Delirium tremens: symptoms, treatment at home with folk remedies and medications

What is delirium tremens

“Squirrel” is a very common phenomenon!

The disorder occurs as a result of abrupt withdrawal of ethanol after a long binge, and is accompanied by clouding of mind, panic attacks, attacks of delirium and anxiety, fever and chills, lack of normal sleep, and hallucinations of various kinds.

Protein in alcoholics rarely occurs during intoxication. Most often, it appears in a sober state, on the 2nd - 5th day, from the moment a person stops drinking. The state of delirium after binge drinking is a dangerous disease. One of the danger factors is that a delirious person can harm himself.

Hallucinations after binge drinking are more active at night. During the day, a person may briefly regain consciousness, and then again plunge into states of delirium and panic.

In some cases of delirium tremens, an alcoholic may behave relatively calmly and friendly, realizing that he is sick, but even in this case, the danger of the disease is still extremely high without treatment and supervision. It is extremely difficult to get rid of a squirrel on your own.

How do doctors recommend treatment?

Doctors categorically do not recommend treating delirium tremens at home. Because a person who is in a state of delirium tremens has the ability to experience sound and auditory hallucinations, therefore, he can be very dangerous to society. Doctors recommend that relatives of a patient who has delirium tremens act according to the standard scheme, namely as follows:

try not to sharply deny what the person says;
try not to let the alcoholic leave the home;
urgently call emergency medical assistance;
place the patient in a hospital and treat him there with medication.

Only in a hospital setting do they know how to treat delirium tremens correctly and have a large supply of necessary medications for this. To bring a person out of this state, all toxic substances must be eliminated from his body, and only after that the brain will be able to work again at a normal pace.

It is also possible to get rid of delirium tremens at home, but it will be very difficult to cope with this kind of condition of a dependent person, and this should be taken into account. In the hospital they know what medications and in what quantities should be given to patients, but at home, the addict’s relatives may get confused and do some procedure not quite correctly.

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Causes

Hallucinations in alcoholism appear as a consequence of impaired brain function resulting from severe ethanol intoxication. Delirium from alcohol usually affects people who use it systematically for many years. However, it can also be encountered by relatively light drinkers who, by chance, fell into a binge (for example, during the long May or New Year holidays) and suddenly came out of it.

It is the sudden refusal of alcohol, against the backdrop of prolonged drinking, that is the main factor provoking delirium. The body experiences severe alcohol withdrawal, similar to drug withdrawal. The brain of an alcoholic begins to malfunction due to oxygen starvation against the background of prolonged ethanol intoxication, which manifests itself in severe hallucinations, emotional and physiological changes, and anxiety attacks.

Symptoms of delirium tremens after binge drinking

The painful state of delirium begins with the appearance of neurological disorders. Tremors occur, speech deteriorates, and headaches appear. With delirium tremens, convulsions may occur throughout the body.

Possible auditory and visual hallucinations

The first mental deviations manifest themselves as a general anxious state with periodic acute attacks of anxiety and fear. In parallel with this, the alcoholic’s sleep worsens (and then completely disappears), and nightmares appear.

Further, the psyche becomes more and more out of control, and hallucinations appear. A person begins to see various creatures, animals, devils, fantastic monsters, feel the presence of insects on the skin, hear voices, music, etc. The nature of hallucinations is individual for each person, but the brightness and realism of the images is almost always very high.

Unhealthy visual effects are perceived mainly through peripheral vision and are in constant motion. A person constantly imagines various kinds of creatures crawling, running, and flying past him, but it is difficult to focus on them with frontal vision.

In parallel with hallucinations, attacks of delirium, persecution mania, and a craving for inappropriate actions and behavior occur.

The attacks of delirium periodically recede, and panic and fear are replaced by moments of calm and calm, but later the symptoms recur again.

Such conditions are accompanied by severe physical and emotional exhaustion.

How to treat the disorder

If a person has delirium tremens, he needs to be hospitalized. Even if he seems not violent and relatively calm, the situation can change at any moment. In this state, a person poses a danger to himself and others. In addition, it is extremely difficult to ensure an alcoholic’s proper recovery from binge drinking at home, since it involves the use of potent drugs that are prescribed by the attending physician. Doctors know everything about delirium tremens, and will determine what to do so as not to harm the patient and carefully bring him back to normal.

Treatment of delirium involves a comprehensive approach, including:

Relieving excitement. In order to calm a person and restore sleep, potent sedatives and anesthetics and antipsychotics, such as Sibazon, sodium oxybutyrate and haloperidol, are used.
Elimination of metabolic disorders. Measures aimed at normalizing metabolic processes in the body, removing toxic substances, restoring water-salt balance after binge drinking. To restore lost electrolytes, potassium and magnesium aspartate is administered intravenously.
Elimination of hemodynamic disorders and normalization of breathing. Withdrawal syndrome in alcoholics is accompanied by disruption of normal breathing and intracerebral hemodynamics. To restore normal blood flow and saturate brain cells with oxygen after heavy drinking, drugs based on Dextran (a glucose polymer) are used. The patient is given droppers of Reopoliglyukin, Poliglyukin, with the addition of pure glucose.
Prevention or elimination of renal and liver dysfunction. These organs suffer more than others from addiction to alcohol, since they are filters that pass through and filter out toxic substances and poisons. To restore normal kidney function after a binge, an alcoholic is prescribed a special diet (7a, 7b), drinking plenty of fluids, renal herbal preparations, and diuretics (for example, Furosemide). In severe cases, dialysis and hemodialysis are used (artificial blood purification using a device that performs the work of the kidney). To restore and protect the liver, hepaprotective drugs are prescribed, such as: Karsil, Heptral, Ursofalk, Liv 52, and others.
Prevention or elimination of pulmonary and cerebral edema. Such problems can arise due to impaired blood circulation and lack of oxygen in the body. Measures to normalize blood circulation include a number of therapeutic procedures: oxygen inhalations; normalization of blood pressure with the help of pharmaceuticals; the use of vasodilators to reduce the load on the heart; normalization of cardiac output using cardiotonic agents.
Reducing hyperthermia. To prevent a person from overheating in delirium, a number of measures are carried out: the person must be undressed (uncovered); drink cool liquids regularly; applying cold and ice to the temples, neck, armpits and groin area; wiping with a low-concentrated vinegar solution; cold water baths; drug intervention (intravenous administration of No-shpa, Papaverine, Dantrolene).
Therapy of intercurrent diseases. Involves the treatment of any other complications and diseases that have developed as a result of heavy drinking. These include cardiovascular problems, diseases of internal organs, and mental disorders.

Read also: What effect does alcohol have on a teenager’s body?

Methods for treatment

Treatment of delirium tremens at home is almost always carried out using traditional medicine techniques, but there are also people who always have the necessary medications on hand. Most often, to eliminate the problem of the present nature, which lasts a couple of days, it is done by using the following means:

Tinctures of bay leaf and lovage root.
Wormwood and Yarrow.
A decoction from a special herbal collection.
Phenobarbital tablets.
Medical alcohol.
Distilled water.

These remedies can be safely used at home to treat delirium tremens, but you should not expect a 100% result from them. Delirium tremens is the result of severe alcohol poisoning, and it is possible to efficiently remove all toxins from the body only if patients are in inpatient clinics. As a rule, most people end up in the hospital and only a small percentage of addicts undergo treatment at home.

Alcoholic delirium is well treated with homemade tinctures. If an addict has an attack of delirium, then relatives should give the person a tincture prepared according to the following recipe:

take one small lovage root and two large, dried bay leaves;
pour vodka over the herbs and leave for 7 days;
filter the homemade medicine and give the addicted person 2 drops daily.

Of course, at a certain moment the necessary home remedy may not be available, which means that delirium tremens will remain. The duration of this condition is several days, which means that in order to solve the problem it is necessary to find another way.

People try to discourage alcoholics from drinking alcoholic beverages with the help of Wormwood, because this herb is very bitter. Many experimenters do this quite well if they use the following recipe:

take a sufficient amount of Wormwood herb, as well as Yarrow;
pour vodka over the medicinal raw materials and leave in a dark place for 10 days to infuse;
give to the patient not only during delirium tremens, but also when symptoms of alcoholism are present.

If a person has delirium tremens, then such a remedy helps to quickly bring him to his senses and bring him out of such a state.

Herbal treatment is useful for delirium delirium, as well as for alcoholism. Treatment can be performed through the use of an herbal mixture, which includes the following herbs:

20 grams of Yarrow.
20 grams of Thyme.
20 grams of Wormwood.

You need to brew tea with 200 milliliters of water. This tea practically brings the alcoholic back to life and quickly allows him to recover from the state of alcoholic delirium.

Many experts argue that cravings for alcoholic beverages are associated with a lack of potassium. Very often, natural honey is recommended for the treatment of delirium tremens, which is a good source of potassium. Use of honey: the patient should be given 6 tsp. honey, after 20 minutes - the same amount, and after 20 minutes another 6 tablespoons.

So, within one hour the patient should receive 18 teaspoons of honey. Wait 2 hours. Give the alcoholic 3 times 6 tsp. honey every 20 minutes, after which the patient can sleep until the morning. In the morning you need to give 3 more doses of 6 teaspoons every 20 minutes. If you follow these instructions, the patient will no longer want to drink alcohol.

The method of treating the disease depends on the stage and severity of the pathology. If the attack occurs for the first time or a mild form of the disease appears, delirium tremens can be treated at home, but in any case the treatment regimen must be selected by a doctor.

The doctor's consultation

Most often, detoxification drugs and sedatives are prescribed to normalize the condition. Traditional medicine recipes can be used as auxiliary ones.

In severe cases of pathology, the patient is taken to a drug treatment or psychiatric hospital, where special treatment is provided. To bring the patient out of delirium tremens, the first step is to administer drugs that stop the attack. This is necessary so that a person cannot harm himself or other people. Next, the body is detoxified. Afterwards, tranquilizers, sedatives, and vitamins are prescribed.

Important! If left untreated, about 10% of alcoholics die from delirium tremens.

Consequences of squirrel after binge drinking

The consequences of alcoholic delirium are quite severe. About 10% of all cases end in the death of the patient, mainly in the absence of treatment and care. Often, in a state of delirium, alcoholics commit suicide or die in an inadequate stupor. Death from delirium can occur due to failure of internal organs or overheating. Patients often fall into a coma.

The most likely outcome after delirium is recovery with acquired defects (physical or psychological). Each bout of fever experienced weakens the body and causes enormous damage. Examples of possible complications after binge drinking:

psychoorganic syndrome;
amnesia;
chronic psychosis;
cirrhosis
cerebral edema
dementia
strokes and heart attacks.

For an alcoholic who has experienced delirium, there is an increased likelihood of relapse when taking even small amounts of ethyl alcohol.

How to avoid delirium tremens after binge drinking

Give up alcohol

You should get out of a long drinking binge gradually, since the squirrel’s condition occurs precisely due to a sharp refusal of ethanol. The dosage of ethanol should be gradually reduced, gradually reducing consumption to zero. In parallel with this, it is necessary to carry out the above-described restoration procedures.

It is best to bring an alcoholic who has gone on a binge to his senses in a clinic, where he will be provided with the necessary assistance and will be helped to recover. Under the supervision of doctors, the risk of delirium delirium and other possible complications is minimized.

First aid

The acute phase of fever can last 3-7 days. At the first attack of alcoholic delirium, a person should be given first aid. Remember, do not swear or shout at the patient. Try to calm him down, put him in a horizontal position. If the alcoholic is aggressive, securely tie his upper and lower limbs. Then call an ambulance. Before medical personnel arrive, try to follow the following algorithm of actions:

Put the patient to bed, remove objects that could cause injury to himself.
Provide the person with a fever with plenty of fluids and the necessary level of coolness (a cool shower or an ice pack).
Give the alcohol-dependent person sedatives (Diphenhydramine, Piracetam);
Calm the patient with quiet conversations.

How to avoid delirium tremens after a binge, actions at the first symptoms of squirrel

“Squirrel”, or delirium tremens, is the popular name for the most famous and widespread mental disorder that affects every alcoholic with “experience” and is called delirium delirium in official medicine. Alcohol addiction is a disease that destroys not only a person’s physical but also mental health and contributes to the social degradation of the individual. The name of the mental disorder - delirium - means in Latin “madness”, “cloudness of consciousness”, which fully corresponds to the essence of what happens to a person during a seizure. This condition can only be treated in a clinic.

Taking medications

How to cure delirium tremens, and what pills to give the patient, should be decided only by a narcologist after an examination. It is necessary to understand that incorrectly selected drugs, as well as inappropriate dosage, can provoke undesirable effects and only aggravate the situation.

Attention! To avoid tragic consequences, self-medication should be abandoned.

Typically, the following drugs are used to relieve an attack:

Diuremide;
Kepra;
Freesium;
Tebantin.

The choice of medication, dosage and duration of therapy depend on the individual characteristics of the patient and the degree of the disease.

As prescribed by a specialist

On a note! The risk group for delirium tremens includes people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury or a severe infectious disease.

Delirium tremens: symptoms and causes of psychosis

Manifestations of mental disorder are a logical result of the development of alcoholism.

It occurs in patients at stages II-III of the disease after many years of abuse (more than 4-7 years) of alcoholic beverages:

in alcoholics of stage II of the disease after a long binge and subsequent cessation of alcohol at the peak of the abstinence state (usually 2-4 days after drinking);
Patients at stage III can also be affected while drinking.

In addition to binge drinking, the development of delirium is provoked by:

use of alcohol substitutes;
previous diseases of the central nervous system;
traumatic brain injuries;
consequences of the infection.

Unfortunately, the mechanisms of delirium are not yet fully understood. But narcologists record that in 30% of cases the onset of alcoholic psychosis can be predicted. This will help you prepare and determine what to do if you have an attack.

The fact that a patient is developing delirium tremens can be judged by deterioration in physical condition and changed behavior.

The hangover syndrome on the eve of delirium is especially difficult; due to severe intoxication, the patient’s headaches intensify, disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract appear, blood pressure rises, and sweating increases. As a result of developed somatic disorders, the alcoholic develops an aversion to alcohol and stops drinking.

As a result of the forced refusal, his condition deteriorates sharply:

Vomiting becomes more frequent.
Pain in the heart area and sweating appear.
Restlessness and irritability increase.
The fear of death arises.
An alcoholic becomes overly active and restless.
Sleep is disturbed: he practically does not sleep or falls into short-term oblivion, accompanied by nightmares.

Against the background of poor health, delirium tremens begins to develop. The process evolves quite quickly, reaching its climax in a matter of hours.

It is typical that delirium affects the patient only in the evening and at night. During the day it goes away, and with the onset of darkness it appears again. Therefore, periodically recurring oddities in behavior should alert the relatives and friends of an alcoholic - all these are signs of delirium tremens.

During an attack of psychosis, a person becomes inadequate, he has hallucinations, they can be:

Visual. The patient sees various small animals, insects, devils and fantastic creatures. They are always in motion and action. The patient reacts to them by coming into contact: trying to catch them, shake them off, press them with his feet or hands. In addition, visions of ropes, webs or labyrinths may appear.
Auditory. In a state of delirium, the patient hears invisible voices that address him with threats, curses, insults or condemnation, and encourage him to take some action. The alcoholic enters into conversations with them, argues, proves, threatens or asks them to leave them alone. He can also simply hear screams of horror or cries for help.
Tactile. During such hallucinations, the alcoholic realistically experiences beings or animals touching, biting, or crawling over the body. The most typical manifestation of such hallucinations is the sensation of a foreign object in the mouth.

Hallucinations can be either one type or mixed, abstract, or repeat a familiar plot from life, films or books. The patient himself becomes a central figure in them or is present as a spectator.

In addition to visions and voices, delirious alcoholics are also characterized by the appearance of illusions. The alcoholic sees the real picture of the room, but in his imagination creatures appear from the walls or wallpaper, objects change size and shape, begin to speak or move.

General recommendations regarding treatment at home

Many people treat delirium tremens syndrome at home. At the same time, very often a person is offered to drink alcohol, although it is given in minimal doses. To treat delirium tremens at home, people need to know the following facts:

if the patient has become too aggressive, no home treatment will help him;
when using traditional medicine recipes, all dosages should be clearly taken into account;
do not use any questionable medications;
think about further hospitalization of the patient in order to remove all toxins from his body.

Everyone should know what to do at home, but one should not neglect the competent assistance of qualified doctors.

Treating delirium tremens at home will be quite difficult. If a person is not sure that he will be able to do this at home, then it is worth calling the hospital and still spending several days in a hospital setting. Only in this way will it be possible to solve the problem as quickly as possible and insure yourself against many complications. Of course, to completely stop drinking alcoholic beverages, a person will need a lot of time and a lot of willpower, but drug treatment also means a lot.

At home, qualitatively, you can only get rid of the vivid symptoms of delirium tremens, but it is still better to treat the consequences of alcoholism in a hospital setting. Under the supervision of medical specialists, the patient will be given all necessary medications. Here we should not forget that an alcoholic will require competent psychological rehabilitation. This type of rehabilitation is also actively practiced in specialized medical institutions.

Treating delirium tremens at home is not advisable, but many people do not want to send their loved ones to the hospital. If home treatment methods are already used, then they should be used very carefully. Dealing with a patient suffering from delirium tremens is very difficult, so it is best to leave this task to qualified medical professionals.

Treatment of delirium tremens and removal of toxins from the body is quite lengthy, but the result is worth it. A couple of days before delirium tremens, you can notice certain symptoms in an alcoholic, with which you can prevent such a condition or prepare for it. All the necessary means for therapy should always be at hand, but no one knows whether it will be possible to force the patient to take the drugs. That is why it is better to solve such problems in the hospital, rather than try to do something about it yourself. Treatment must be carried out as correctly as possible, because only then can you get the desired result.

Risks and duration of delirium

Clouding of consciousness during acute psychosis poses a potential threat not only to the patient himself, but also to others.

It is common for people with delirium to:

excited state;
unmotivated aggression;
lack of ability to navigate in time and space. The patient does not understand where he is and how he ended up in this place, but he can give his name and passport information;
tremor of lips and limbs;
impaired articulation, incoherence of speech.

Read also: How to restore brain cells after alcohol

In this state, a person becomes inadequate, behavior and actions are unpredictable and threatening, which makes him dangerous. He can pester or rush at people, seeing them as a danger to himself, and threaten suicide. Alas, delirium tremens often ends in suicide. This usually happens when an alcoholic tries to get rid of frightening hallucinations or acts under their influence. He may jump out the window or throw himself under a car.

In addition to mental disorders, the patient’s physical condition also worsens.

He has:

Elevated temperature (from up to 38.5 °C) and blood pressure.
Dilated pupils.
Rapid pulse.
Severe tremor.
Redness of the face and upper body.
Pain in the liver area.
Increased number of red blood cells and bilirubin in the blood.

After the end of the attack, which passes with the onset of daylight, the patient calms down: hallucinations and visions hardly bother him. He spends the day in severe oblivion: the body, exhausted by the nightly manifestations of the disorder, tries to recover as much as possible.

Delirium tremens can be mild or severe. The course of psychosis after binge drinking occurs with a certain cyclicity depending on the time of day, lasting from 3 to 5 days. The disease goes away as unexpectedly as it begins. If the patient practically did not sleep throughout the attack, then with the end of the disorder he falls asleep for a long time and wakes up without signs of psychosis.

How long a mental disorder will last, and what treatment will be required, depends on the “experience” of alcoholism, the amount of alcohol consumed and health characteristics. The danger of delirium is that after the first manifestation it is guaranteed to occur again if the patient does not stop drinking. Moreover, attacks after heavy drinking will occur more often, the intervals between them will become shorter, and the symptoms and consequences will become more severe. No matter how many drinking sessions happen, each of them can end in an attack of fever. You can avoid it only by giving up drinking.

One of the most terrible types of mental disorder is muttering delirium. The patient constantly lies down, he is practically insane, constantly mutters something, makes constant movements with his hands: stroking, palpating or fiddling. The condition usually ends in death, since by this time the alcoholic develops concomitant pneumonia.

Possible complications and consequences

In the absence of timely help, the consequences after delirium tremens can be quite dire. Psychoses that last several days are especially dangerous for health and psychological state. If an alcoholic frequently experiences bouts of delirium, the pathology can provoke the following complications:

mental disorders;
chronic psychosis;
memory loss;
liver damage;
swelling of the kidneys;
ischemia.

Mental disorder
Each of these complications is a consequence of alcohol intoxication. To avoid such consequences, it is not enough to know what to do after delirium tremens. First of all, you need to treat the patient’s alcohol addiction in order to avoid delirium in principle.

On a note! How long a person who has suffered an attack of delirium tremens will live depends on age, state of health and subsequent lifestyle.

Alcohol delirium can cause the development of various diseases. Brain damage in delirium delirium is pronounced. The most typical consequences are:

Pneumonia – occurs in a third of people with delirium tremens;
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy – develops in 25% of cases, can lead to the loss of the patient;
Impaired absorption and metabolism of vitamins;
Destabilization of acid-base, water-salt balance;
Pancreatitis;
Renal and hepatic dysfunction (eg fatty liver);
Rhabdomyolysis is a syndrome accompanied by the destruction of muscle tissue and extreme myopathy;
Brain swelling.

We invite you to read: How to quickly sober up at home? Advice from a toxicologist

Delirium tremens may end:

Complete recovery;
Partial recovery – the patient remains in amnestic or organic psychosyndrome;
Death.

If we are talking about a severe form of the disease, then both complete recovery and partial recovery with the presence of various defects are possible. A fatal outcome cannot be ruled out.

According to statistics, in our country more than 10% of alcohol dependent people die without treatment.

Crime statistics are growing, because against the backdrop of delirium tremens, many commit suicide, kill their loved ones, and after the syndrome passes, the drunkard may not even remember what happened.

Almost every diagnosed drunkard dies sooner or later. According to experts, the more often such psychosis manifests itself, the higher the risk that a person simply will not survive the next binge. The cause may be cirrhosis of the liver, swelling of the brain, or serious disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system (heart attack, stroke).

Treatment of psychosis: in the clinic and at home

Delirium tremens is one of those diseases that can only be treated in a hospital. It is impossible to treat it at home, and doing so is very dangerous. Therefore, relatives of an alcoholic should know not only the signs of fever, but also monitor the first suspicious manifestations, figure out what to do if they occur and where to turn for help in order to avoid fatal consequences.

During delirium, the patient may have a fever of up to 40 °C, severe dehydration, convulsions and spasms, increased blood pressure, or cerebral edema. It is clear that it is impossible to treat such symptoms at home. In addition, the patient’s aggressive behavior is also dangerous.

Such intensive treatment is possible only in a stationary clinic, in specially equipped rooms, but not at home. The patient should be under the supervision of specialists the entire time delirium tremens lasts.

The main measures taken by doctors to stop an attack and treat fever after binge drinking are as follows:

Elimination of excited state, convulsions.
Removing intoxication.
Neutralization of accompanying pathologies or complications.

To avoid deterioration of the condition and aggravation of the disease, doctors take additional measures to cleanse the body of toxins, prescribe fortified preparations, medications to support the heart and prevent or treat cerebral edema.

At the first signs of psychosis and before the ambulance arrives, you should not try to treat the patient yourself. To prevent him from causing harm to himself and others, he must be put to bed (if he is rowdy, he must be tied up). You need to give him a lot to drink and try to calm him down. Leave treatment questions to the specialists.

To understand what happens to a person during an attack of delirium, and how he can end up, just listen to the song “Gaza Strip”. Delirium tremens is a dangerous and destructive manifestation of alcoholism. Having struck a patient after binge drinking at least once, it will appear again and again, destroying the health and psyche of the patient and bringing grief and danger to others. In this case, there can be only one treatment - in a clinic under the supervision of doctors and subsequent observance of sobriety.

How to cure and prevent

Treating fever at home using traditional recipes is impossible. The reasons for this are the insufficient effectiveness of plant components. In this case, what to do with delirium tremens?

First of all, you need to eliminate the use of haloperidol. This type of treatment for delirium can be fatal due to swelling of the brain. It is better to pay attention to phenobarbital, Valocordin or Corvalor. The drugs will help a person calm down and fall asleep.

Regardless of how long delirium tremens lasts, it is necessary to block the patient's actions in order to prevent self-harm. You can use 2 or 4 straps to tie a person to the bed with their arms and legs. This practice is also used in psychiatric clinics.

Read also: You can drink wine if you take antibiotics

To prevent dehydration, the patient must be given water. You can choose mineral water for this, from which gases are previously released. To eliminate symptoms at high temperatures, water rubdowns are done. In 2 out of 5 cases, you may experience seizures. In delirium tremens, the consequences in this case can be serious, even fatal, so you should immediately seek hospitalization.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to seek medical help for delirium tremens; what should you do in this case? The best thing to do is put the person to sleep. For this, sleeping pills are used. An important point in this case is to avoid mixing sleeping pills and alcohol.

This cocktail can lead to serious mental damage. Now you know what delirium tremens is, that it can last from several days to weeks. As soon as this condition has passed, you need to have a serious conversation with the person, forcing him to undergo treatment, since his psyche is on the verge of destruction. Do not forget that delirium tremens has very dire consequences.

How to avoid delirium tremens after a binge, actions at the first symptoms of squirrel

Delirium tremens: symptoms and causes of psychosis

Manifestations of mental disorder are a logical result of the development of alcoholism.

It occurs in patients at stages II-III of the disease after many years of abuse (more than 4-7 years) of alcoholic beverages:

in alcoholics of stage II of the disease after a long binge and subsequent cessation of alcohol at the peak of the abstinence state (usually 2-4 days after drinking);
Patients at stage III can also be affected while drinking.

In addition to binge drinking, the development of delirium is provoked by:

use of alcohol substitutes;
previous diseases of the central nervous system;
traumatic brain injuries;
consequences of the infection.

The fact that a patient is developing delirium tremens can be judged by deterioration in physical condition and changed behavior.

As a result of the forced refusal, his condition deteriorates sharply:

Vomiting becomes more frequent.
Pain in the heart area and sweating appear.
Restlessness and irritability increase.
The fear of death arises.
An alcoholic becomes overly active and restless.
Sleep is disturbed: he practically does not sleep or falls into short-term oblivion, accompanied by nightmares.

Read also: Why does your heart hurt after drinking alcohol?

Against the background of poor health, delirium tremens begins to develop. The process evolves quite quickly, reaching its climax in a matter of hours.

During an attack of psychosis, a person becomes inadequate, he has hallucinations, they can be:

Visual. The patient sees various small animals, insects, devils and fantastic creatures. They are always in motion and action. The patient reacts to them by coming into contact: trying to catch them, shake them off, press them with his feet or hands. In addition, visions of ropes, webs or labyrinths may appear.
Auditory. In a state of delirium, the patient hears invisible voices that address him with threats, curses, insults or condemnation, and encourage him to take some action. The alcoholic enters into conversations with them, argues, proves, threatens or asks them to leave them alone. He can also simply hear screams of horror or cries for help.
Tactile. During such hallucinations, the alcoholic realistically experiences beings or animals touching, biting, or crawling over the body. The most typical manifestation of such hallucinations is the sensation of a foreign object in the mouth.

Hallucinations can be either one type or mixed, abstract, or repeat a familiar plot from life, films or books. The patient himself becomes a central figure in them or is present as a spectator.

Risks and duration of delirium

Clouding of consciousness during acute psychosis poses a potential threat not only to the patient himself, but also to others.

It is common for people with delirium to:

excited state;
unmotivated aggression;
lack of ability to navigate in time and space. The patient does not understand where he is and how he ended up in this place, but he can give his name and passport information;
tremor of lips and limbs;
impaired articulation, incoherence of speech.

In addition to mental disorders, the patient’s physical condition also worsens.

He has:

Elevated temperature (from up to 38.5 °C) and blood pressure.
Dilated pupils.
Rapid pulse.
Severe tremor.
Redness of the face and upper body.
Pain in the liver area.
Increased number of red blood cells and bilirubin in the blood.

General information

Alcoholic delirium is expressed in the form of delirium, supported by not only visual but also auditory hallucinations. Alcohol fever got its name for a reason. The fact is that such a disorder is accompanied by fever and chills. If we talk about hallucinations, then more often than not you should not expect anything pleasant from delirium. Most of the time you will see something threatening all day. However, if you know how to treat delirium tremens, you can avoid problems and unpleasant consequences. This disease is rarely fatal. The main causes of death in such cases are self-harm.

“Squirrel” is characterized by the fact that it can only begin in a sober patient, if he has decided to abruptly rid his life of alcohol. There are various treatments for alcoholic delirium, but you need knowledge of what to do and what symptoms of delirium tremens will help you quickly identify the disease.

Most often, the initial signs of delirium tremens can be noticed after 2-4 days after another drinking session has come to an end. However, it also manifests itself during a drinking period. If the first alcoholic delirium appears after a long binge, then subsequent attacks come after shorter ones. Sometimes 2-3 days are enough and the symptoms return with renewed vigor.

The first thing the disorder manifests itself is a hangover syndrome. This condition occurs when alcohol is withdrawn. Most often, headache, nausea and vomiting appear on the days following withdrawal. Alcoholic delirium has symptoms similar to a regular hangover, but there are important differences.

Already at this stage, the first mental disorders should appear. For no reason, a person becomes overwhelmed with anxiety, it seems to him that something bad is about to happen, and insomnia often occurs. If a person has delirium tremens, most likely, tremors of the limbs, increased sweating, and rapid pulse appear. Temperature and pressure begin to rise.

There are enough signs of delirium tremens in alcoholics at the first stage, but it reveals itself as nightmares. Even a slight nap in combination with delirium leads to terrible visions, not to mention prolonged sleep. It's extremely difficult to go through this.

When the next stage 2 occurs, various hallucinations of the auditory and visual type are connected to nightmares. If a person gets up to drink at night, he may see something that does not exist in the kitchen, or hear someone’s steps, someone may suddenly sing right in his ear.

A direct consequence of delirium is considered to be poor mental health. The diagnosis is usually confirmed during a consultation with a psychotherapist.