Detox is the process by which the toxins present in the body are removed. When a person takes to drugs or alcohol for a prolonged period of time, the body gets accustomed to these toxins. Detox is the process through which these toxins are removed from the body, either through the medical treatment or through the physiological process.

Detoxification is not a treatment to the problem of addiction in itself but is rather a way to cope up with the non-use of drugs till the time the person becomes accustomed not to get back to these. So, in a way, this gives or allows the addict the time to shed away drugs and do not get back to these again. Buying this time is crucial since the sudden stoppage of drugs or alcohol could result in grave withdrawal symptoms and can even be fatal for the person.

Alcohol and drug abuse are the two most commonly prevalent addictions and medical and physiological detoxification are used as intervening methods to rid the body of the toxins. In case of alcohol, the treatments other than the detoxification need to be undergone in order to be able to come out of addiction. In case of drugs, the use of detox methods is done to prevent the withdrawal symptoms from being effective so that the addict is able to stop his tendencies to retake to drugs.

It needs to be understood that detox is not necessarily through medications. It could even be without the use of drugs. Drug detox can even be done using the community participation with or without the medical intervention.