Seeing a close relative struggle with a drug addiction is not easy or pleasant, but it can be hard to convince an addict to get help. Once the addict finally agrees to get help, your next challenge will be dropping him or her off at a recovery center. The first step your relative will go through there is detox, and you may want to find out what strategies the center uses to help him or her feel as comfortable as possible during this time.
Medication
One of the ways they help addicts through detox is by administering medication. Methadone is a common medication used to help a person detox from narcotics, and it helps by decreasing the cravings the person has for drugs. It also reduces the other common withdrawal symptoms a drug addict may experience when going through detox.
Other medications are also used in many cases, and this includes buprenorphine and Suboxone. These two medications are often used together to help reduce withdrawal symptoms for a person addicted to prescription drugs.
Anesthesia
Some recovery centers may offer anesthesia to patients during the detox stage. The anesthesia is designed to make the person sleep through the worst parts of this process, and it may help the person cope easier.
One of the hardest parts of breaking a drug addiction is detoxing from the drug. When the drug begins leaving a person's body, the person's brain begins craving it. A drug addict will often do just about anything to get the drug he or she needs, because taking the drug makes the cravings stop.
If anesthesia is used during this process, the person will wake up fully detoxed. This does not complete the process for breaking an addiction, but it does help the initial step go smoother.
Massage and Acupuncture
You may also discover that the recovery center offers holistic approaches to helping addicts through this initial step of becoming drug free. Massage therapy and acupuncture are two holistic approaches that may bring relief and comfort to people that are detoxing from drugs.
One goal of detox is to remove toxins from the body, and massage therapy and acupuncture are both effective for eliminating toxins.
If you have a loved one who is addicted to drugs, try to convince him or her to get help. There are recovery centers available to treat your loved one, and you can be sure that they will try to make the detox process as painless as possible for him or her. Visit a site like http://www.olalla.org for more information.
Share20 November 2014
My parents taught me healthy eating habits and I played outside a lot as a kid. Once I was old enough to work, I got a job as a waiter at a restaurant and kept waiting tables throughout high school and college. After college, I got my very first desk job, and my health started declining. I soon realized that even though I had never stepped foot in a gym, I was living a sedentary lifestyle for the first time in my life. I wasn't getting exercise playing outside or running around at work, so I decided to commit to going to the gym. My health began to improve and I now greatly enjoy bodybuilding. I know many other people are in ill health and can't figure out why, so I decided to start a blog to share my health tips and inspire everyone improve their health!
