A history of the patient's drug or alcohol use can be helpful in predicting the severity of withdrawal symptoms.
Serious alcohol withdrawal can produce delirium tremens (DTs) which involves profound confusion, hallucinations, and severe autonomic nervous system over-activity.
The number of emergency room visits involving nonmedical use of pharmaceuticals has increased 98.4 percent between 2004 and 2009, from 627,291 visits to 1,244,679.
When someone drunks alcohol, it goes into their bloodstream where it affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), which controls virtually all body functions.