We live in complicated times. From morning bars in Washington, D.C., opening early for this morning’s testimony of fired FBI director James Comey to this week’s news that drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50, it is difficult to deny that the need for drug and alcohol detox centers are more necessary now than ever before. If you have a loved one who is need of either a drug or alcohol detox center, however, you are likely laser focused on your personal situation far more than the drinking games of political insiders or the nation’s latest statistics about deaths in this country. And while you might be dealing with a personal opioid crisis in your home, you are far more focused on saving the singular life of your son, daughter, spouse, or other loved one, than the loss of lives of those you do not know.
In a nation where access to legalized marijuana continues to grow with every election cycle, there are plenty of indicators that the need for successful drug and alcohol detox centers is becoming increasingly important.
- Family practice doctors can serve as the first step in finding local drug and alcoholism treatment options.
- In all cases, drug detox must be completed before drug rehabilitation can begin.
- Numbers indicate that more than 5,000 visits to emergency rooms every day are attributed to drug abuse.
- Deciding on a detox doctor or deciding on a detox center can be the first step on the road to recovery.
- In the case of four in five new heroin users, their drug history started with stared misusing prescription painkillers.
- Notably, only about 10% to 20% of alcoholics have alcohol withdrawal that is severe enough to require medication and monitoring.
- Given that the most vulnerable to problem drinking are young adults between the ages of 18 and 29, it often requires the assistance of parents for these patients to find the most hopeful treatment options.
- Having delirium tremens (DTs) can be a life-threatening condition involving sudden and severe mental or nervous system changes. The DTs usually develop within 48 to 96 hours after the last drink, but it is also possible to experience DTs as many as 10 days after drinking.
- Estimates indicate that 10% of U.S. children live with a parent with alcohol problems.
- Life with an addict can be stressful, expensive, and harmful.
- Patients dealing with alcohol addiction, on average, receive treatment eight years after the age at when they first develop the condition.
- Families with a member who has an alcohol or drug addict live a complicated life, with fear of the future, as well as fear of present day to day events.
- One telling statistic is that of those emergency room patients admitted for injuries, 47% tested positive for alcohol, and 35% were intoxicated. Of those patients who were intoxicated, 75% showed signs of chronic alcoholism.
- Roughly 20% of college students meet the criteria for an Alcohol Use Disorder.
- Although people over the age of 65 are the least susceptible to alcohol addiction problems, even older Americans can find themselves in need of viable treatment options.
- Drugs like heroin, which have shorter half-libes, have shorter-acting, withdrawal symptoms which can begin six to 12 hours after the last dose. Longer acting drugs such as methadone, LAAM, or buprenorphine, however, have symptoms that may take anywhere from one to two days to present.
- Drugs like short acting opioids have withdrawal symptoms that typically peak within one to three days and normally taper off over the course of a week. Chronic symptoms such as insomnia, anxiety, and dysphoria may last for weeks or months following initial withdrawal.
- In the year 2015, an estimated 21,000 adolescents had used heroin in the past year, and an estimated 5,000 were current heroin users. In addition, an estimated 6,000 adolescents had a heroin use disorder in 2014.
- Chemical examinations indicate that there are three main types of active ingredients in FDA approved medications to treat opioid dependency: methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone.
- The family that is looking at drug or alcohol detox centers for a loved one is desperate for both solutions and survival skills.
- Statistics indicate that drug overdose was the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. in the year 2015, and continues to be a threat to lives today.