What is drug detox in Kraków?
Drug detox in Krakow is a single visit lasting from 3 to 12 hours. During that time the drip eases withdrawal symptoms and replenishes fluids and electrolytes, while medical staff monitor pulse, blood pressure and the level of consciousness. Once the infusion and the observation are over, the patient goes home the same day.
What the infusion does not change
The infusion does not shorten the time the body needs to break down a drug. That is determined by the metabolism of the particular substance, not by the volume of fluids given. Nor does the drip end addiction: it is symptomatic treatment for the first day, not therapy. The longer plan, spread over months, is described on our page about drug addiction treatment in Krakow, and psychotherapy itself on the page about addiction therapy in Krakow.
Hour by hour: what detox in Krakow looks like
The visit begins with an interview and an examination. We ask what was taken, how much and when, we measure blood pressure, pulse and oxygen saturation, and we assess contact with the patient. Only after this qualification do we set the length of the infusion. The drip itself is given at the clinic: the patient lies down, may sleep, and a member of the medical staff stays nearby and monitors the parameters.
Three infusion lengths
- 3 h for a mild comedown, when dehydration and vegetative symptoms dominate.
- 6 h for intense symptoms: vomiting, insomnia, a binge lasting several days.
- 12 h for exhaustion after a long binge, when longer observation is needed before discharge.
The most common reason for a visit: a mephedrone or amphetamine comedown
This is the most common reason people book a visit. After stimulants are stopped come exhaustion, a need for long sleep, low mood and dehydration. The infusion eases these symptoms and supports recovery, but it does not shorten the action of the drug and it does not treat addiction.
The same infusion with a home visit
We also give the same infusion with a home visit, at the patient's address, when the patient qualifies for outpatient detox but reaching the clinic is a real problem, for example after severe exhaustion following a comedown. The qualification criteria and the list of exclusions stay identical: opioids, benzodiazepines and GHB and GBL are still not handled this way. What is wider is the choice of length: with a home visit the procedure lasts 1, 2, 3, 6 or 12 hours, against 3, 6 or 12 hours at the clinic, and medical staff match it to the patient's condition. It is a separate price variant, whose cost and availability we confirm at booking.
Before we set up the drip: what do we establish in the interview?
Qualification settles whether a drip is the right answer or whether the patient needs something else. We ask about substances taken in recent days, about doses and times, about alcohol, about prescription medication, about earlier seizures, about heart, liver and kidney conditions, about pregnancy, and about who will be with the patient at home after discharge.
It is rarely about one substance
In the Malopolska region the largest group among people treated as outpatients because of drugs are diagnoses covering several substances at once: over 63 percent of patients, 2,723 out of 4,342 in 2024, according to the reporting cited in the review of the regional programme. That is why the interview does not end with a single name, but with a list of everything that was in the binge.
When we refuse to give the infusion
- addiction to heroin or other opioids,
- withdrawal from benzodiazepines or from GHB and GBL,
- seizures during withdrawal, now or in the past,
- pregnancy,
- confusion, delirium, suicidal thoughts,
- a severe binge mixed with alcohol.
In pregnancy, withdrawal is conducted under specialist care, and in opioid addiction the standard is substitution treatment, not detoxification. An outpatient drip is not a safe route here.
What the infusion consists of and why there is no ready-made set
The composition is selected by medical staff after qualification, to match the specific picture of withdrawal. There is no single bottle for everyone.
Four groups of infusion ingredients
- rehydrating fluids and electrolytes: magnesium, potassium, sodium,
- glucose, when the patient has not eaten for a long time,
- B vitamins, including thiamine,
- symptomatic medication: anti-emetic, painkilling, anti-anxiety or sedative, if indicated.
This is neither a vitamin drip nor an antidote. None of the ingredients removes the drug from the blood faster. They all act on the symptoms and on the effects of a binge lasting several days.
Each substance has a different course of withdrawal
The question of how long withdrawal will take has no single answer. The course is set by the class of substance, not by the length of the infusion.
- Stimulants, that is amphetamine, mephedrone and cocaine: the comedown usually lasts several days, dominated by exhaustion and sleep. There is no recognised pharmacotherapy for this withdrawal, so we treat the symptoms and rehydrate. We say it plainly, because it is the weakest point of every detox offer.
- Benzodiazepines: symptoms appear with a delay, after 2 to 7 days, and can drag on for weeks. Safe withdrawal means a gradual dose reduction under supervision, not an abrupt stop and not a one-off infusion.
- GHB and GBL: withdrawal can be comparable to alcohol withdrawal and responds poorly to standard treatment, which is why its place is a hospital ward.
- Opioids: we do not run detoxification on a drip, and the reason is described below.
- New psychoactive substances: the composition may be unknown even to the person who took them, so the course is unpredictable.
- Cannabis: symptoms are mainly psychological and medical detox is usually not needed.
When are a dozen hours too little and a hospital ward needed?
A drip covers one day. If withdrawal stretches over weeks or threatens seizures, one day secures nothing, and discharge home becomes a risk rather than a convenience.
When we refer to round-the-clock treatment
This applies above all to benzodiazepines, GHB and GBL, to severe binges mixed with alcohol, and to situations where the patient has no sober person at home. We then point to the addiction treatment centre in Krakow, where withdrawal is conducted around the clock.
Symptoms that mean you should not book a drip
There are states in which waiting for an appointment is a bad idea, because what is needed is emergency care, not a planned infusion.
- seizures, loss of consciousness, breathing difficulties,
- confusion, delirium, hallucinations,
- chest pain or a clearly irregular heartbeat,
- a very high temperature after stimulants,
- suicidal thoughts,
- loss of contact with a person who has taken an unknown substance.
The right place is then hospital emergency care. A drip can be considered only once the condition has been stabilised.
Why do we refer patients onward with opioids instead of setting up a drip?
We do not run opioid detoxification on a drip, and it is not a question of how the clinic is equipped. Opioid withdrawal itself rarely threatens life. What is dangerous is what happens afterwards.
The weeks after withdrawal are the most dangerous
After a few days without an opioid, tolerance falls. The dose the body handled before the break can be fatal on returning to use. Cohort studies estimate the risk of a fatal overdose in the first weeks after detox as several times higher, of the order of three to eight times, with the first two weeks the worst (Strang, BMJ 2003; Merrall, Addiction 2010). A twelve-hour infusion creates that gap in tolerance and has nothing with which to handle it afterwards.
That is why in opioid addiction we refer patients to substitution treatment, provided by facilities with the appropriate contract. Two things matter here: naloxone nasal spray, which reverses an overdose, is a prescription medicine in Poland, and counterfeit tablets sold as oxycodone have been found to contain nitazenes, opioids often stronger than fentanyl. Buying a tablet outside a pharmacy, you do not know your own dose.
New psychoactive substances in Malopolska and waiting times in Krakow
Malopolska has one of the highest rates in the country of medical interventions after poisoning with substitute drugs and new psychoactive substances: 4.87 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024, against 1.48 for Poland as a whole. Only one region ranked higher. The data come from the report of the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate for 2024.
Inpatient capacity, meanwhile, is narrow. In the whole region there are two wards treating withdrawal syndromes after psychoactive substances and both are in Krakow, while for planned admission the waiting time reached about four months at the start of 2026. This does not mean a drip replaces a ward. If qualification points to round-the-clock treatment, we refer patients there even when the date is distant.
How quickly you can book in Krakow
Our clinic in Krakow is at Siewna 4/5 in the Pradnik Bialy district. Appointments are made by phone on 880 808 880, usually for the same or the next day. Qualification takes place on site, before the infusion is given.
