Family doctors provide primary health care for ailments like coughs and colds, flu, infections and more. They can also help patients with other health related issues like weight loss and addiction. By supervising drug detox and rehab, they can provide the professional support and treatment that people need to recover from addiction. Detox is a process with severe physical symptoms and should be undertaken with medical supervision. Doctors medical marijuana prescriptions can also help patients looking for pain relief.

The opioid addiction crisis
A drug addition crisis is underway. News media, lawmakers, and local emergency services are all trying to address the problem of drug addiction in various ways. The problem of drug addiction has reached crisis proportions and families, communities and healthcare facilities are all swamped.
The drug addiction crisis this time is an opioid addiction crisis, and the road to addiction begins with prescription drugs prescribed by a doctor. As many as 80% of all cases of heroin addiction begin with medical prescriptions for painkillers. Almost a fourth or 23% of heroin users go on to develop an opioid addiction.

Choosing treatment
Drug use is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. In just one year, 2015, drug overdoses resulted in 52,404 deaths. Of these, the largest number were due to prescription painkillers, followed by heroin. Over 5,000 emergency room visits every day are due to drug use in some form. As of 2015, as many as 20.5 million Americans 12 or older had some kind of a substance use. Of these, 2 million were linked to prescription pain relievers and 591,000 involved heroin.
The costs of addiction are high for individuals, families and society. Successful treatment requires the support of family, friends and medical professionals. It has two stages, beginning with detox, which rids the body of all traces of the drug. This is followed by rehab.

What to expect in detox
Some people choose to undergo detox at home, but medical supervision is still necessary. Statistics show that nearly all, or 95% of those who attempt to go through detox processes alone will fail and relapse. Your family doctor can provide the support and medical guidance needed to succeed. Detox is the first stage in addiction treatment and can have severe physical symptoms.
The physical symptoms are known as withdrawal and can be extreme. The next stage after detox is rehabilitation. Family doctors can also help out with this stage. In fact, walk in clinics offer a range of services related to weight loss, insomnia, add and addiction, and doctors medical marijuana prescriptions.

The ongoing opioid crisis has immense negative consequences for individuals, families and communities. Treatment consists of two stages, detox and rehab. Detox is a difficult process with severe physical symptoms known as withdrawal. It is best to do this under medical supervision, even at home. Family practices can support people undergoing treatment, along with other health related services like weight loss, insomnia and doctors medical marijuana.