A drug that acts as a deterrent to drinking alcohol.
It is prescribed for people who request help for alcohol dependence.
Treatment is usually combined with a counselling programme.
Disulfiram slows down the clearance of alcohol in the body, causing flushing, headache, nausea, dizziness, and palpitations.
Symptoms may start within 10 minutes of drinking alcohol and can last for hours.
Occasionally, large amounts of alcohol taken during treatment can cause unconsciousness; a person taking the drug should carry a warning card.
n. a drug used in the treatment of chronic alcoholism. It acts as a deterrent by producing unpleasant effects when taken with alcohol, including flushing, breathing difficulties, headache, palpitations, nausea, and vomiting. Common side-effects are fatigue, nausea, and constipation.
Disul?ram is used as an adjunct in the treatment of alcoholism. It is relatively non-toxic by itself, but when taken in conjunction with alcohol it produces most unpleasant effects: for example, ?ushing of the face, palpitations, a sense of oppression and distress, and ultimately sickness and vomiting. The rationale of treatment therefore is to give the alcoholic subject a course of disul?ram and then demonstrate, by letting him or her take some alcoholic liquor, how unpleasant are the effects. If the patient is co-operative, the treatment may be e?ective, but there is some risk so it must be given under skilled medical supervision.... disulfiram
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