Alcohol detox in the UK has changed a lot over the last 20 years. While cold turkey detox was the norm at the turn of the century, today we have detox assisted by medications. The medications can help a lot.

UK detox clinics utilise several medications on a prescription basis. They are designed to help manage withdrawal symptoms and support patient recovery. The choice of medication and its administration depend on the patient’s circumstances. Providers should consider the severity of a patient’s dependence, the patient’s current health status, and other relevant factors.

Benzodiazepines for Alcohol Detox

Medicated alcohol detox in the UK primarily utilises a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines. The four most notable detox drugs in this class are:

• Chlordiazepoxide (Librium)
• Diazepam (Valium)
• Lorazepam (Ativan)
• Oxazepam

How do they work? Benzodiazepines are essentially sedatives. Their chief function for detox purposes is to calm brain activity with the goal of reducing withdrawal symptom severity. When they work as planned, benzodiazepines reduce anxiety and agitation. They also work to limit seizures and hallucinations.

Administration, Benefits, and Risks

Medical providers typically prescribe benzodiazepines orally in tablet form. In particularly severe cases, medications may need to be administered under the direct supervision of a hospital or detoxification clinic. They may also need to be administered intravenously.

The benefits associated with this class of drugs include limiting the potential for severe withdrawal complications like seizures and delirium tremens. Overall, benzodiazepines are quite effective at easing withdrawal symptoms.

Risks associated with benzodiazepines include:

• Potential addiction
• Excessive drowsiness, confusion, and nausea
•  Dangers related to combining them with opiates and alcohol

Benzodiazepines are almost always prescribed on a short-term basis. Patients are monitored so as to avoid dependence and yet another round of withdrawal.

Anticonvulsants for Alcohol Detox

Doctors also use anticonvulsants for medicated detox in the UK. They may be prescribed when medical providers don’t feel that benzodiazepines are a suitable choice. Anticonvulsants are sometimes used alongside benzodiazepines with the goal of stabilising nerve activity. The most notable in this class are:

• Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
• Valproic acid (Depakote)
• Gabapentin (Neurontin)

Doctors also administer anticonvulsants orally. They are prescription-only medications. The primary benefit of using them is the ability to reduce withdrawal symptom severity with a lower risk of additional dependence.

Serious risks are few with anticonvulsants. But side effects are common. They include dizziness and fatigue.

Androgenic Medications

Yet a third class of drugs utilised for alcohol detox are known as androgenic medications. These include drugs like Clonidine (Catapres) and Propranolol (Inderal). Their main function is to help relieve some of the physical symptoms of withdrawal. High blood pressure, tremors, and anxiety are all addressed with androgenics.

Administered as prescription medications, low blood pressure and dizziness are the primary side effects. However, there could be notable risks because of drug interactions. Patients are monitored closely when on androgenic drugs.

Medications Designed for Specific Symptoms

The three classes of drugs already described in this post are utilised generally to ease withdrawal symptoms. But sometimes alcohol detox leads to more specific symptoms requiring specific drugs. For example, severe hallucinations or agitation may require the use of antipsychotics. Other symptom-specific drugs include:

• Antiemetics to control nausea and vomiting
• Sleep aids to help with withdrawal-related insomnia
• Loperamide (Imodium) to control diarrhoea

Increasingly, we are seeing detox clinics and physicians recommend nutritional supplements to help facilitate a safer withdrawal. For example, a combination of thiamine, folic acid, and multi-vitamins is believed to help prevent a serious condition known as Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.

The Detox Environment Matters

Medication was introduced to alcohol detox in the UK in order to make the process both safer and more comfortable. In addition, it was believed that medically assisted detox would be more attractive to alcohol-dependent people. What must be understood is that medically assisted detox is governed by certain parameters. One of those parameters is a detox environment.

For example, milder cases of alcohol dependence are usually eligible for home detox with or without medications. When medications are involved, they are administered by a medical professional – usually a nurse. Only the least powerful medications are utilised in a home detox scenario.

Moderate and severe cases requiring the strongest medications are not eligible for detox at home. They require hospitalisation or enrollment in a clinical program. The reasoning here is pretty straightforward: patients being prescribed the strongest medications need to be closely monitored. Detoxing at home simply isn’t suitable.

For the record, benzodiazepines always need monitoring at some level. Keeping risks to a minimum is the goal of supervising benzodiazepine use.

Nutritional Support Is Important Too

Nutritional support is really important for detox, even when medications are being administered. Why? Alcohol dependence often leads to nutritional deficiencies because alcoholics do not eat as well as they should. Alcohol withdrawal only worsens the negative effects of nutritional deficiencies.

This explains the increased emphasis on combining medications with nutritional supplements. Detox experts turn to medications to ease withdrawal symptoms, but also want to ensure that patients do not experience additional problems related to a lack of nutrition.

Other Things to Consider

As this post concludes, there are a few additional points to consider. First and foremost is the risk of combining certain medications with opioids and alcohol. A person taking benzodiazepines during detox should never consume alcohol and opioids. Combining the drugs is extremely dangerous.

Fortunately, withdrawal from benzodiazepines can be managed gradually if necessary. The medication is slowly tapered in order to avoid rebound withdrawal symptoms that could make a patient feel worse.

Finally, barbiturates may be used in some detox situations, although their use is rare. Barbiturates entail considerably greater risk and a much narrower safety margin. Detox providers usually avoid them.If you or someone you love needs to detox from alcohol and you are situated in Essex, medically supervised detox is available. Medical supervision includes the use of prescription medications to ease withdrawal symptoms and prevent serious complications.