Antabuse is an off-white powder with no odour or taste. It is primarily used to treat alcohol abuse and as a combination drug for cancer and scabies. These days, it is mainly used in combination with more potent treatment options due to the negative take-up of the drug. It’s rare to find someone who becomes addicted to it, but it does happen.
The highly controlled nature of the drug means that it rarely hits the streets in its purest forms. Even today, however, patients can still receive Antabuse from their local doctor. This will mainly occur when someone has a problem with alcoholism. Antabuse makes the body even more sensitive to alcohol than before; it means that drinking alcohol can cause a severe hangover in as little as 30 minutes. In theory, this stops the person from drinking.
The Addiction
Antabuse could still promote addiction, though. The negative feelings felt by an alcoholic after ingesting their substance of choice can prompt them to continue drinking in an attempt to eliminate their bad feelings. Sometimes they might even seek out other drugs as a direct result of the Antabuse effect. Studies have shown how the drug has little impact on increased abstinence rates, so few clinics utilise it.
Treating an Antabuse Addiction
The drug is extremely dangerous and can cause complete circulatory collapse if used in the wrong doses. It seriously affects people who have pre-existing liver and kidney damage. Treating an addiction to Antabuse normally comes in the form of treating the underlying condition. If the patient started using it as part of an alcohol addiction, the clinic will respond by creating a treatment programme that targets the root of their alcohol addiction. They will seek to swap any medications to reduce the cravings for Antabuse. By carefully monitoring their progress within a controlled addiction treatment facility, professional physicians can step in if there are any complications with withdrawal symptoms.
