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The terms ‘drug overdose’, ‘overdose’ or simply ‘OD’ refer to the consumption of a drug beyond safe or recommended levels. A drug overdose may result into toxicity, severe damage to the health and even death. Drug overdose is a problem often encountered by drug addicts. It is important to spread awareness regarding this topic to unpleasant incidents.
The drug overdose refers to a condition where a user has taken drug in a quantity above and beyond safe levels. Drug overdoses maybe intentional or accidental. How much amount of a drug may result into an overdose varies greatly from one user to the other. Some people are more sensitive than others so even a small quantity of a drug may result into an overdose while the others can take much higher quantities of a drug without facing any serious consequences. So there are not any hard and fast rules regarding what are the safe limits for a certain drug.
When a certain drug is taken in much higher quantities, the body doesn’t handle it well. Body’s metabolic system fails to detoxify the drug as fast as it is being administrated in the body. Anyone can be a victim of drug overdose. But it is most common among toddlers who ingest the drug accidently and teenagers.
The risk of overdose is always associated with a drug and cannot be eliminated. But it can be decreased a great deal if precautionary measures are taken. Drug overdose is either intentional or accidental. Addicts taking drugs are at a higher risk of overdosing.
The signs and symptoms of drug overdose may vary depending upon the drug taken, amount of the drug ingested and whether or not it was taken in combination with another drug. Common signs and symptoms of drug overdose may include:
Having a few of these symptoms may indicate a drug overdose. Immediate medical care is needed to prevent any further complications.
When dealing with a drug, there is always a chance of overdose. But there are certain factors that may further worsen the condition by increasing the risk of an overdose such as:
It is recommended to take special care when a loved one is dealing with one of the above mentioned conditions or is a drug addict. Proper medical treatment and recovery programs should be made available to the patient.
If a person is spotted with a few of above mentioned drug overdose symptoms, emergency medical care should be provided by calling 911 without any further delay. While waiting for help to arrive, measure should be taken to calm the patient down. However, it is important to take care during the process since the patient may harm himself or people around him in a fit of extreme aggression. The following procedures can be implemented meanwhile:
It is not possible to completely eliminate the risk of a drug overdose. Even people who are taking therapeutic drugs under supervision of a doctor are at a risk of drug overdose. Precautions like
may help in this regard. The most effective way to prevent an overdose is not to take the drug at all. For an addict, proper rehabilitation and detoxification programs are necessary to recover. Drug overdose can be a fatal condition, make sure to take precautionary measure while dealing with a drug to ensure the safety of you and your loved ones.