Antabuse

Bis(diethylthiocarbamoyl) disulfide is a white to off-white, odorless, and almost tasteless powder, soluble in water, which causes a sever reaction if alcohol is also subsequently consumed. The first drug ever approved for treating problem drinkers. Also known as Disulfiram and also spelled as antibuse.

Disulfiram produces a sensitivity to alcohol which results in a highly unpleasant reaction when the patient under treatment ingests even small amounts of alcohol. Disulfiram blocks the oxidation of alcohol at the acetaldehyde stage.

Accumulation of acetaldehyde in the blood produces a complex of highly unpleasant symptoms referred to as the disulfiram-alcohol reaction. This reaction, which is proportional to the dosage of both disulfiram and alcohol, will persist as long as alcohol is being metabolized.

Disulfiram plus even small amounts of alcohol produces:

bulletflushing
bulletheadaches
bulletrespiratory difficulty
bulletnausea
bulletvomiting
bulletsweating
bulletthirst
bulletchest pain
bulletpalpitation
bulletsnoring
bulletmarked uneasiness
bulletblurred vision
bulletconfusion.

The duration of the reaction is variable, from 30 to 60 minutes in mild cases, up to several hours in more severe cases or as long as there is alcohol remaining in the blood.

It is used as an aid in the management of selected chronic alcoholic patients who want to remain in a state of enforced sobriety so that supportive and psychotherapeutic treatment may be applied to best advantage. Used alone, without proper motivation and without supportive therapy, disulfiram is not a cure for alcoholism, and it is unlikely that it will have more than a brief effect on the drinking pattern of the chronic alcoholic.