Alcoholism

Alcoholism is a dependency on alcohol characterized by craving (a strong need to drink), loss of control (being unable to stop drinking despite a desire to do so), physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms, and tolerance (increasing difficulty of becoming drunk).

Alcohol withdrawal

There are several distinct but not mutually exclusive clinical alcohol withdrawal syndromes caused by alcohol withdrawal:

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• Tremulousness - "the shakes"
• Activation syndrome - characterized by tremulousness, agitation, rapid heart beat and high blood pressure.
• Seizures - acute grand mal seizures can occur in alcohol withdrawal in patients who have no history of seizure or any structural brain disease.
• Hallucinations - usually visual or tactile in alcoholics
• Delirium tremens - can be severe and often fatal.

Unlike withdrawal from opioids such as heroin, which can be very unpleasant but is rarely fatal, alcohol withdrawal can kill (by uncontrolled convulsions) if it is not properly managed by a doctor. The pharmacological management of alcohol withdrawal is based on the fact that alcohol, barbiturates and benzodiazepines have remarkably similar effects on the brain and can be substituted for each other. Since benzodiazepines are the safest of the three classes of drugs, alcohol consumption is terminated and a long-acting benzodiazepine is substituted to block the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. The benzodiazepine dosage is then tapered slowly over a period of days or weeks.

Related Topics:
Opioids - Heroin - Barbiturates - Benzodiazepines

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