Alcohol Withdrawal
Resources for Patients and Caregivers
Symptoms that occur when someone stops using alcohol after a period of heavy drinking. Symptoms of alcohol withdrawal can vary widely in severity. In severe cases, the condition can be life-threatening.
Symptoms may occur from two hours to four days after stopping alcohol. They may include headaches, nausea, tremors, anxiety, hallucinations, and seizures.
In many cases, alcohol withdrawal requires medical treatment and hospital admissions. Medications may be used to treat physical symptoms while counseling and support groups help with controlling drinking behavior.
Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: 05-Alcohol Withdrawal
Diagnosis: Alcohol Withdrawal
US Patients:
World Patients:
Sex Ratio:
Age Onset:
Brain Area: May alter genetics and GABA receptors In the brain. May have prolonged withdrawal due to dopamine underactivity.
Symptoms: anxiety, shakiness, sweating, vomiting, hallucinations and delerium
Progression: Start about six hours after the last drink, worst at 24-72 hours, improve by seven days.
Causes:
Medications: Benzodiazepines but these also have negative side effects.
Therapies:
Youtube Video:
Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms Overview
Amazon or Library Book: Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Support Group: aa.org (Alcoholics Anonymous)
Resources for Physicians, Counselors and Researchers
4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED
The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis
Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.
- A phase I pilot study of a mobile education tool for supporting pregnant women with opioid use disorderby Ekaterina Burduli on April 16, 2025
CONCLUSIONS: This mobile tool shows promise in empowering perinatal women with OUD. Further research is needed to evaluate its impact on clinical and neonatal outcomes.
- Learnings from providing integrated health, housing and wider care for people rough sleeping during the COVID- 19 pandemic: a national qualitative study of the 'Everyone In' policy initiativeby Neha Jain on April 15, 2025
CONCLUSIONS: Pathways to care for people experiencing homelessness need to be flexible and responsive. Complexities such as substance use need to be approached with compassion while addressing the role of wider determinants in such health behaviours. Innovative approaches and joined-up work improve delivery of interventions and integrated care can reduce barriers to access to support.
- A systematic review of the economic evidence surrounding the management of alcohol withdrawalby Darren Quelch on April 14, 2025
CONCLUSION: To develop a more robust understanding of cost and clinical-effectiveness, we propose a transdisciplinary research agenda between health economics, academic expertise and AWS services to address the current evidence gap in this area.
- Prevalence and associated factors of metabolic syndrome among patients with severe mental illness attending Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: hospital-based cross-sectional studyby Helena Getenet on April 14, 2025
CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with SMI receiving care at a tertiary healthcare facility in Ethiopia exhibited a high prevalence of overweight/obesity and MetS. Therefore, health education and early screening for the components of MetS in this vulnerable population are recommended.