Withdrawal

Narcologists claim that binges - periods of daily, uncontrollable consumption of large amounts of alcohol - are characteristic of moderate to severe alcoholism, when after another drink a condition called alcohol withdrawal syndrome occurs. What happens to the body in this condition and how is withdrawal from binge drinking carried out?

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Withdrawal from binge drinking in hospital

Alcohol addicts, as they say, go on a drinking binge to achieve a state of continuous intoxication and euphoria, and when the next dose of alcohol does not enter the body, withdrawal syndrome or abstinence syndrome develops. It manifests itself not only in nausea, vomiting and tremors, but also in loss of strength, sleep and appetite; pain in muscles and joints; heart rhythm disturbances; nightmares bordering on hallucinations; loss of the ability to adequately perceive the environment and depressive-psychotic states of varying intensity. Experts recommend that withdrawal from binge drinking be carried out in a hospital, since long-term use of alcohol in large quantities leads to serious metabolic disorders in the body, tolerance (tolerance) to ethanol and physical dependence on it - a condition in which the brain compulsively perceives the effect of ethanol as positive despite the obvious adverse effects. Therefore, increased excitability of the central nervous system in the form of irritability and depression, associated with the destruction of cells of the cerebral cortex and disruption of neuromediation, requires medical attention.

A common method - withdrawal from binge drinking with the help of a drip - consists of infusion (intravenous drip) administration of a complex of drugs that help detoxification, that is, cleansing the blood of the breakdown products of ethyl alcohol (acetaldehyde), and remove the psychosomatic manifestations of the toxic effects on the body, primarily metabolic acidosis.

In addition to saline solution (sterile 0.9% aqueous sodium chloride solution), the following medications are included in the mixtures administered by infusion:

• magnesium sulfate;
• potassium chloride;
• Panangin (potassium aspartate + magnesium aspartate – to support heart function);
• glucose (40% solution);
• sodium thiosulfate;
• Cerucal (antiemetic);
• vitamins C, B1, B2, B6, PP;
• insulin (if blood sugar levels drop due to alcohol-induced damage to the pancreas);
• Metadoxil (to stimulate the elimination of acetaldehyde from the body and protect the liver);
• Chlorazepam (Lorazepam), Carbamazepine and other sedatives and relaxants - to suppress agitation and anxiety, as well as against seizures.

To normalize the acid-base balance of the body and reduce the level of blood acidity, which increases due to the alcohol metabolite acetaldehyde, a separate infusion of 4% sodium bicarbonate solution is performed.

It should be borne in mind that the selection of drugs that provide withdrawal from binge drinking with the help of a dropper is carried out on an individual basis and cannot be the same for everyone, since the narcologist comprehensively evaluates both the patient’s health and his “alcohol history”.

Self-withdrawal from binge drinking at home

According to narcologists, if someone decides to independently withdraw from binge drinking at home, then he faces the same task: to stop alcohol intoxication and overcome metabolic acidosis (when the blood pH is below 7.35), that is, to remove acetaldehyde and its decay products from the body.

Is it possible to get out of a binge using folk remedies? The most accessible sedative in a home medicine cabinet is tincture of valerian root or motherwort herb, you can also brew a soothing herbal mixture of valerian root and licorice, mint, motherwort and hop cones. In addition, drinking plenty of fluids and taking multivitamins is recommended.

Among the old anti-binge drinking recipes, there is a tincture of earthworms in vodka, the effectiveness of which, perhaps, should not be tested on your loved ones who have a painful addiction to alcohol.

Traditional healers advise to prepare the following mix of medicinal plants: two tablespoons of wormwood, peppermint, St. John's wort and yarrow and a tablespoon of angelica root and calamus. Take two tablespoons of this mixture per liter of water and prepare a decoction. You need to drink at least one and a half to two liters of this decoction per day, which will help to normalize the gastrointestinal tract, cause increased sweating and urine.

Withdrawal from binge drinking with the help of coding

Medicinal coding for alcohol addiction involves the subcutaneous or intravenous administration of special drugs that ensure the body's complete rejection of alcohol. The principle of their action is based on the fact that even a small dose of alcohol provokes the same symptoms that are observed in alcohol withdrawal syndrome. At the same time, the coded patient knows that there may even be fatal consequences of drinking alcohol.

A person with a serious alcohol addiction must first be brought out of a binge (as - see above), and only then be coded for alcoholism. No narcologist will offer to bring out of a binge with the help of coding, because the coding procedure is carried out only when the person is sober and has not consumed alcohol for at least a day before visiting the narcologist, and better - several days.

This mandatory rule applies to such means for medicinal blockade of alcoholism as Disulfiram (Antabus, Teturam, Esperal, Torpedo, Refuzan, Akvilong and other trade names) and Algominal. Regarding the drug Actoplex (also based on the active substance dilsufiram), it is supposedly allowed to be used for withdrawal from binge drinking, that is, drunk, only... before this it is necessary to remove all acetaldehyde from the patient's body, who is in a state of hangover.

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