Any attempt to stop drinking alcohol is not a decision to be taken lightly. This is especially true if drinking alcohol has become an everyday habit, regardless of how much is consumed.
With regular alcohol consumption the body and brain experience physical changes that can lead to altered functioning and organ damage. To compensate, the body’s chemistry changes to account for the presence of alcohol in the system.
In short, the body becomes dependent on alcohol and when alcohol is no longer present the body goes into withdrawal immediately.
At its worst, withdrawal symptoms include hallucinations, seizures, and/or delirium tremens (DT). When withdrawal includes these symptoms, treatment generally requires close medical supervision. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances, when present, are often treated using intravenous fluids (IV). Depending on the person’s state of anxiety or agitation benzodiazepines, a type of tranquilizer, may also be prescribed.2
In less severe cases, alcohol withdrawal might be managed through a process that is less closely monitored and includes tapering off or cutting back on the amount of alcohol consumed over time. Tapering off happens over weeks and can include symptoms that include:
Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances experienced during withdrawal are often treated using electrolyte beverages.
Alcohol withdrawal symptoms often begin within hours of the last drink taken. Symptoms can come and go throughout withdrawal. Over time, the body’s chemistry adjusts to the absence of alcohol eventually recovering, some if not all of its affected functions.
The more discomfort the person endures the harder it is to get all the way through the treatment. This can result in the person relapsing and returning to consuming alcohol.
Alcohol Disrupts Electrolyte Balance and Hydration
Because of its diuretic effect, simply consuming alcohol can lead to dehydration. A person does not have to consume alcohol to excess to experience this effect. Anyone entering alcohol withdrawal is likely to be dehydrated and should have their hydration levels and electrolyte balance monitored and managed throughout treatment.
The physical effects of alcohol consumption on the body undermine several bodily functions which can lead to dehydration. Alcohol consumption can lead to stomach:
All of which can result in dehydration and lead to electrolyte imbalance.4
Once a person stops consuming alcohol, in fact within a few hours or up to several days after their last drink, they can experience nausea, vomiting, and/or sweating—which can also lead to dehydration and electrolyte imbalance.5 For people who drink heavily, dehydration may be present in symptoms that, at first glance, might not appear to be related. For example:
Electrolyte imbalance itself is a common cause of delirium. 7
Hydration issues can also undermine nutritional absorption and show up as malnutrition.
Hydration Plays a Key Role in Managing Alcohol Withdrawal
Restoring and maintaining hydration and electrolyte balance plays an important role in managing alcohol withdrawal symptoms and recovery.
Whatever treatment approach is used for alcohol withdrawal, monitoring and managing hydration levels remains a concern. Proper alcohol withdrawal management includes “reducing the risk of dehydration, electrolyte, and nutritional imbalance” 9 For the treatment to be effective “electrolyte imbalances must be promptly corrected…” 10
By maintaining good hydration levels, the person going through treatment can expect some relief from withdrawal symptoms. In the short term, alleviating symptoms helps to avoid relapses caused by the discomfort that comes with alcohol withdrawal. In the long term, proper hydration supports physical and functional recovery by restoring electrolyte balance.
Electrolyte Beverages Support Successful Alcohol Withdrawal
Electrolyte products, like Sqwincher®, provide facilities convenient and cost-effective oral electrolyte solutions for people going through alcohol withdrawal treatment to recover and maintain proper hydration levels. Sqwincher® is formulated to address people’s daily need for hydration by providing a tasty electrolyte beverage available in a variety of flavors and also in zero-sugar and low-calorie formulas.
- Alcohol Withdrawal: What Are The Signs? | Symptoms & Timeline. (2019). Alcohol.Org. https://www.alcohol.org/treatment-types/withdrawal-signs/
- Sachdeva, A. (2015). Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Benzodiazepines and Beyond. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2015/13407.6538
- Alcohol Withdrawal: What Are The Signs? | Symptoms & Timeline. (2019). Alcohol.Org.
https://www.alcohol.org/treatment-types/withdrawal-signs/ - Pietrangelo, A., & Holland, K. (2014). 23 Effects of Alcohol on Your Body. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/alcohol/effects-on-body#1
- Boskey, E. (2018, April 23). Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome. Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/alcoholism/withdrawal
- Pietrangelo, A., & Holland, K. (2014). 23 Effects of Alcohol on Your Body. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/alcohol/effects-on-body#1
- Sachdeva, A. (2015). Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Benzodiazepines and Beyond. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2015/13407.6538
- Sachdeva, A. (2015). Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Benzodiazepines and Beyond. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2015/13407.6538
- Alcohol withdrawal management: SA Health. (n.d.). www.Sahealth.Sa.Gov.Au.
Retrieved March 10, 2020, from https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/Public%20Content/SA%20Health%20Internet/Clinical%20Resources/Clinical%20Programs%20and%20Practice%20Guidelines/Substance%20misuse%20and%20dependence/Substance%20withdrawal%20management/Alcohol%20withdrawal%20management - Sachdeva, A. (2015). Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome: Benzodiazepines and Beyond. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH. https://doi.org/10.7860/jcdr/2015/13407.6538
