BOSTON (AP) _ Kitty Dukakis, struggling against alcoholism, was hospitalized for severe reactions to rubbing alcohol, which she drank while exhausted because of flu and depression, her doctor said.

The wife of Gov. Michael Dukakis had been taking anti-depressants prescribed by her psychiatrist, but tests showed the rubbing alcohol caused her hospitalization, said Dr. Gerald Plotkin, the family physician.

Some specialists in treating alcoholism characterized Mrs. Dukakis’ action as a ''desperate cry for help.’'

The Dukakis family removed all alcoholic beverages from their home after Mrs. Dukakis entered a treatment program for alcoholism last February, said Mindy Lubber, the governor’s spokeswoman.

Plotkin did not comment Wednesday on whether Mrs. Dukakis had knowingly tried to hurt herself or was seeking the effects of alcohol when she drank a small amount of the poisonous substance Monday.

The former Democratic presidential candidate spent Monday and Tuesday at his wife’s side, canceled all appointments, and refused to comment.

Mrs. Dukakis, who turns 53 next month, was taken by ambulance to the hospital on the eve of the first anniversary of her husband’s presidential defeat.

''Autumn has been a particularly bad season for her,’' said Plotkin. ''Kitty has suffered from chemical dependency and struggled with depression for many years. These two problems often are related.’'

She was admitted to the intensive care unit at Brigham and Women’s Hospital complaining of what a spokeswoman said were ''flu-like symptoms.’' On Wednesday, she was moved to a private room.

Lubber said Wednesday night she did not know how long Mrs. Dukakis would be hospitalized.

Rubbing alcohol is normally about 70 percent isopropyl alcohol, which is much more toxic than ethanol, or drinking liquor, said Alan Woolf, director of the Massachusetts Poison Center at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

Isopropyl alcohol can damage the stomach and about 10 ounces of it could be lethal, Woolf said.

It is not uncommon for alcoholics to drink rubbing alcohol if nothing else is available, but specialists in alcholism treatment said such behavior was more likely to be seen among impoverished street alcoholics than affluent drinkers.

''Usually it’s somebody with a severe alcohol problem,’' said a woman at the Alcohol Abuse 24-Hour Hotline who declined to give her name. ''They’ll drink anything, even hair spray.’'

Others said Mrs. Dukakis’ behavior could hardly be interpreted simply as an effort to get a drink.

''It seems like a desperate cry for help, really,’' said Janice O’Keefe, director of an alcoholism detoxification program at Andrew House.

In February, Mrs. Dukakis entered a Rhode Island alcoholism treatment center for four weeks of therapy. She previously said she overcame a 26-year addiction to diet pills.

In October, Mrs. Dukakis participated in an Outward Bound rafting and camping expedition in Colorado, ''a great experience that suggested falsely that this fall might not be so bad,’' Plotkin said.

He said she had been keeping a hectic public speaking schedule and was exhausted when she returned from Indiana a week ago today.

Others said Mrs. Dukakis may have stretched her nerves by making too public a recovery from her problems.

''I think it’s very difficult to try to manage a recovery in the public spotlight,’' said Dr. Domenic Ciraulo, substance abuse consultant at the New England Medical Center in Boston.

The Dukakises were married in 1963 and have always lived in suburban Brookline, where they grew up. They have three grown children and a granddaughter.

Dukakis’ 86-year-old mother, Euterpe, also was hospitalized Monday. She was in satisfactory condition Wednesday at Beth Israel Hospital, where she was admitted after a bout of fainting spells.

Dukakis has faced a difficult season, aggravated by the dissolution of what had been touted as the state’s economic miracle.

As Dukakis visited his wife Wednesday night, weary legislators had their hands full, debating cuts into an already lean state budget to offset a $720 million shortfall.

His four-year term ends in 1991. He has said he won’t seek re-election.