Medical Detox
What is Drug / alcohol Detox?
drug / alcohol detox is the natural process of ridding a substance from the body. However, a professional drug detox program, also sometimes referred to as “medically managed withdrawal,” entails the use of a set of interventions (such as medications and other therapies) to safely manage the side effects that accompany quitting drugs / alcohol .
What’s the Process of Detoxification?
Professional detoxification from alcohol and other drugs involves three essential components, including: Evaluation, which is where the clinical professionals at a detoxification center perform a thorough evaluation of patients’ physical and psychological condition and history. Initial evaluations may assess a person’s acute intoxication and withdrawal potential, biomedical conditions, and more. From this assessment, the clinical professionals are able to recommend a detoxification level of care and create an individualized treatment plan for patients. Stabilization, which entails a detox center following an individualized treatment plan and its prescribed therapies and medications to assist a patient through a safe withdrawal experience. Fostering a patient’s entry into longer-term substance abuse treatment, which can increase a person’s chances of sustaining their recovery and avoid relapse. Detox alone is rarely sufficient to help a person sustain long-term recovery as it doesn’t address the complex psychological and social aspects substance use.2 A powerful goal of detoxification treatment is to prepare clients for their next ideal phase of rehabilitation, which may be short-term residential treatment, long-term residential treatment, or outpatient care.
Detox for Drugs & Tapering Off
Tapering consists of weaning a person off a detox medication in an effort to ease withdrawal symptoms. This typically involves clinical staff administering detox medications in slowly decreasing doses following a specific schedule. The technique is sometimes used when medications are administered for benzodiazepine, alcohol, or opioid withdrawal. Tapering requires that clinical professionals in a drug detox environment exercise their best judgment as well as employ tools and protocols when making decisions about tapering
