What is Antabuse?

Antabuse is a medical product which is widely used for the treatment of alcohol abuse. Its basic active ingredient is Disulfiram.

A sensibilization method underlies the treatment with Antabuse, i.e. the human develops an intolerance of the beverage drinks. Disulfiram forms reflex phenomena which is caused by the alcohol consumption.

The mechanism of action of Antabuse is simple. Its main active ingredient changes the process of ethanol metabolism in the human body. Usually, ethanol undergoes three stages converting into aldehyde and then into acetate.

Aldehyde is toxic for the human body and is hardly excreted, and therefore, another form acetate is needed, so that the liver will process ethanol. Antabuse slows down the metabolism of ethanol causing the accumulation of aldehyde in the body. As a result of these changes, the side effects appear which are peculiar during the toxic poisoning.

What willhappen during the use of Antabuse?

The main task of Antabuse is to cause a reflexory distaste for ethanol. Due to the formation of distaste to ethanol, good results can be achieved in the treatment of the alcohol abuse.

If a person suffering from the alcohol abuse and taking Antabuse decided to consume alcohol, the following will happen in his/her body:

Antabuse interacts with ethanol in 3-5 minutes and causes a feeling of fever

• The human has red face in 10-15 minutes because of the excessive blood flow to the tissues
• Headache and hyperemia, high sweating, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness will appear in 15-20 minutes.

In rare cases, more serious side effects can be during the alcohol abuse while taking Antabuse: low arterial pressure, pain in chest, heart hurry, muscle weakness, and confusion.

All these side effects cause certain fear of the human. After 2-3 attacks, a desire to consume alcohol disappears, and the person has a negative opinion about the beverage drinks.

Antabuse acts as a stimulant of the negative reactions in return of the alcohol consumption. It does not act as a medical product.

This method has been regarded as successful and is used all over the world to treat alcoholism. But there are certain risks during the use of Antabuse, and therefore this medication should be used without any medical assistance. Consult a doctor before starting the treatment.

How to take Antabuse for the treatment of alcoholism?

The clinical effect of Antabuse becomes during the use of 500 mg Disulfiram per day. 2 tablets of Antabuse 250 mg should be taken in the morning, on an empty stomach, with a full glass of water.

To increase the efficiency of the treatment, a patient can cause negative reactions to alcohol. To do it, one shot of vodka or 7-10 ml of medical alcohol will be needed.

Forming a stable negative reaction to alcohol, the daily dose can be reduced by two time and one tablet Antabuse 250 mg per day is used.

In case of the prolonged medical courses, the patient may develop an addiction to the action of disulfiram, and therefore the dose can be gradually increased to maintain the efficiency of the alcoholism treatment.

The duration of the treatment depends on the intensity of the medical effect and individual peculiarities.

Precautions

• Antabuse is taken with high cautions during stomach ulcer, different psychosis, and disorder of the cerebral blood circulation
• Do not take Antabuse in combination with antidepressants and other ingredients which provide a stimulating/inhibiting action to the central nervous system.

A patient should be controlled during the treatment because it will be needed to seek a medical aid in case of the severe side effects.