Different drug rehab centers have different drug detoxification programs, but most of them will work in a principally similar manner. Drug detox means removal of toxic wastes from the body of the person which have accumulated due to long periods of drug abuse. There are three main steps that are involved in this process.

Evaluation of the Person’s Addiction

In this first step, the person is made to undergo stringent tests for checking up on what kinds of substances are accumulated in the body. Some thorough medical testing is done, especially of the blood to determine the exact levels of toxicity. During this stage, the body is also tested for potential diseases and conditions that may be caused as a direct or indirect effect of the drug addiction. Also, since drug addiction is considered as a psychosomatic disease, testing is done to check whether the mental faculties of the person are in proper working order.

Counseling the Patient

Counseling becomes a very important part of the drug detox program because most patients are skeptical about the procedure. The scare of the withdrawal symptoms looms large too. The health experts will counsel the patient on how the treatment will be conducted and what to expect. Knowing what is going to happen helps in a large way to prepare the patient for the drug detox.

The actual Detox Program

During this step the actual detoxification is done by completely restricting the person from the drug and using several chemical antibiotics to help the body gear up for the withdrawal symptoms that might occur. Medication therapies are used to completely purge the body from the drug. This final step can take anywhere from a week to several months, depending upon the extent of the addiction.