How to Detox From Alcohol

Key Takeaways: 

• Alcohol detox is the first and toughest step in recovery — it means stopping all drinking and letting your body clear alcohol so real treatment can begin. Withdrawal symptoms can be physically and mentally intense, which is why many relapse without help.

• Withdrawal symptoms vary and can be severe — from mild shakes and nausea to dangerous conditions like hallucinations and delirium tremens, depending on the person’s drinking history.

• Detox should be medically supervised — unsupervised detox is not recommended due to the risk of complications; treatment centers offer safety, monitoring, and medications to ease symptoms.

• Medications and professional care make the process safer and more tolerable — FDA-approved drugs like naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram (plus other supportive meds) help manage cravings and withdrawal.

Question: 

How can I detox from alcohol safely? 

Answer: 

Alcohol detox marks the critical first step toward recovery from alcohol use disorder, and it’s often the most challenging phase due to intense withdrawal symptoms. When someone stops drinking, their body reacts in stages — beginning with anxiety, tremors, and nausea within hours, and potentially progressing to severe effects like hallucinations or delirium tremens for those with heavy or long-term use. Because these symptoms can be dangerous, detoxing at home without medical supervision is strongly discouraged. Professional detox centers provide a safe environment with 24/7 oversight, supportive care, and medication options to ease discomfort and minimize risk. Medications such as naltrexone, acamprosate, and disulfiram can reduce cravings and help with symptom management, supporting a smoother transition into further treatment. Overall, medically assisted detox improves safety, comfort, and the chances of continuing on the path toward lasting sobriety.

For those with alcohol use disorder (AUD), detoxification, or detox for short, is the first step on the road to recovery. It also tends to be the most difficult and frightening.

What Is Alcohol Detox? 

Alcohol detox involves completely ceasing all alcohol consumption of any kind. This is to let the alcohol completely leave a person’s system. It’s only when alcohol is completely out of the body that true treatment can begin.

People who suffer from AUD find it difficult to detox due to the frightening and unpleasant symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. These symptoms can be physically and mentally draining, resulting in many who try to quit turning back to alcohol and relapsing. In severe cases, relapse can lead to alcohol poisoning and even fatal overdoses.

While detoxing from alcohol has always been a challenge, recent advancements in therapy and medications to treat alcohol detox symptoms have made the process easier.

In this article, we’ll answer questions you may have, such as how long it takes to detox from alcohol, alcohol detox symptoms, the best way to detox from alcohol, and more. If you or a loved one is currently suffering from AUD, read on to learn more.

Detox from Alcohol

Detoxing from alcohol is the first step on the long road to recovery. During the detox, various alcohol withdrawal symptoms may occur. These symptoms can be dangerous and are best managed under the care of medical professionals.

Alcohol Detox Symptoms

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms can range from one person to the next.

Some of the many withdrawal symptoms that can occur during detox include:

• Tremors (delirium tremens in severe cases)
• Feelings of nausea and vomiting
• Tachycardia (rapid heart rate)
• Hyperthermia (unusually high body temperature)
• High blood pressure
•  Agitation
• Mood swings
• Jumpiness
• Headaches
• Hallucinations

Many people choose to continue drinking alcohol to prevent these symptoms from occurring. However, this only keeps withdrawal symptoms at bay for a few hours at most. And when they return, they are often worse than before.

How Long Does Alcohol Detox Take?

When trying to figure out how long it takes to detox from alcohol, it’s important to remember that everyone is different. Factors like the amount of alcohol consumed, how long the person has been drinking, and their overall health will all contribute to the duration of detox. Generally speaking, someone who abuses alcohol heavily can take two weeks or more to complete detox.

Alcohol Detox Timeline

When you stop drinking alcohol, your body may undergo several withdrawal stages.

It’s important to understand that while the following are basic guidelines, everyone is different. Some people still suffer physical symptoms up to 10 days after their last drink.

Stage 1

6 Hours After the Last Drink

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms generally start appearing six hours after your last drink.

Symptoms at this stage tend to be mild – here’s what you can expect:

• Minor tremors (commonly referred to as “the shakes”)
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Nausea
• Mild sensitivity to light and sounds
• Minor headaches
• Mild itching

These symptoms will typically last around six to twelve hours.

Stage 2

6 to 12 Hours After the Last Drink

At this point, your withdrawal symptoms may begin to gradually increase in intensity. You may experience things like tremors or tachycardia, a condition in which your heart beats at over 100 beats per minute. Other symptoms at this stage can include nausea and vomiting.

Stage 3

24 to 48 Hours After the Last Drink

At this stage of withdrawal, you may experience something known as alcoholic hallucinosis. This can entail various auditory, visual, and tactile hallucinations.

Examples of withdrawal-related hallucinations could include:

• Sensitivity to light
• Experiencing normal levels of noise and sound as relatively harsh
• A feeling of pins and needles in your extremities

If your withdrawal is particularly severe, you may also experience paranoia, agitation, and seizures.

On the other hand, if your withdrawal is relatively minor, the above list of symptoms may peak 18 to 24 hours after your last drink, decreasing four to five days later.

Stage 4 

48 to 72 Hours After the Last Drink

Those with particularly severe AUDs may experience a fourth stage of withdrawal with a particularly severe set of symptoms known as delirium tremens (DT).

Delirium tremens is a serious medical condition in which a person can suffer from confusion, shakes, and other psychological and physical symptoms.

Like alcohol hallucinosis (AH), people with DT will manifest agitation and hallucinations. However, DT has one major symptom that sets it apart: disorientation. Those with DTs can become so confused they pose a risk to the safety of themselves and others around them.

Other symptoms of DTs include:

• Fever
• Paranoia
• Seizures
• Hallucinations
• Agitation
• Panic attacks
• Drenching sweats

DTs are the most severe of all the possible symptoms of alcohol withdrawal and detox. It typically occurs 7 to 10 days after the last drink.

Stage 5

72 Hours After the Last Drink

It is at this stage when alcohol withdrawal symptoms peak for most people. After this, they generally tend to wane slowly.