Alcohol detoxification

As such, the term "detoxification" may be somewhat of a misnomer since the process need not refer exclusively to the removal of toxic substances from the body.

Symptoms can be behavioural (anxiety, agitation, irritability), neurological (tremor, hallucinations, increased risk of seizures), and physical (changes in heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, nausea).

[6] Benzodiazepines such as chlordiazepoxide (Librium), diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan) or oxazepam (Serax) are the most commonly used drugs used to reduce alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

There are several treatment patterns in which it is used:[medical citation needed] Dosing of the benzodiazepines can be guided by the CIWA scale.

[13] Over 20,000 cases of the alcoholic withdrawal state have been successfully treated with psychotropic analgesic nitrous oxide (PAN) in South Africa and Finland.

The technique thus reduces the danger of secondary addiction to benzodiazepines, which can be a real problem amongst alcoholics who have been treated with these agents.