The word "delirium" is Latin for "going off the furrow," a plowing metaphor. It is also called the shaking frenzy and Saunders-Sutton syndrome. There are numerous nicknames for the condition, including "the DTs" and "seeing pink elephants" (see below). Signs and symptoms
The main symptoms of delirium tremens are nightmares, agitation, global confusion, disorientation, visual and auditory hallucinations, tactile hallucinations, fever, high blood pressure, heavy sweating, and other signs of autonomic hyperactivity (fast heart rate and high blood pressure). These symptoms may appear suddenly but typically develop two to three days after the stopping of heavy drinking, being worst on the fourth or fifth day.These symptoms are characteristically worse at night. In general, DT is considered the most severe manifestation of alcohol withdrawal and occurs 3–10 days following the last drink.Other common symptoms include intense perceptual disturbance such as visions of insects, snakes, or rats. These may be hallucinations or illusions related to the environment, e.g., patterns on the wallpaper or in the peripheral vision that the patient falsely perceives as a resemblance to the morphology of an insect, and are also associated with tactile hallucinations such as sensations of something crawling on the subject—a phenomenon known as formication. Delirium tremens usually includes extremely intense feelings of "impending doom". Severe anxiety and feelings of imminent death are common DT symptoms.DT can sometimes be associated with severe, uncontrollable tremors of the extremities and secondary symptoms such as anxiety, panic attacks, and paranoia.
It was particularly bad during the filming of the bridge of death scene where Chapman was visibly shaking, sweating and could not cross the bridge. His fellow Pythons were astonished as Chapman was an accomplished mountaineer. The Belgian beer "Delirium Tremens," introduced in 1988, is a direct reference and also uses a pink elephant as its logo to highlight one of the symptoms of delirium tremens.In the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage plays a suicidal alcoholic who rids himself of all his possessions and travels to Las Vegas to drink himself to death. During his travels, he experiences delirium tremens on a couch after waking up from a binge and crawls in pain to the refrigerator for more vodka. Cages performance as Ben Sanderson in the film won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1996. Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881) died of delirium tremens. See also
Alcohol dementia
Alcohol detoxification
Delusional parasitosis
Excited delirium
On the wagon

References
External links

Why Does Alcohol Cause the Shakes? | Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome Tremors | Dr Peter MCcann MCC, MBBS | Castle Craig Hospital