Alcohol / Drug Medical Detox Sarasota, FL
Medical detox is the process by which a person is weaned off of drugs or alcohol in a safe and medically-supervised environment. Sarasota Drug Rehab, Staff has the knowledge and expertise to help patients, find the best treatment centers and rehabs to get through this process as safely and comfortably as possible. To find out more about the medical detox process and other treatment protocols and rehab facilities offered at numerous rehab centers, dial (877) 804-1531.
How Does Detox Break Addiction?
Detox focuses primarily on dealing with the physical addiction to drugs and alcohol (the treatment of the mental aspect comes later). This is accomplished by removing the drug from the system and forcing the body to re-learn to operate without it. When a person becomes addicted to a drug, their internal body chemistry changes. Functions and activities the body once completed all on its own reprogram themselves to only occur when the drug tells them to do so.
Detox forces the body to once again reprogram itself to operate free of drugs. In a medical detox scenario, this process is done gradually with the assistance of carefully administered prescription drugs that are meant to wean the body off of the effects of the drug and also serves to reduce the severity of the withdrawal symptoms.
Why is Detoxing At Home Unsafe?
Going through detox at home is unsafe because the home detox process almost always involves quitting the drug all at once. So-called "cold turkey" detox shocks the body and intensifies withdrawals symptoms.
This shock to the system can have two effects upon a person that are dangerous. First, the withdrawal symptoms themselves can become medically emergent, and very quickly. Dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea can occur rapidly and have serious health consequences. Some people can also experience seizures, heart failure, or organ shutdowns when attempting to quit a drug cold turkey (due either to underlying medical conditions or just from the shock). Being at home removes a person from the possibility of immediate medical care and can make a bad situation life-threatening.
The shock to the system can also cause a person to relapse from the intense withdrawal symptoms they feel. Not only does resuming drug use defeat the purpose of detox, but the process of repeatedly shocking the body and then resuming the use of a drug that damages the body itself can cause serious damage to major organs and systems in the body. This makes future attempts to detox more difficult due to more intense withdrawals, and more dangerous because of the added internal damage.
How Does Detox Trigger Relapse Without Treatment?
Home detox clearly is not the safest choice. It is also a recipe for failure and often results in relapse. Medical detox gives the recovering addict access to immediate medical care, but also prevents relapse by denying recovering addicts the chance to do so while the drug is leaving their system.
However, in order to fully recover from a drug addiction, treatment cannot stop there. Detox only addresses the physical aspects of addiction, but as you likely know, addiction is also mental. Subsequent treatments should begin immediately in a residential treatment center. Residential drug treatment allows the recovering addict to stay in the drug and alcohol rehab facility and focus completely on their recovery while continuing to remove the possibility of relapse from the equation.
Treatments like individual and group therapy, art therapy, equine therapy, and even restorative yoga all address the mental causes for addiction and aid in developing avoidance technique and coping mechanisms to prevent relapse in the future and better handle the issues that cause drug abuse and addiction.
Medical detox is only a phone call away. Speak to the specialists at Sarasota Drug Rehab, and find the help you deserve. Dial (877) 804-1531 when you are ready to get and stay sober.