Harm reduction strategies for alcohol use : Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Harm reduction strategies for alcohol use

Until you have an appointment with i-access for alcohol treatment, please be mindful that if you are drinking dependently, and are experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as shaking, sweating, nausea or headache after several hours without a drink, please do not stop drinking suddenly. These symptoms mean that you are likely to be physiologically dependent and may go into alcohol withdrawal if you reduce or stop suddenly. Alcohol withdrawal can be fatal and will need medical support, particularly if associated with fits/seizures and/or confusion with hallucinations.

Consider your alcohol treatment goal and begin to work towards this. The most important thing to do in the first instance is to stabilise your alcohol intake and only consider gradual reduction in your alcohol intake if it is safe to do so.

Your initial goal should be to stabilise your drinking at a consistent level and treat alcohol like medicine. This means spacing out your drinks to avoid/ manage any withdrawal symptoms.

Start with keeping a drink diary: write down each drink you have when you have it and find out how many units it has in it. Start measuring your drinks if you are drinking from a bottle of spirits or wine. Unit calculators can be found on your phone Apps or the internet.

Try to space out your drinks, particularly in the middle of the day while keeping your drinking at the start and the end stable. Monitor the units you are drinking. It is really important that you stabilise and maintain a consistent level of alcohol consumption before you begin to reduce.

Once you have stabilised and maintained your daily intake for one week, start to cut down slowly.

Cut down by no more than 10% of your total daily alcohol consumption each day, particularly for those drinking more than 25 units per day.

If you start to experience withdrawal symptoms, this means you are cutting down too rapidly. Stabilise for one week and then cut down by 5-10% each week.

Tips to help you taper your alcohol intake:

Enlist the help of loved ones – if they can help to measure or monitor, and keep the alcohol, it will be easier for you.
Switch to a lower strength drink: e.g. replace one can of your high strength lager with a standard strength lager
Measure out your drinks – pour the first one away.
Add water or a mixer to drinks or alternate soft drinks with alcohol
Pay attention to your diet – limit sugar intake, eat brown rice and wholemeal bread as your thiamine requirements are likely to increase. Be mindful not to overdo the caffeine!
Make sure you are taking thiamine three times a day every day if this has been recommended by your GP or keyworker.
Keep well-hydrated
Seek support e.g. via online AA meetings, telephone, 1:1s with keyworker, SMART groups and the ‘Breaking Free’ App.

Please tell friends, family and people you live with that if you experience a seizure, become confused, start to see or hear things which others cannot hear, develop double vision or become unsteady on your feet, they should call an ambulance. This is an emergency.