Do you have alcohol withdrawal syndrome? Look out for these symptoms

Most of South Africa are back at work after the festive season, having traded in their daily beers and cocktails for coffee and water to kickstart the new year.

Just because you enjoyed yourself during the holidays, indulging in a couple of drinks every day, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are an alcoholic, but now that you are drinking less again, it can be a shock to your body.

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Alcohol withdrawal syndrome explained

Alcohol withdrawal syndrome and alcoholism or alcohol addiction are not the same thing.  

Healthline describes alcohol withdrawal syndrome as a collection of symptoms when a physically dependent person abruptly quits drinking or dramatically reduces their alcohol intake.

Murray Hewlett, CEO of Affinity Health, explains that your central nervous system adjusts to having alcohol around all the time over time.

“Your body works hard to keep your brain awake and your nerves communicating. When the alcohol level drops suddenly, your brain remains tense. That’s what causes withdrawal,” he said.

Alcohol abuse on the other hand, refers to excessive alcohol use or any other way that can place you at risk of experiencing physical, mental health and social problems.

Having more than one drink daily for women (seven per week) or two drinks daily for men (14 per week) is generally considered alcohol misuse.

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Look out for the symptoms

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are usually experienced after a person significantly reduces or stop drinking.

Mild symptoms can appear as soon as six hours after you finish your last drink. They may include the following:

• Anxiety
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Insomnia
• Sweating
• Mood changes

Between 12 to 24 hours of your last drink, more serious symptoms may occur, such as hallucinations, heart palpitations, fever, hyperthermia, fatigue and heavy sweating.

Within 24-72 hours, various symptoms may have peaked and begun to level off or resolve (though some more protracted symptoms may stick around for weeks or longer).

*Compiled by Xanet Scheepers