Alcohol Seizures: Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention

But the relationship between alcohol intake and seizures is not straightforward. We will also talk about why it’s important to recognize them and get prompt treatment. Treating alcohol seizures involves a multifaceted approach that addresses immediate medical needs and the underlying alcohol use disorder (AUD). The primary treatment includes administering benzodiazepines, which are effective for managing acute withdrawal symptoms and preventing further seizures.

Co-Morbidities and Health Conditions Impact

While tremors may seem minor at first, they can indicate that the body is struggling to adjust, and the risk of seizures may be increasing. Experiencing an alcohol withdrawal seizure is a serious medical emergency that requires immediate attention. While withdrawal seizures are often a standalone symptom, they can escalate to more severe complications like delirium tremens (DTs) if left untreated. People who try to quit cold turkey on their own can experience seizures, and sometimes they’re fatal. These are the signs that need to be remembered, as anyone falling into these categories should not detox alone and is recommended to have medical supervision by a professional.

• Indeed, in accordance with the central role of the IC in triggering alcohol withdrawal seizures, multiple alcohol withdrawal episodes in rats facilitate the development of IC kindling (87,88).
• When alcohol is gone, however, these receptors go from over-stimulated to temporarily under-stimulated as they try to adjust to normal.
• Moreover, because alcohol withdrawal seizures are pharmacologically induced, the pathophysiologic mechanisms almost certainly are different from those of the seizures that occur in genetic and acquired epilepsies.
• On the other hand, situations that are consequent to alcohol abuse and acute withdrawal are where seizures are most often encountered.

Progression to Delirium Tremens (DTs)

This abrupt change in our brain chemistry can also lead to seizures, as our brain recalibrates to functioning without alcohol’s depressant effects. Research shows that about 5% of those who experience alcohol withdrawal experience seizures, and more than 90% of those seizures occur within the first 48 hours after stopping drinking. Quitting or cutting back on alcohol is undoubtedly good for our health, but stopping abruptly after a period of heavy drinking can throw off the chemical balance in our brain, potentially triggering alcohol withdrawal seizures. Let’s jump into everything we need to know about this dangerous and often overlooked effect of alcohol withdrawal to stay healthy and safe.

Considerations for Co-occurring Conditions

Most patients with mild withdrawal symptoms, whether they are treated or not, do not develop complications. The symptoms of withdrawal are not specific and easily can be confused with other medical conditions. Consequently, the clinician’s initial assessment also serves to exclude other conditions with symptoms similar to those of AW.

What Are the Other Causes of Delirium Tremens?

• Examples of such conditions include subdural hematoma (i.e., the collection of blood in the space between the membranes surrounding the CNS), pneumonia, meningitis, and other infections.
• Individuals with suspected delirium tremens need to undergo screening for nutrition, electrolyte, and fluid abnormalities, such as dehydration, hypoglycemia, hypophosphatemia, hypomagnesemia, or other electrolyte imbalances.
• In addition, in experiments with recombinant GABAA receptors, low concentrations of GABA were not found to affect the most abundant GABAA-receptor isoforms, which contain the γ2 subunit.
• The Reframe app equips you with the knowledge and skills you need to not only survive drinking less, but to thrive while you navigate the journey.
• A metaanalysis compared phenobarbital versus benzodiazepines for alcohol withdrawal syndrome in the emergency department and/or intensive care unit (49).

Other causes of acute symptomatic seizures must be ruled out (see Differential diagnosis), especially if seizures are focal or if status epilepticus develops (51). Alpha2-adrenergic agonists like clonidine and dexmedetomidine should not be used alone to prevent alcohol withdrawal seizures or delirium as they “do not treat the underlying pathophysiology” (79). Paradoxically, length of stay in the meta-analysis favored standard benzodiazepine therapy when analyzing cohort studies, but dexmedetomidine adjunctive therapy was significantly favored when randomized controlled trials were analyzed. Data on dexmedetomidine use are limited in alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and conflicting results require further investigation with Drug rehabilitation randomized controlled trials. A Cochrane review of studies using baclofen for acute withdrawal syndrome found very low-quality evidence and no greater efficacy when compared to placebo, diazepam, and chlordiazepoxide (38). Seizure risk and delirium were not assessed as outcomes, and the reviewers concluded that there was insufficient and very low-quality evidence to draw any conclusions (38).

Prevention of further drinking

However, there are significant differences between these entities, including the type of seizures, neurological symptoms, EEG abnormalities, neuroimaging features, and clinical evolution (Table 2). Moreover, frank epileptiform abnormalities on EEG constitute one of seizures and alcohol withdrawal the major diagnostic criteria. Of note, when a patient has recurrence, clinical presentation, EEG, and evolution are frequently stereotyped. A recent assessment of the classification of nonconvulsive status epilepticus (NCSE) has incorporated the specific electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns on a syndromic basis. Such a clinical EEG syndromic approach may enable more accurate and expedited diagnosis of particular subtypes of NCSE so as to improve therapy.

What Happens When You Stop Drinking Cold Turkey?

• It’s vital to take an individualized approach to caring for patients with alcohol withdrawal symptoms, as symptoms and their severity vary from person to person.
• Medications are essential in treating alcohol seizures, which often stem from excessive alcohol consumption or abrupt withdrawal.
• You are at risk for delirium tremens, which is a form of withdrawal that causes sudden and severe mental or nervous system changes that can be life-threatening.
• Severe and potentially life threatening symptoms of alcohol withdrawal include seizures and delirium tremens (DTs).
• The results of these clinical studies are confounded by differences among the subjects in the severity of dependence, duration of dependence, and quantity of alcohol consumed.

Second, because diagnosis points to specific ancillary tests (eg, clinical EEG cEEG monitoring, MRI, SPECT, PET) that will help define the pathophysiology (ictal–interictal) and which will help optimize ASD therapy. Third, because knowing that recurrences are frequent may help convince the patient of the need for strict compliance and alcohol cessation. Because of the risk of seizures and other serious symptoms, detoxing from alcohol should only be attempted with medical support. The amount of alcohol intake before alcohol-related seizures was at least 7 standard drinks, or the equivalent of 1.4 liters of beer or 700 milliliters of wine.