What is Drug Detox?

Drug detox is an abbreviation of the word detoxification. Detoxification refers to the process in which a person eliminates all traces of an addictive substance from his or her body. The process begins with the person ceasing the use of the addictive substance, and it ends with that person’s body and mind returning to normal functioning. This process can last from 72 hours to as long as several months for full body and mind restoration. During the course of detoxification, the affected party may suffer from a wide variety of withdrawal symptoms as the body adjusts to not having the substance. Such withdrawal symptoms include nausea, vomiting, muscle cramps, irritability, diarrhea, hallucinations, delusions, depression, chills, anxiety, and restless leg syndrome. Additional withdrawal symptoms may occur in different people. The symptoms and severity of it vary, but some of the worse cases of detox is of those withdrawing from opiates. Opiate addiction is a serious problem that affects many people across the world. The problem is not just restricted to the United States. The following statistics depict the severity and the massive use of substances that either are derived from or are similar to opium:

• More than 13.5 million people across the globe use opioids.
• More than 9.2 million people in the world have a problem with heroin.
• Heroin use accounts for more than 18 percent of drug and alcohol facility admissions.
• Over 900,000 people in the United States currently use heroin.
• Opiates were involved in 80 percent of European drug-related deaths.
• Over 93 percent of the world's opium supply came from places like Afghanistan.

What is Opiate Addiction?

Opiate addiction is the physical and psychological dependence upon any drug within the opioid family. A person can be addicted to heroin or prescription pain medications such as codeine, oxycodone, or hydrocodone. When a person is addicted, his or her body thinks that it needs the drug to function normally. The person may also crave the drug psychologically and think that he or she cannot survive without it. The time that it takes a person to develop an addiction depends on the drug and his or her frequency of use. An individual may become addicted to heroin the first or second time he or she uses it. Prescription pain pills are also severely addictive. Many people who have suffered addictions claim that they developed such an addiction from the first prescription the doctor provided. Unfortunately, these medications work well in stopping pain for people who have back problems, broken bones, tumors, and surgical complications. Therefore, even when a doctor legitimately prescribes a narcotic painkiller to a client, he or she can still develop addiction to the substance.

Opiate Detoxification

Heroin detox and prescription pill detox are similar in that they can cause severe withdrawal symptoms. Rehabilitation facilities provide services that help addicted persons to overcome the withdrawal and get through detox effectively. Some rehab centers provide their clients with substitutes such as Methadone or Suboxone, while others may use a more natural and holistic approach to treatment. The course of treatment a person chooses depends on his or her preferences, insurance coverage, and the facility’s individual procedures. Heroin detox is the first step in a person’s recovery. Without detox, the individual cannot succeed in recovering from the addiction. Rehabilitation centers begin with the appropriate detoxification method, and then they gradually incorporate additional treatments. Types of treatments that a person may receive in addition to detox include group therapy, individual counseling, meditation lessons, medication management, support groups, and aftercare assistance. The objective is to improve the quality of the addicted person’s life. Meta: What is drug detox? Detox is the process of ridding one's body of all the toxins that drugs often leave in a person's system. It is the first step of recovery.