Principally speaking, there’s no difference between alcohol rehab and drug rehab. Both these methods are targeted at forcing the person into sober living till such time that the person does not feel the urge of the addictive substance any more.
Both these rehabs entail the detox period in which the toxic chemicals accumulated in the body of the person since such a long time are removed and the person is brought back to his or her healthy self once again.Both alcohol rehab and drug rehab will induce withdrawal symptoms in their patients too, most of which will begin making their appearance on the second or third day of the cessation of the addictive substance. But the withdrawal symptoms of alcohol detox will be very mild compared to what the drug withdrawal symptoms will be. Alcohol withdrawal is generally completed with 24 hours, but drug withdrawal can take from anywhere between three days to three months. It all depends on how intensely the drug is present within the body.
Hence, the stay in a drug rehab is generally much longer than in an alcohol rehab.
The medicines used in both the rehabs for lessening the effects of the withdrawal are the same. Painkillers and antidepressants are used in both conditions.
While an alcohol treatment program can be done at home, a drug treatment program will almost always include inpatient treatment. People in an alcohol rehab also get discharged much faster than the people with drug abuse problems. They will also require littler counseling on how not to get back to the addiction.