Alcohol addiction treatment is closely related with several withdrawal symptoms during the detox program. Though these withdrawal symptoms are not as drastic as the withdrawal symptoms caused during drug addiction treatment programs, they are distinctive in their own right.

The simplest withdrawal signs that are observed during an alcohol treatment program are sleeplessness (insomnia) and tremulousness. These occur when the alcohol addiction is at quite a mild stage. These symptoms do not last longer than a day or two, and are easily controllable by medication. For people who have been consuming alcohol to a greater extent, withdrawal symptoms may be quite radical, including seizures and the condition known as delirium tremens. However, these cases are quite rare. If a patient checks in with an extensive alcohol addiction history, then the health officer would first start a medicinal therapy before going in for the detox. That helps to mitigate the withdrawal symptoms when the detox is carried out at a later assigned date.

The most common medications used for alcohol addiction treatment are benzodiazepines. Most benzodiazepines are prescribed on a fixed basis, but they can also be prescribed only as and when the withdrawal symptoms occur. In people who have only mild to moderate addictions of alcohol, carbamazepine can be used instead of a benzodiazepine. In addition to benzodiazepine (or carbamazepine), the patient may be prescribe a beta blocker, clonidine or haloperidol as an adjunct.

Alcohol withdrawal can be very mild or it can be fatally severe. In most cases, alcohol addiction can be treated on an outpatient basis with someone from the family looking after the needs of the patient. For severe addictions, detox and hospitalization is required.

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