Every person has different needs when it comes to the treatment of alcohol use disorder (AUD), a condition diagnosed when the pattern of your alcohol use becomes problematic and causes serious distress. Alcohol abuse can range from mild to severe, depending on the symptoms one has. The care a person needs also depends on how bad their addiction is. This is the reason why Detox Las Vegas centers exist—to help those struggling with alcohol addiction recover.
People with alcohol addiction experience withdrawal symptoms when they suddenly stop drinking. The effects of withdrawal on one’s body and mind can be uncomfortable and even dangerous. This is where detox Las Vegas comes in.
Detox Las Vegas: What is Detox?
Although detox alone will not be able to treat AUD, it’s the first step for alcohol dependent individuals to recover and get their life back on track.
A person with a severe dependence on alcohol suddenly stops drinking, usually develops withdrawal symptoms within 6-24 hours after their last drink. This can start while they still have alcohol in their bloodstream.
For some people withdrawal symptoms can be mild, but for others it can be more serious. Withdrawal symptoms can include:
- Anxiety
- Delirium tremens (DTs), a life-threatening issue that can make people upset, restless, confused, sick with fever, have hallucinations, and seizures.
- Depression
- Sleeping problems
- Sweating
- Unstable changes in heart rate and blood pressure
- Shakiness, especially in the hands
- Nausea and vomiting
When do You Need a Detox Program?
If you feel like you need to drink alcohol for your body to feel normal, then it is highly possible that you need help. Getting through detox does not only involve willpower and attempting to cure your addiction without medical help is just not wise. In fact, it’s strongly discouraged to stop “cold turkey” without help from medical experts. In some cases, alcohol abuse withdrawal can put one’s life at risk and even when it is not as serious, it can still pose a huge challenge.
A detox Las Vegas program gives those who suffer from alcohol abuse the support they need guide them through the withdrawal. This often includes medicine to help ease symptoms, as well as care for mental health conditions.
Symptoms may vary depending on person to person, but they usually last a week or more, usually hitting their worst within 24-72 hours. People are more likely to stick to a detox Las Vegas program when they get plenty of support from people they know.
What Happens During Detox?
Detox programs normally include basic things such as:
- Intake exam—which can help evaluate what kind of support one needs. This normally involves blood work, talk about drinking history, health records, and additional tests to check one’s physical and mental health.
- Detox support—which can include medicine for withdrawal symptoms and care for other health issues that come up. The main purpose of this is to help the individual become mentally and physically stable. Patients may have their blood pressure, temperature, heart rate, and breathing checked regularly throughout this process.
- Treatment –this involves getting into treatment to help break one’s addiction.
Types of Detox Programs
When it comes to detox Las Vegas programs, it helps to look a step ahead to rehab. This is because some people also require treatment to break their addiction, and some programs combine the two.
The two basic options for alcohol addiction detox programs are:
In-Patient –this means that patients live in the detox center, hospital, or rehab center during the process. Patients receive round-the-clock care to help them through it all.
Out-Patient –this means that patients receive treatment during the day but they live at home. This is as simple as regularly visiting one’s healthcare professional to get meds.
In-patient detox programs usually offer more services, but it also costs more. Out-patient, on the other hand, is less expensive and generally safe and effective for those with mild to moderate alcohol withdrawal symptoms. In-patient works best if an individual’s mental and physical health is in good shape, they have a stable support at home, and if they don’t have a lengthy history of alcohol abuse.
The services included in rehab programs may range from medical care and counselling to life skills training as well as the prevention of a relapse.
In-patient treatment at a rehab center or hospital wasn’t commonly offered in the past, but nowadays there is no longer any stigma against patients who choose this option. In-patient programs also make sense if you have serious medical or mental health problems.
Another option is the residential rehab, where patients live at a center for 1-3 months. This is a great option for those with serious alcohol withdrawal problems and for individuals who struggle to stay sober.
If a person doesn’t pose a danger to himself and to others, and he can stay sober when they go home, there are other types of rehab options they can choose. But how does one know which program is best for them? How does one make a right choice?
Detox Las Vegas: Choosing the Right Detox Program
When it comes to choosing the right detox program, it is important to start with a list of your needs. For those with medical conditions or suffer from some form mental health condition, it would be smart to get services for those. For those who’ve had struggled with the addiction for years and have a strong support system, an in-patient program is the best option.
Once you have all your needs sorted out, you can then start looking at quality and cost. It would be wise to find a program you can afford that has well-trained staff and a high success rate.
It might be a great idea to make a list of questions to ask different programs like:
- Do they accept insurance? If yes, what type?
- How does the detox/rehab center train their staff? Are they licensed?
- Can they provide a sample treatment plan?
- Do they offer counseling and medical services?
- Can they help prevent a relapse? If so, how?
- Doe the center provide after care after the program is completed?
If a detox program is able to answer all those questions to your satisfaction, then you might be able to make a decision from there.
Throughout the year, our writers feature fresh, in-depth, and relevant information for our audience of 40,000+ healthcare leaders and professionals. As a healthcare business publication, we cover and cherish our relationship with the entire health care industry including administrators, nurses, physicians, physical therapists, pharmacists, and more. We cover a broad spectrum from hospitals to medical offices to outpatient services to eye surgery centers to university settings. We focus on rehabilitation, nursing homes, home care, hospice as well as men’s health, women’s heath, and pediatrics.
