The Dangers of At Home Detox and the Need for Detox Centers

At some point, a person that has become addicted to alcohol or drugs may want to stop. They may realize that if they continue to use these substances, it will result in negative consequences socially, emotionally and physically. The first important step in overcoming addiction is to rid your body of the harmful substance by detoxing. However, when a person decides to try detox on their own, complications can arise. At home detox is dangerous and can also turn out fatal.

The only way to detox safely from drugs or alcohol and avoid dangerous situations is through a medically supervised detox program. When a person abruptly stops taking drugs or alcohol, they will experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms, some even unbearable. Most of the time, at home detox fails and the person turns back to taking drugs or alcohol to feel better. The safest choice is to visit a detox center and speak to them about their detoxification program.

According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, effective detoxification includes the medical stabilization of the patient and the safe withdrawal from drugs, and/or alcohol, followed by entry into treatment.

What Are the Dangers of At Home Detox?

Some detox symptoms are very severe and necessitate supervision by professionals.

Trying to detox on your own from home can cause dangerous side effects and extremely painful withdrawal symptoms. Some types of drugs can be more dangerous to detox from, especially if you have been using them a while. Alcohol can be especially dangerous for at home detox.

Detoxing at home from the following substances can be dangerous and pretty scary for those that do not understand the process and have no safe way to manage the harmful symptoms of withdrawal:

Withdrawal Symptoms from Alcohol include:

• Chills
• Anxiety
• Nausea or vomiting
• Seizures
• Delirium tremens (DTs)
• Heart failure
• Hallucinations

Alcohol can be the most dangerous substance to try and detox from on your own. The longer a person had been dependent on alcohol the more difficult it will be to stop. Abruptly quitting and trying detox alone can be fatal if not medically supervised.

Withdrawal Symptoms from Opiates include:

• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Irritability
• Stomach cramps
• Insomnia
• Sweating

Detoxing from opiates is also dangerous to do on your own. There are other drugs that can be very dangerous too if you try to detox from them on your own. Detoxing can cause withdrawal symptoms that can affect you both physically and psychologically. The smartest and safest decision a person can make is to visit a detox center and start a detoxification program under the supervision of medical professionals that will be there to monitor your symptoms 24-hour daily.

Why The Need for Detox Centers is Important

Medically managed detox is a proven and safe choice to assure the withdrawal symptoms are kept at a minimum, or even eliminated. Medically supervised detox can also help with the cravings that many experience when trying to quit cold turkey. This prevents the person from giving up the detox process and going back to taking drugs or drinking alcohol.

Detox centers provide a safe alternative to detoxing alone. At a detox center, a person will be under medical supervision and monitored 4-hours daily throughout their stay. They have trained medical staff that can provide immediate emergency services should any complications arise.

Detox centers also provide medications that help ease withdrawal symptoms drastically, even eliminating them. Detox centers have methods that have been proven to be much more successful for a person than at home detox. The chances for detoxing successfully are much higher and definitely safer when doing it a detox center.