Alcohol detox symptoms, also known as withdrawal symptoms, show up when the body is not getting the amount of alcohol it is used to. The human body works in a particular way with the presence of alcohol, and the brain adjusts to it.  Alcohol detox symptoms can range from mild to severe, depending on the quantity the person had been drinking.

Mild alcohol detox symptoms develop when a person first quits drinking, and are not essentially hazardous. These include anxiety, foul temper, constant headache, excessive sweating especially on the palms, vomiting, nausea, contact feelings of jitteriness, nervousness and  unsteadiness, irritable moods, loss of sleep and appetite, and overall paleness.

Next the moderate alcohol detox symptoms show up, and these are more severe than the mild ones, and can even be quite frightening. At this stage, it may be important that medical intervention is arranged to help the person.

Moderate alcohol detox symptoms include depression, inability to think clearly, escalated heart rate, sudden mood swings, emotional instability, constant fatigue, a bout of bad dreams, eyes with dilated pupils, skin that is always sweaty, abnormal movements of the eyelids that cannot be controlled, trembling hands and other irregular body movements.

Finally the person will be exhibiting what are known as severe alcohol detox symptoms. These symptoms usually start showing within 48 hours to 6 days since the person has stopped consuming alcohol. Severe alcohol detox symptoms are a threat to the person’s life, and if not treated properly and immediately, the consequences can be extremely fatal.

Symptoms of severe alcohol detox symptoms are fever, convulsions, delirium tremens, seizures, extreme anxiety, blackouts, muscle tremors, constant state of depression, excessive irritability at all times, complete inability to think clearly, mood swings of the extreme kinds, as well as visual hallucinations.

Alcohol detoxification can be an extremely painful process for both the affected and his or her near and dear ones. All those who are directly and indirectly involved have to go through plenty of trauma, both physical as well as psychological, when faced with alcohol detox symptoms of any kind.

The alcoholic trying to put the pieces of his or her life back together often find it too stressful to face normal life, once they are out of alcohol rehab. A lot of alcoholics even go back to hitting the bottle, since they find themselves weak when pitted against the alcohol detox symptoms listed above.