Case study: MargeResponding to acute physical risk

Marge• Marge is a 46 year old woman who lives alone and works full time. • She goes for a routine breast screening at her local clinic. Basic

screening details about her alcohol use indicate heavy and harmful drinking. She reports having several drinks today already.

• The staff give her advice on her drinking and its harmful effects.

• Marge reports that she has been worried about her drinking and is going on a health kick. From today, she says, she will not drink any more and eat healthily, get exercise and ‘take herself in hand’.

• The staff are delighted at this ‘flight to health’ but warn her that she needs to detox slowly from the alcohol.

Marge (cont.)

• Marge agrees to see her GP as soon as possible to receive medication to help her detox from alcohol.

• The staff are happy to telephone the surgery to explain why she needs an urgent appointment.

• They also advise her to reduce the amount she drinks gradually rather than suddenly stop drinkingbefore she sees the GP.

Questions

• Why did the staff advise Marge not to stop drinking?

• What might have happened to Marge if she had suddenly stopped?

• Review the evidence again if you are unsure of the answers.

Answers

• If Marge was physically dependent on alcohol, she might have experienced severe withdrawal symptoms if she had suddenly stopped drinking. She would be at risk of seizure if her withdrawal was serious.

• It is never advisable to tell someone who might be dependent on alcohol to ‘just stop’. They need to be prescribed a reducing dose of medication to reduce their physical dependency first (detox).