Inpatient detoxification is essential when someone is withdrawing from drugs or alcohol considering there may be risks involved. While in an inpatient detoxification facility in Erie clients can be closely monitored for symptoms of drug or alcohol withdrawal that may cause health risks or even death in more serious instances. an individual suffering with alcoholism for example will need to be watched closely and likely administered specific prescription medications that works to prevent delirium tremens and seizures. Benzodiazepine withdrawal is another example that may bring about very similar symptoms, and doctors and medical staff in an inpatient detox facility will keep them safe.
There is not an exact protocol for each person in detoxification, because of the unique differences that each patient presents when arriving to the detoxification facility. An individual who is otherwise in good health may undergo detox for 4 or 5 days and be released without much intervention, while a different patient may require comprehensive treatment and intervention for a couple weeks. Safety is of the greatest concern, and also a transition to treatment for patients who should to attend an actual substance abuse rehabilitation center once detox is finished. Most detoxification facilities work with drug treatment programs to make this transition possible, due to the fact that detoxification is only the first step in an overall recovery plan for people in recovery.