The Disturbing Facts of Alcohol Detox in the UK

1. The Disturbing Facts of Alcohol Detox in the UK Whilst alcoholic-induced psychotic episodes are more dramatic, in the UK most people needing an alcohol detox present to the Primary Care health system through road accidents, strokes, violence or liver and kidney disease. According to government figures in 2008, around 12 million people in the UK drink dangerously, over the maximum guidelines of 2 to 3 units a day for women & 3 to 4 units a day for men. This is equal to 2 or three small glasses of wine a day. Over 800,000 people (4 times the estimation ten years ago) are hospitalised in the UK each year due of alcohol related illness and accidents; this costs the UK £2.7 billion Daylight detox. Around 600,000 juvenile Britons are guesstimated to be drinking alcohol dangerously and unlawfully. Alcohol is thought to cause the death of 50 times more people than the use of heroin, cocaine, crack and methadone put together! Approximately 12 people die every week (2008) due to drunken driving and 50% of domestic violence is related to alcohol consumption (2007). Despite these figures there's no dedicated budget for alcoholism and access to alcohol detox in the UK is poor, only 5 in every 100 alcoholics and 1 in every 100 in the northeast. In comparison to detox and rehab access for the UK's 300,000 drug users, with a budget of £600 million and a virtually assured detox bed, the disparity is alarming. Is this disparity a reflection of the age old stigma and belief that alcoholism is not an illness, but is self- inflicted? Currently around a third of the United Kingdom's GP's are encouraging alcoholic patients to detox at home by themselves without professional help. The reality is that unsupervised alcohol detoxes are dangerous, things can go badly wrong. Another thing to consider is that whether you're in Miami, USA or London, England - a detox is but the barest beginning on developing a sustainable alcoholism recovery strategy. So what are the dangers of a home alcohol detox in the UK? There is a lack of resources in the UK and GP's are under immense pressure, so advising people to detox at home Drug Detox, with chlordiazepoxide (Librium) is understandable. Whilst there are no hard figures showing how many people die at home in the UK trying to detoxify from alcohol, we do know that more than 20,000 people die in the UK every year from alcohol related illnesses. (NHS 2008). These deaths are caused by anything from liver failure to road accidents, brain seizures to suicides and alcohol home detox deaths would be hidden amongst these figures.

2. According to Professor Colin Drummond, Professor of Addiction Psychiatry at the Maudsley hospital, South London, UK, approximately 20% of patients with high alcohol consumption will suffer epileptic fits, or seizures, due to detox and withdrawal. This percentage is higher for people with a long standing and severe alcohol history who may have detoxified several times before. Of that number, around 3% may experienced a drawn out seizure, lasting 20 minutes or more, with a mortality rate of around 20%. Another 5% of alcoholic patients detoxing in the UK experience delirium tremens, which can be fatal, if not treated, in about 35% of cases alcohol detox. Brain damage can also result because of a lack of thiamine, vitamin B1, during detox. So what is the answer for a safe detox? Detoxing from alcohol should happen under medical supervision. There are many private alcohol rehabs throughout the UK and abroad that facilitates a quality alcohol detox and provides a smooth transition into ongoing counselling and therapy. Organisations such as WeDoRecover provide independent advice on selecting the most appropriate place for alcohol detox. Gareth Carter has over 20 years experience of helping people find successful detox and addiction treatment. He currently provides addiction detox advice through WeDoRecover.com, a service which provides free advice on selecting suitable treatment.