IN official medicine There is no such disease or diagnosis as alcoholic schizophrenia. This is just a colloquial term and is used not only ordinary people, but also doctors. Both narcologists and psychiatrists constantly emphasize the relationship between the manifestations of schizophrenia and alcohol abuse. At the same time, just as alcohol provokes the onset of the disease, the disorder itself can cause an irresistible craving for alcohol.

Alcoholic schizophrenia is a term adopted to designate a combination of endogenous mental disorder and addiction to alcohol.

The causes of schizophrenia, both in a non-drinker and in the context of alcohol consumption, are as follows:

hereditary predisposition;
developmental features in the prenatal period and birth injuries;
provoking social factors;
childhood psychological trauma;
brain injury and infection;
severe stress.

All these factors become aggravated when drinking alcohol and lead to the onset of the disease.

Not every drinking man falls ill with schizophrenia, just as not every person suffering from it reaches out to alcohol. Despite the fact that the relationship between alcohol and this disorder has been established, today it is impossible to give a clear answer as to why one person’s addiction to alcohol leads to illness, while another does not.

Important! The systematic consumption of alcoholic beverages leads to the appearance of signs of the disease and its development, that is, a person who drinks daily runs a much greater risk than someone who accidentally drinks too much, for example, on holidays.

Development of the disease

From the point of view of neurobiology, alcoholic schizophrenia is just a consequence of disturbances in the chain of impulses in the brain, during the transmission and processing of information coming from the surrounding reality.

That is, the appearance of schizophrenia is a consequence of disruption of interaction nerve cells, but the cause of this disorder is alcohol abuse. Conversely, a gene mutation, as a result of which processes in nervous cellular activity are initially disrupted, leads to alcoholism.

Disturbances in the chain of impulses that occur in the brain lead to:

injuries;
stress;
social conditions and much more.

After a failure in the perception and analysis of reality has occurred, which is the cause of the triggering of schizophrenia, it develops and the initial signs appear.

Neuroscientists from the department of the University of Chicago, who study the relationship between mental disorders and alcohol, as well as the study of schizophrenia, have revealed that protein components break down in the human brain, which is the beginning of the development of the disease.

When the destruction of protein mass becomes critical, the first symptoms of schizophrenia appear:

memory disturbances;
hallucinations;
changes in intelligence;
difficulty in any physiological abilities.

With primary schizophrenia and alcoholism, as its consequence, a person is aware of his condition and intuitively tries to compensate for it with neurostimulants, the most accessible of which is alcohol.

Having started drinking alcohol, the patient becomes an alcoholic very quickly, since the lack of required quantity Protein in the brain tissue does not allow one to feel a “sense of proportion”. Such people not only drink uncontrollably, but are also unable to feel full when eating, tired when playing sports, and much more. Unlike alcohol, other areas are controlled by external restrictions - portion size or volume of prepared food, time allotted for sports activities and so on.

According to the observations of psychiatrists and narcologists, the most important thing for mental disorders is not to drink alcohol. It is much more difficult to treat developing alcoholic schizophrenia against the background of an existing personality disorder than in cases where alcohol is the cause of the disease.

Achievements of neurobiology in the matter of study alcoholic schizophrenia taken into account by both medicine and pharmaceutical industry. The most modern drugs for the treatment of this disorder are focused on A complex approach– both for the treatment of psychosis itself and for the restoration of protein compounds in the brain.

Fact! In a study of the likelihood of hereditary transmission of schizophrenia and alcoholism at the University of Chicago, 600 volunteers, their relatives and children were involved. All tests were done on the participants, stem cell fluid was taken, and the brain was examined using MRI. The most global research project still lasts. However, its very first results and discoveries are already being used by specialists to produce drugs with new formulas for the treatment of mental illness.

Clinical symptoms

The clinical picture of such a relationship as schizophrenia and alcohol has been fully identified and studied. The course of this disease is characterized by the following symptoms:

subtle affective disorders of nervous activity;
psychopathic-like periods, but not fits or seizures;
neurosis-like behavioral disorders;
absence of catatonic syndrome;
prolonged internal muscle tension;
emotional state of depression, growing and turning into depression;
anxiety, pre-paranoia, including sleep disturbances, spontaneous sweating and panic attacks;
inadequate perception of the surrounding reality;
hallucinations, both auditory and visual;
noticeable disturbance of the thought process.

The main difference between alcoholic schizophrenia and the consequences of intoxication of the body with alcohol is that the symptoms are most clearly manifested in a sober state, while in a person suffering from ordinary alcoholism it occurs during the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Urgent medical care should be called when symptoms such as:

impaired consciousness, disorientation in space and time (delirium);
hallucinations, lack of understanding that hallucination is occurring (acute hallucinosis);
sudden paranoid behavior with concomitant loss of psychomotor skills and any knowledge (temporary endomorphic psychosis).

Ignoring these signs may have sad consequences, both for the patient himself and for other people.

Important! A person with alcoholic schizophrenia is very dangerous to his loved ones. In a state of acute hallucinosis, an unhealthy person may see his family as a threat or danger to himself or to the whole world. It is simply impossible to predict the actions of such a patient.

About 10 years ago, treatment for alcoholic schizophrenia was considered ineffective. Patients had to be isolated, doctors were constantly faced with the return and even exacerbation of the disease, the symptoms progressed despite the absence of alcohol and the presence of drug therapy.

Some world-famous psychiatrists believed that such a combination as alcoholism and schizophrenia could not be treated. However, with the development of sciences studying the activity of the brain, the situation has changed radically, and today the disease is successfully corrected and treated. The most important thing when dealing with this disorder is an integrated approach, because treating schizophrenia without treating alcoholism and vice versa will not be successful.

As medical supplies means are applied latest generation, aimed at restoring lost connections between nerve cells and taking into account the lack of protein in the brain.

In general, therapy includes the following groups of drugs:

neuroleptics, or antipsychotics, of the latest generation;
nootropics or neurometabolic stimulants;
psychotropic drugs, that is, tranquilizers;
protein-based immunomodulators;
vitamins and fatty acids (eg Omega-6).

Neuroleptic drugs suppress symptoms, stop destruction cell nuclei in nerve tissues, normalize functionality vegetative sections, thereby relieving the state of tension and stopping the development of psychosis.

Tranquilizers cope with depression, anxiety, paranoia and others similar conditions, including sleep disturbances and some physiological symptoms such as tremors.

Immunomodulators are the basis of complex drug therapy, on the one hand, they eliminate intoxication of the body, and on the other, they promote the regeneration of protein cells in the brain.

Vitamins and compounds fatty acids deliver the complex nutrients into the body. They are selected individually, based on the patient’s test results. The form of these funds also depends on the patient’s condition - especially critical situations injections are prescribed.

In addition to medications, a very important part of treatment is psychotherapy, observation by a narcologist, passing all tests prescribed by the doctor and, if necessary, drip removal of toxins from the blood.

Schizophrenia and alcoholism are 2 serious diseases that can be combined in one person and have unforeseen consequences, so treatment should be carried out in 2 directions. Lack of help from a narcologist or psychiatrist will lead to irreversible changes in personality and permanent, chronic form mental disorders. A patient with alcoholic schizophrenia must be under the supervision of these specialists throughout his life.

Important! In the treatment of alcoholic schizophrenia, group therapeutic sessions are not used, physical exercise and the use of sedatives.

25.10.2017 Narcologist Raisa Fedorovna Kovalchuk 0

How does alcohol affect patients with schizophrenia?

Alcoholism and schizophrenia - two severe illness, which often occur in the same person. Their combination aggravates the patient's condition. However, the reasons why this happens are still not fully understood.

The word schizophrenia comes from Greek and means splitting of the mind. And this quite accurately characterizes schizophrenics, since this mental illness manifested by the disintegration of thought processes, a violation of emotional perception.

During long-term observations, it was noticed that patients with schizophrenia gravitate towards various types of addictions, trying to smooth out the growing symptoms of the disease. This can be not only alcoholism, but also smoking or drugs. According to statistics, approximately one third of patients abuse alcohol.

Alcoholism in schizophrenia

Drinking alcohol at the initial stage of the disease can reduce irritability, drown out feelings of anxiety and melancholy, and remove unnecessary tension.

Further deterioration of the condition can lead to binge drinking: patients in this way try to cope with the situation, suppress depression and delusional thoughts.

The following manifestations characteristic of schizophrenia against the background of alcoholism can be distinguished:

The patient drinks alcohol while completely alone.
Intoxication is often accompanied by attacks of aggression and anger, or nightmares and fears.
Some of the events that occur are not stored in the patient’s memory.
Impulsive behavior, hysterics and dysphoria - low mood, accompanied by severe irritability - may occur.

The likelihood of developing schizophrenia does not depend on gender, however, according to statistics, this disease may appear earlier in men.

Regarding the effects of alcohol on patients with schizophrenia, there are 3 contradictory points of view:

The influence of alcohol makes the patient feel better, softening and removing some typical manifestations diseases.
Alcohol worsens the patient's well-being. Psychoses characteristic of alcoholism lead to an exacerbation of all signs of the disease.
Alcohol does not have a significant effect on the disease. It all depends on what stage it is at and how severe it is. Alcoholism can be combined with schizophrenia, proceeding more or less favorably, and, with the deterioration of the patient’s condition, completely stop.

Is it possible to drink alcohol if you are sick?

It is not so easy to give an unambiguous answer to the question whether people with schizophrenia can drink alcohol at all. Alcoholic drinks themselves cause absolute harm to the body, disrupting the functioning of all its systems, including the nervous system, and negatively affecting mental condition. Even if a schizophrenic drinks non-alcoholic beer, this can have a negative impact on his condition, since there is a small amount of alcohol there. As for dry red wine, it is an alcoholic drink, and, therefore, the consequences of taking it can be unpredictable. When a person has a diagnosis of schizophrenia, alcohol is undesirable.

As was established during medical research, schizophrenia is not a single disease, but a collection separate forms. There is certainly a connection between alcohol and the condition of drinking patients. The form of the disease we are dealing with determines how schizophrenia develops against the background of alcoholism.

Paranoid is the most common form, which is characterized by persistent delusions, persecution mania, hallucinations, most often auditory (patients can hear voices giving commands, threatening). Such schizophrenic symptoms are called productive. The combination with alcoholism causes an increase in productive symptoms. At the same time, painful changes affecting the personality are smoothed out.
Simple - with this form there are no delusional thoughts and hallucinations. Happening gradual decline ability to work, the appearance of strange behavior, apathy.
Schizotypal disorder or, as it is also called, low-grade schizophrenia characterized by the patient's excessive suspicion, emotional coldness, and detailed thinking. Occasionally, hallucinations and depersonalization may occur. In combination with alcoholism, it leads to a more pronounced manifestation of deviations in behavior, inadequacy in the expression of emotions, and an increase in the feeling of tension in patients.

Alcohol-induced schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is an endogenous disease, i.e. conditional internal reasons, most likely hereditary, genetic. An important conclusion follows from this that it can only develop in those who have a corresponding predisposition.

Therefore, strictly speaking, there is no such thing medical term like alcoholic schizophrenia, but it is often used to refer to schizophrenia resulting from prolonged drinking. Alcohol addiction simply causes the development of a disease that for the time being did not manifest itself, but was still predetermined by internal factors.

After prolonged alcohol poisoning during binge drinking, symptoms and signs mental illness often manifest as alcohol syndrome:

Psychosis characterized by delusions of persecution special purpose sick, pathological jealousy. It manifests itself with fairly moderate, but regular use alcoholic drinks.
Psychosis, accompanied by all kinds of hallucinations, mainly auditory. Voices begin to make accusations or threaten the patient.
Delirium, otherwise delirium tremens occurs after abrupt end long-term binge drinking. Accompanied by hallucinations in the form of fantastic unreal creatures.

Treatment

Treatment for alcohol-induced schizophrenia may include the following steps:

Elimination of intoxication caused by drinking alcoholic beverages using appropriate medications: activated carbon, enterosorbents, hepatoprotectors.
This process may be accompanied by taking vitamins, immunomodulating drugs and other therapy aimed at general strengthening body.
In addition to withdrawal from binge drinking, treatment for schizophrenia is also required, otherwise all these measures will not give the desired effect:
1. At the initial step, a stopping agent is required acute condition treatment that eliminates psychosis and productive symptoms.
2. Then the obtained result is consolidated with stabilizing treatment.
3. At the final step, preventive, anti-relapse treatment is prescribed.
Doctors prescribe a number of drugs that can significantly improve the patient’s well-being. First of all, these are antipsychotics: Neuleptil, Risperidone, Amisulpride, Trisedil, Triftazin, etc. The doctor chooses specific drugs and their dosages individually depending on the patient’s condition.

The best success in therapy can be achieved with inpatient treatment. In this case, it is mandatory to take all medications and limit the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

It hasn't been that long since schizophrenia was considered incurable. Schizophrenia and alcoholism are comorbid diseases, pathologically related to each other, which especially complicates the situation for patients. Currently, science has made significant progress and offers modern methods treatments that allow such patients to become full-fledged members of society and lead a normal life.

Similar materials

Alcoholism and schizophrenia are among the comorbid diseases interconnected by a single pathogenetic mechanism. Long-term abuse alcoholic beverages provoke alcoholic schizophrenia. Mental disorder is characterized by impaired cognitive functions, severe personality changes, and the disease is often accompanied by anosognosia, which is difficult to treat. Based on world statistics, more than 33% of patients with schizophrenia have suffered from alcoholism in the past.

Alcohol as a cause of schizophrenia

Ethyl alcohol easily overcomes the blood-brain barrier, which prevents brain intoxication. Over the years of heavy drinking, the number of neurons decreases, the quality of thought processes decreases, and as a result, a man or woman develops a whole “bouquet” of severe mental disorders. The connection between schizophrenia and alcohol is obvious - for the reason chronic alcoholism the interaction between brain cells is disrupted, gene mutations affect the activity of the higher parts of the central nervous system and threaten the development of alcohol dependence.

Alcoholic schizophrenia is experienced by young people who naturally have schizoid traits. Such teenagers are withdrawn and intimidated, and quite often become the subject of ridicule from peers or relatives. In an effort to get rid of mental discomfort, they quickly become an alcoholic, lose the ability to think clearly, and the pain increases. This is how schizophrenia begins.

According to one theory, the disease against the background of alcoholism is milder, because ethanol inhibits nervous system, reduces anxiety levels, partially eliminates obsessions. Patients resort to drinking to relieve psycho-emotional stress and drown out delusional thoughts. This leads to severe withdrawal symptoms and accelerates the process of personality disintegration. Alcoholism and schizophrenia mutually aggravate each other. Human degradation at the final stage is irreversible.

Symptoms and diagnosis

Diagnosis of alcoholic schizophrenia includes a survey, physical examination of the patient, and hardware examination. A narcologist and a psychiatrist study the patient’s history and give a referral for an EEG and magnetic resonance imaging. MRI allows you to detect changes in brain structures in the early stages of the disease and exclude the presence of malignant tumors. The electroencephalogram reflects the bioelectrical activity of the central nervous system. By using psychological tests determine the state of memory and the degree of concentration.

It is important not to confuse schizophrenia with diagnoses of similar symptoms - delirium tremens (delirium tremens), hallucinosis, Korsakoff's psychosis, Parkinson's disease.

At first, the sluggish form of schizophrenia does not manifest itself in any way. Excessive irritability, depression, and apathy are attributed to ordinary nervous or physical exhaustion. The patient's interests are limited to drinking, selfish character traits predominate, and communication with society is gradually lost.

TO clinical signs alcoholic schizophrenia includes:

Unreasonable aggression, nervousness.
Psychomotor agitation.
Persistent sleep disturbances, memory loss.
Anxiety-phobic disorders, depression.
Decreased performance.
Specific “alcoholic” humor.

Later, visual, olfactory and auditory hallucinations, delusional psychosis, catatonic manifestations in the form of stupor and muscle rigidity join the main symptoms. Patients experience problems with orientation in space, perception of reality, and lose the ability to empathize. The behavior of an alcoholic undergoes significant changes. Patients suffering from alcoholic schizophrenia are prone to wandering, apathetic and inactive. Over time, hallucinations merge with reality, low speech productivity and decidophobia are observed. In a state of alcoholic psychosis, the patient is prone to suicide and can harm others, seeing them as a threat to his life.

Treatment methods

In alcoholic schizophrenia, lost neural connections are restored and protein deficiency in brain cells is compensated. The disease requires complex treatment: reception pharmaceuticals, consultations with a psychotherapist, moral support for family and friends. If schizophrenia is accompanied by acute alcoholic delirium, the person is admitted to a hospital (narcological or psychiatric department). In case of ethanol poisoning, detoxification therapy is indicated, which includes gastric lavage, glucose-salt droppers, and administration of an antidote.

Alcoholic schizophrenia is treated with the following medications:

Tranquilizers or anxiolytics (Sibazon, Chlozepid, Alprazolam, etc.). The drugs cope well with depression, anxiety, and psychomotor agitation.
Neuroleptics. Aminazine, Haloperidol, Mazeptil relieve acute alcoholic psychoses, paranoia, manic manifestations.
Drugs from the group of nootropics. Positively affects the integrative functions of the brain, helps nerve tissue endure hypoxia caused by chronic alcoholism.

Vitamin-mineral complexes and immunomodulators (echinacea extract, Rhodiola rosea, Timalin, Erbisol, sodium nucleinate, Imudon) will help to activate the body's defenses in alcoholic schizophrenia. The listed drugs increase the sensitivity of nerve cells to neuroleptics, thereby reducing their dosage.

Modern methods make it possible to remove a person from alcoholic binge at home, which is not recommended, because... organic lesion CNS requires long-term professional treatment. Otherwise, the patient will return to bad habit. Insomnia and loss of energy are gently eliminated by tea made from thyme, oregano, and an infusion of currant leaves. Electroanalgesia of brain areas (lateral therapy) gives good results in the treatment of depression and alcoholism. Moderate physical activity, massage of the cervical-collar area and hydrotherapy will speed up the healing process.

Is it possible to drink if you have schizophrenia?

For schizophrenia alcoholic origin Drinking strong drinks is strictly prohibited! At first long binges aggravate schizophrenia, but gradually the symptoms of the disease disappear, patients behave calmer. Inner experiences, phobias become more specific, but lose their expression. Hallucinosis becomes brighter, more intense, the quantity and quality of remissions decreases. Alcohol dulls schizophrenic symptoms, but is by no means a panacea for mental illness.

Schizophrenia is an endogenous, genetically inherited disease. Alcoholism serves as a trigger that accelerates the disintegration of thinking processes and emotional reactions. The lack of competent, timely therapy threatens irreversible changes in the human psyche. Take care of yourself!

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Schizophrenia and alcoholism are two very serious pathologies, then when certain circumstances are combined, they sometimes go hand in hand, greatly aggravating the situation. However, medical experts have been arguing about how often these diseases merge and what is the cause-and-effect relationship between them for more than 100 years. Can alcohol cause schizophrenia? Research in this area draws clinical picture with a range of indicators. Schizophrenia and alcoholism occur simultaneously in 10% of cases, both among schizophrenics who suppress the disease with alcohol, and among alcoholics who provoked attacks of the disease by heavy drinking. There are frequent cases of suicide among patients, due to the fact that patients lose control over their own lives.

Signs and properties of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia- a multiform mental disorder caused by the collapse of the ability to think rationally and feel adequately. Schizophrenic pathologies are associated with errors in reflecting reality, characterized by a lack of connection with reality and interruptions in coherent speech. Patients suffering from schizophrenia exhibit perceptual disturbances and inappropriate emotional reactions. Manifestations of pathology are expressed auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions associated with impaired social functioning and performance.

The variety of manifestations has given rise to the position that schizophrenia is a disease that combines several separate syndromes.

The risk of pathology, according to research results, ranges from 4 to 6 diseases per 1000 people.

Schizophrenics often have a depressed, depressed mood, irrational fears and excessive anxiety. Patients have an increased risk of alcoholism and drug addiction, and they are distinguished by a tendency towards suicidal resolution of problem situations.

However, the course of the pathology is not associated with the obligation chronic development. There are cases of complete or partial recovery. If the patient poses a danger, compulsory hospitalization is carried out.

Currently, there are two points of view on the problem of the combination of schizophrenia and alcoholism.

Adherents of the first point of view believe that in an alcoholic patient, schizophrenia goes smoother and softer, because with drunkenness Tension and anxiety completely or partially disappear.
Apologists for the second point of view argue that pathological manifestations schizophrenia and binge drinking feed each other, increasing the severity of symptoms. The extreme degree of insanity that accompanies alcoholism manifests itself intensively after a period of continuous drunkenness and activates delusional syndromes and hallucinations characteristic of schizophrenia.

Both pathologies occur separately and are not subject to mutual influence until schizophrenia reaches an extreme stage.

Research in this area has a long history, but to date experts have not reached a consensus on this issue. It was not possible to determine the internal relationships between the phenomena. Ongoing research demonstrates a different clinical picture of the course of pathologies.

Schizophrenia and alcoholism are determined by multifactorial relationships that are difficult to study, since causes and effects are in constant interaction, giving rise to a rapidly changing situation.

In some patients, alcohol provokes severe attacks of schizophrenia.

However, a situation may arise when a person uses alcohol to overcome intolerance. psychological discomfort. Schizophrenia is accompanied negative emotions, the appearance of delirium, the inability to get pleasure, since the combination of melancholy and anxiety is accompanied by a decrease in the production of dopamine, and it is a determining part of the satisfaction system.

Alcohol activates the formation of dopamine, which makes life situation schizophrenic is less joyless and reduces emotional tension.

Alcohol as a stress reliever in schizophrenia

The emotional state of a schizophrenic becomes increasingly tense. Excitement develops into a discrepancy between mental acts and external circumstances. Qualities appear that are unusual for a particular individual. The desire to relax encourages the patient to drink strong drinks more often, increasing the volume of alcohol. Constant and intemperate libations lead to functional disorder organism, accelerating the process of personality disintegration. arise character traits who has crossed the line between human health and pathology. An adequate perception of reality becomes impossible. The personality begins to disintegrate into separate fragments.

The internal environment of a patient with schizophrenia stimulates alcohol intake. A person strives to increase his cheerful mood, tries to reproduce a state of carelessness, and is least of all concerned about the discrepancy between the arising sensation and objective circumstances. In this case, motor revival (fussiness or aggressive actions), shouting of phrases, and facial activity are observed. Everyone's on the move available funds, in order to get rid of an irritated state or insensitivity. The disease atrophies volitional qualities and does not allow one to maintain control over the situation.

Personality disorder manifests itself in disregard for social norms, the ability to sympathize is lost, and aggressive tendencies appear. The behavior cannot be corrected; it is similar to a state of intoxication, but is characterized by a variety of forms.

Alcohol addiction aggravated by schizophrenia

An alcoholic suffering from schizophrenia tends to be completely alone and, as a rule, drinks all alone.

The patient behaves impulsively, his actions are guided by random impulses. He is susceptible to affective mood disorders, as he feels helpless and resentful.

Disturbed physiological functions brain are manifested by euphoria, excitement, loss of adequate assessment of the role of one’s own personality, and speech disorders. Maliciousness and aggressiveness, increased sexuality or complete absence interest in people of the opposite sex, foolishness.

Sleep is accompanied by painful dreams, sensations of suffocation, and attacks of oppressive fear.

There are frequent cases of complete or partial loss memory.

According to some researchers, alcohol initially makes the symptoms of schizophrenia more pronounced, but over time the disorders are smoothed out. Fears and dysphoric states become less pronounced, although more clearly defined.

However, strong drinks cannot be considered therapeutic agent. A person with schizophrenia destroys his own personality through excessive drinking. Physiological and psychological condition, worsening, leads the patient to complete degradation and degeneration.

You can start with drinking and end with schizophrenia

Alcohol addiction can lead to the development of schizophrenia.

This most often occurs with patients who try to limit social contacts, because they are characterized increased shyness and vulnerability. They experience fear of destruction, so their perception is not objective, but is replaced by fantasies. Constant frustrations cause psychopathological disorders. Closed people who do not know how to integrate into their social environment are often subject to ridicule. Mental discomfort is easily relieved by alcohol, and those who, for whatever reason, are rejected by their peers or relatives, resort to it.

A drunk person feels smarter and more successful. This relieves psychological stress and optimizes emotions. Alcohol acts as an anesthetic. The craving for alcohol becomes protracted, long stage. The amount of intoxicating drinks consumed initially increases, and over time even small dose causes severe intoxication. Alcoholic delirium appears, which is expressed in tremor, acute attacks anxiety and extreme agitation. The patient loses the ability to navigate in space, he develops hallucinations that can no longer be distinguished from reality. Schizophrenia begins.

Alcohol addiction treatment

Treatment for alcoholism begins with cleansing the body of toxins.

The second task set by the narcologist is to carry out normalization physical condition patient. It is necessary to support the body, weakened by alcohol consumption, so that it gains strength and increases the chances of recovery.

During treatment of the disease it is prescribed health complex, including:

taking immunoprotectors that will protect against free radicals, increase cell activity, cleanse toxins;
physiotherapy, including physical therapy and occupational therapy;
walks that help restore mental balance.

Drug therapy is carried out in such a way that the drugs have a medicinal effect on both schizophrenia and alcohol dependence. Experienced specialists develop aversion reactions to alcohol-containing drinks. Return to healthy condition psychological methods prescribed after the main treatment.

Due to the inability of patients with schizophrenia to self-control, form the body’s reactions using the method conditioned reflexes found to be ineffective.

There is a large group of medications that are prescribed for the treatment of alcohol dependence simultaneously with schizophrenia.

Narcologists use:

Psychotropic medications for mood or feeling disorders that optimize the risk of future psychosis. Neuroleptics are removed characteristic manifestations both psychosis and alcoholism, regulate psychotic tension.

Tranquilizers reduce anxiety And depressed mood characterized by depression or sadness. They also help minimize tremors and hyperhidrosis, optimize sleep, and streamline behavior. The prescription of a particular drug is determined by the attending physician.

Teas made from thyme or oregano are used simultaneously; an extract from currant leaves has proven itself.

The connection between schizophrenia and alcoholism was first described by K. Graeter at the beginning of the twentieth century. Since then, the connection between these diseases has been noted repeatedly in many scientific works. Some authors believed that under the influence of alcohol, the manifestations of schizophrenia intensify, while others took the opposite point of view and argued that alcohol reduces the severity of symptoms of schizophrenia.

According to a study by I. Shlemin (2006), in more than 12% of cases, patients with schizophrenia who abuse alcohol have a hereditary burden of both diseases. In approximately half of cases, schizophrenia precedes alcoholism. This combination most often manifests itself with, less often - with. (V.L. Minutko 2009).

Schizophrenia, aggravated by alcoholism, has some peculiarities in the manifestation of both itself and the course of addiction.

Signs of schizophrenia in alcoholism

The course of alcoholism in in this case may proceed atypically. Some of its syndromes are not clearly expressed; they are formed in an unusual sequence. The severity of psychopathic and affective (in the sphere of emotions) disorders is weak. Simultaneously negative symptoms(the damage the disease causes healthy functions organism - memory, thinking, intellect, etc.) is very unique. Productive symptoms of schizophrenia (hallucinations, obsessions and so on, which never happens normally in healthy person) are sharpened and more pronounced. Paranoid syndromes may be rare here.

Alcoholic personality degradation develops relatively late. Hangover syndrome, aversion (feeling of dislike for alcohol), affective disorders are mild. Drunkenness is constant: a person can drink every day, while hangover syndrome No.

Negative symptoms are erased. Alcoholic delirium (“delirium tremens”) occurs rarely and differs from that in alcoholism without schizophrenia. There is no alcoholic euphoria, no specific alcoholic humor, and fear is less noticeable. If we are talking about a simple form of schizophrenia, behavioral changes are clearly visible. And after a case of delirium tremens residual effects delusions (related to the theme of hallucinations) persist for a long time.

The attitude towards pharmacological therapy is negative. Often such patients avoid treatment with medications.

Disability occurs quickly. Only a third of such patients work in their specialty, about half have a disability. They commit illegal violations 4.5 times more often than people whose schizophrenia is not burdened by alcoholism and lead an antisocial lifestyle.

In schizophrenia, the risk of premature death is quite high, and alcohol consumption is one of the factors.

Treatment of schizophrenia with alcohol dependence differs from treatment of uncomplicated schizophrenia. This fact is based on the specificity of the joint occurrence of these diseases.

It is alcoholism that is often the cause of complications of schizophrenia, the cause of the prerequisites for aggressive behavior. In addition, the presence of addiction in a patient with schizophrenia limits the possibilities of using pharmacotherapy, since the effect can be significantly reduced, or dependence can form.

Alcoholic delirium differs from schizophrenia. Relationship with alcohol addiction