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Alcohol withdrawal - Symptom

Symptoms:

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

Signs and 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.

  • Reviewed last on: 2/27/2009
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

O’Connor PG. Alcohol abuse and dependence. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 31.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
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