Antabuse, also known as disulfiram, was the first medication approved in the United States for helping problem drinkers remain sober. It was originally developed by a pharmaceutical company in Denmark to treat parasitic infestations. The drug’s interaction with alcohol was discovered accidentally in 1948.
Antabuse works by causing a severe physical reaction if alcohol is consumed while taking the drug. The longer the drug is taken, the more effective it becomes and the more severe the reaction. Antabuse needs to be taken daily.
Antabuse Treatment for Alcoholism
Antabuse is intended to be used by people who have already stopped drinking for at least 12 hours. The negative reactions it produces when someone taking it consumes alcohol can vary widely.
Long-Term Antabuse Treatment Shows Big Results
A nine-year study of chronic alcoholics in Europe, where alcohol-deterrent drugs such as Antabuse are more widely used than in the United States, revealed that the psychological effects of long-term treatment, along with the physical effects of Antabuse, can produce abstinence rates of more than 50 percent.
Are There Other Medical Treatments for Alcoholism?
There are other medications designed to help people stop drinking, or more specifically, not start again. They work in different ways than Antabuse.