is usually over in about three to five days. More severe effects of withdrawal can include
hallucinations (in which a patient sees, hears, or feels something that is not actually real), seizures,
an unbearable craving for more alcohol, confusion, fever, fast heart rate, high blood pressure,
and delirium (a fluctuating level of consciousness).
After cessation of drinking has been accomplished, the next steps involve helping the patient avoid ever
taking another drink. This phase of treatment is referred to as rehabilitation.
The best programs incorporate the family into the therapy, because the family has undoubtedly been severely
affected by the patient's drinking..
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