Alcohol withdrawal
Symptoms & Signs
Mild-to-moderate psychological symptoms: - Jumpiness or nervousness
- Shakiness
- Anxiety
- Irritability or easy excitability
- Rapid emotional changes
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Difficulty thinking clearly
- Bad dreams
Mild-to-moderate physical symptoms:
Severe symptoms: - Delirium tremens -- a state of confusion and visual hallucinations
- Agitation
- Fever
- Convulsions
- Black outs -- when the person forgets what happened during the drinking episode
Diagnosis & Tests
The health care provider will check for: - Rapid heartbeat (tachycardia)
- Rapid breathing (tachypnea)
- Elevated temperature
- Abnormal eye movements
- Shaky hands
- General body shaking
- Abnormal heart rhythms
- Internal bleeding
- Liver failure
- Dehydration
A toxicology screen may be performed as well as other blood tests.
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