Tuesday, April 1, 2003Treating Alcoholism
In the second part of a week-long series on alcohol, Dr. Ken Davis discusses treatment of alcoholism in today’s Sixty Second Housecall.
Generally, three steps are involved in treating an alcoholic once the disorder has been diagnosed--intervention, detoxification and rehabilitation.
Intervention involves getting the alcoholic to admit there is a problem. They need help.
Detoxification is the first phase of treatment. Alcohol is withdrawn under a controlled, supervised setting. This usually takes four to seven days.
Alcohol recovery or rehabilitation programs support the affected person after detoxification to maintain abstinence from alcohol. Counseling, psychological support, nursing and medical care are usually available within these programs. Programs can be either inpatient or outpatient. Alcoholism affects the entire family and family counseling may be needed.
Medications are sometimes prescribed to prevent relapses. Long-term treatment with counseling or support groups, such as Alcoholics Annonymous or Al-Anon, is often necessary.
Only 15 percent of those with alcohol dependence seek treatment for this disease. Relapse after treatment is common, so it is important to maintain support systems. Treatment programs have varying success rates, but many people have a full recovery. For more information, log onto wtva.com and click on Sixty Second Housecall. For North Mississippi Medical Center, I’m Dr. Ken Davis.