These substances are prescribed to relieve pain, help you sleep, or in the case of alcohol, used recreationally. However, when taken in excessive amounts or in combination, they can depress normal functions such as breathing and heart rate until breathing and the heart eventually stop, resulting in death. Download the Opioids Fact Sheet for more information. Download the Depressants Fact Sheet for more information. Generally people do not automatically think of alcohol when they think of overdose, but alcohol is a depressant and it is possible to overdose on it.
Acute alcohol poisoning, which is usually a result of binge drinking, is an example. If you drink a large amount of alcohol quickly the level of alcohol in your bloodstream blood alcohol concentration, or BAC can become dangerously high.
This can stop your body from working properly. In extreme cases, alcohol poisoning could stop you breathing, stop your heart or cause you to choke on your own vomit. Download the Alcohol Fact Sheet for more information. It is possible to overdose on amphetamines such as speed and ice.
Amphetamine overdose increases the risk of heart attack, stroke, seizure or drug-induced psychotic episodes. Download the Stimulants Fact Sheet for more information. All drug misuse can lead to brain injury. Hypoxic brain injury, which is caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain, is an under-reported consequence of overdose.
This can lead to coma, seizures and death. The long-term consequences of hypoxia depend on how long the brain is without an adequate supply of oxygen. The longer a person is not breathing, the more damage is being done to their brain.
If someone uses a drug regularly they develop a tolerance to it. This means they need to use more of the drug to get the same effect. When people take their usual amount of drugs after a break from using, it could be too much for their body to cope with and this may lead to an overdose. Some drugs, such as some benzodiazepines, have a long half-life. A person who has taken drugs may still have enough in their system the next day to overdose if they use more.
An overdose is not the same as a poisoning, although the effects can be the same. Poisoning occurs when someone or something such as the environment exposes you to dangerous chemicals, plants, or other harmful substances without your knowledge. An overdose may be mild, moderate, or serious. Symptoms, treatment, and recovery depend on the specific drug involved.
In the United States, call to speak with a local poison control center. This hotline number will let you talk to experts in poisoning. They will give you further instructions. You should call if you have any questions about an overdose, poisoning, or poison prevention.
You can call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. At the emergency room, an examination will be performed. The following tests and treatments may be needed:. This oxygen starvation eventually stops other vital organs like the heart, then the brain. This leads to unconsciousness, coma, and then death. Within minutes without oxygen, brain damage starts to occur, soon followed by death. With opioid overdoses, surviving or dying wholly depends on breathing and oxygen.
Fortunately, this process is rarely instantaneous; people slowly stop breathing which usually happens minutes to hours after the drug was used. In a stimulant overdose drugs like speed, cocaine, and ecstasy raise the heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature, and speed up breathing.
This can lead to a seizure, stroke, heart attack or death. Read about the basics of a stimulant overdose here. Find Naloxone. Find Syringes.
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