WITHDRAWAL SYNDROME. It occurs in patients who have been deprived of alcohol (in stages II-III of chronic alcoholism), as well as in drug and toxic substance abusers after stopping the use of addictive substances.
Symptoms. During withdrawal, patients develop severe somatic, autonomic, and mental disorders. During alcohol withdrawal, patients clearly experience a craving for alcohol. All thoughts of a person are occupied only with how to get alcohol. Characteristics include sudden mood swings, depression, irritability, gloominess, suspiciousness, and shallow sleep with nightmares. Weakness, sweating, tachycardia, dry mouth, headaches, heart pain, and tremors are observed.
During drug withdrawal, all symptoms are more pronounced: anger, rage, insomnia, chills, tachycardia, tremors, and anorexia. Convulsions and severe pain in the joints, muscles, and spine (“withdrawal”) occur. Patients thrash about, cry, and often develop psychosis.
During withdrawal, patients are capable of aggressive actions towards others or suicide. Those suffering from drug withdrawal can die. Such patients must be urgently hospitalized and provided with inpatient care.
Treatment. For all types of withdrawal, vitamins are prescribed in large doses parenterally (3-4 ml of a 5% solution of vitamin B1 and the same dose of vitamin B6, 3-5 ml of a 5% solution of vitamin C, 1-2 ml of a solution of vitamin PP). Detoxification is achieved through intravenous infusions of glucose, sodium chloride, hemodez, rheopolyglucin, and other solutions. Tranquilizers (seduxen, relanium, phenazepam, and tazepam) are prescribed for severe mental disorders. Reredorm is used for sleep disorders, and barbiturates (barbital and luminal) are used for insomnia with nightmares, fear, and anxiety.
The patient is advised to drink plenty of fluids (mineral water, juices, and fruit drinks) while simultaneously receiving diuretics. Depression is relieved with pyrazidol, amitriptyline, and azafen. Baralgin, butadion, and other medications are prescribed for pain. All patients are prescribed medications to support the cardiovascular system. For severe internal diseases, the patient consults a physician, and additional treatment is prescribed to address the underlying disorders. A calorie-rich, vitamin-rich diet is essential.
Chronic alcoholism is a disease characterized by the development of a pathological craving for alcohol and psychological and physical dependence on it. Alcoholism develops over long periods of alcohol abuse. Three stages are distinguished during the course of chronic alcoholism.
In the first stage, which typically lasts several years, the body’s tolerance to alcohol increases with regular and frequent alcohol consumption, requiring large quantities of alcohol to achieve intoxication. The protective gag reflex is lost, and psychological dependence and an irresistible craving for alcohol develop.
In the second stage, alcohol tolerance reaches its maximum, and a person can drink up to 1-2 liters of vodka per day. Patients have been drinking daily for many years. Breaks in drinking are usually determined by external circumstances: lack of money, work complications, family conflicts, etc. Withdrawal symptoms (hangover syndrome) develop, meaning the body becomes physically dependent on alcohol. The essence of this dependence is that the day after drinking, a small amount of alcohol relieves the discomfort and alleviates the condition. Healthy people experience symptoms of intoxication the day after intoxication (headache, nausea, weakness), and after drinking alcohol in the morning, their condition worsens, causing an aversion to alcohol.
A hangover is characterized by reddened eyes, palpitations, increased blood pressure, sweating, heart pain, weakness, fatigue, tremors, and trembling of the extremities. Some patients experience abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. A hungover patient is unable to perform any work effectively, as they are only thinking about where and how to sober up to improve their condition.
Gradually, memory deteriorates, and social and intellectual decline occur. Patients become selfish, dishonest, neglectful of family, frequently change jobs, sell belongings to buy alcohol, and use surrogates. Intoxication is characterized by emotional instability, carefree cheerfulness, followed by anger, irritability, and antisocial behavior. Sleep becomes shallow, with nightmares and frequent awakenings. The early onset of mental disorders during a hangover, as well as their prevalence over physical symptoms, indicates the possibility of developing psychosis.
The third stage is characterized by intoxication occurring after consuming small amounts of alcohol. Profound physical, mental, and social degradation of the personality ensues. Patients lose the ability to work and often lose their families. Apathy and depression are observed, accompanied by a depressed mood, anxiety, and delusional ideas of self-blame and self-destruction. Physical weakness, dizziness, headaches, and leg pain appear, cardiac dysfunction develops, and toxic gastritis, ulcers, liver cirrhosis, alcoholic polyneuritis, hypertension, hand tremors, and premature aging develop. The so-called alcoholic character develops. On the one hand, all emotional reactions (grief, joy, discontent, admiration, etc.) seem to be exacerbated due to increased general excitability. Weakness and tearfulness are characteristic, with the patient crying from both joy and grief, especially when intoxicated.
On the other hand, emotional coarsening occurs, with selfishness and complete indifference toward loved ones and relatives becoming dominant. A sense of duty and responsibility disappears, and ethical norms are lost. The sufferer’s entire attention is focused on one thing only: obtaining alcohol. Drunkenness is always downplayed, and personal qualities are exaggerated. A specific alcoholic humor develops, characterized by flat, primitive, and cynical jokes. Aggression, malice, violence, and outright cynicism are increasingly manifest. Sufferers may consume any alcohol-containing substances (methylated spirits, cologne, medicinal tinctures, household chemicals, etc.) and often die from it.
