Your drugs- An overdose could mean death
Apr 26, 2009
OUT of ignorance, carelessnes, or intent to commit suicide, people take drug overdose. Sometimes it may be a result of unclear instructions and product labels.<br>
By Anthony Olwoch
OUT of ignorance, carelessnes, or intent to commit suicide, people take drug overdose. Sometimes it may be a result of unclear instructions and product labels.
Phillip Birungi, a pharmacist at Eden Pharmacy and Home Care in Entebbe, says drug overdose is the ingestion or application of a drug in quantities larger than the recommended dose.
A drug dose that is large enough to be toxic is called an overdose.
All drugs can be misused, whether prescribed by a doctor, purchased over-the-counter, or bought illegally.
When the correct and safe usage of a particular drug is abused, there are adverse effects which could result in death.
George Ssennyondo, a pharmaceutical technician at Hawa Pharmacy in Entebbe, says there is always a criteria followed when drugs are prescribed.
These include age, body weight, sex, and the disease condition.
Ssennyondo says drug overdose can result when a patient is not given proper guidance on how to take the drug.
Often, when a drug is prescribed to be taken three times a day, some people will make the mistake of taking it at breakfast, lunch and supper instead of after every eight hours.
Other people take overdose out of negligence. For example, in the case of pain killers, when the pain does not subside immediately, the person may get tempted to take an additional dose with the hope that this will help ease the pain.
One thing such patients do not know is that medicine does not act as soon as it is taken and the fact that the pain has not gone immediately does not mean the drug has not worked.
You need to give it time to act and any additional dose before the prescribed time is an overdose.
Self medication using over-the-counter drugs without proper prescription is another potential risk.
It is common for people with simple ailments like headache, a cold or a stomach pain to rush to the nearest drug shop and buy medicine with any prescription, a tendency health experts say is very dangerous.
Poor advice from unqualified people can also expose one to the risk of an overdose.
In addition, people who suffer from depression sometimes have suicidal thoughts and are at high risk of drug overdose, health experts say.
The use of illicit drugs of unknown purity, in large quantities, or after a period of abstinence, is yet another cause of overdose.
Improper storage of drugs is yet another practice that exposes people, especially children, to drug overdose.
Overdose in young children often occurs with sweet or colourful medicines like multi-vitamins.
Multivitamins contain iron which is a component of haemoglobin (the protein in the red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body).
When taken in small amounts, iron replenishes haemoglobin.
However, in large quantities, iron causes severe imbalances in the body and if not treated, can lead to death or permanent damage.
Birungi says drug overdose can be diagnosed by identifying the left-over medication or empty containers of the medication, or the history of the patient, for instance, if he has been taking a particular drug for some time.
Symptoms
These vary depending on the specific drug. However, the common ones include sweating, agitation, tremours, convulsions, difficult breathing, drowsiness, unconsciousness, hallucinations, violent or aggressive behaviour, delusional or paranoid behaviour, staggering or unsteady gait, abnormal pupil size or non-reactive pupils.
Prevention
Some of the preventive measures, according to Birungi, are;
Avoiding self-medication and consulting a pharmacist or physician before taking any drug.
Keeping all drugs out of reach of children.
Taking extra care should when giving children medication as their doses are much less than those for adults.
Caution
Some drugs can cause violent and unpredictable behaviour.
Seek professional help immediately.
Give help without offering opinions. You do not need to know why drugs were taken in order to give first aid.
Do not try to reason with someone taking illicit drugs. Do not expect them to behave normal.
First aid management
Check the patient’s airway, breathing and pulse.
Treat the patient for signs of shock. These include: weakness, bluish lips and finger nails, paleness and decreasing alertness.
First aid shock treament include mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If the patient is unconscious but breathing, lay him down, keeping the head low, raise and support his legs, loosen tight clothing, and protect him from cold and reassure him.
If an overdose is suspected, try to prevent the patient from taking more drugs.
Call for medical help immediately.
Keep monitoring the patients vital signs like pulse, rate of breathing and blood pressure until emergency medical help arrives.
Determine which drugs were taken and when. Keep any available drug containers and any remaining drug sample or the person’s vomit for analysis.
OUT of ignorance, carelessnes, or intent to commit suicide, people take drug overdose. Sometimes it may be a result of unclear instructions and product labels.
Phillip Birungi, a pharmacist at Eden Pharmacy and Home Care in Entebbe, says drug overdose is the ingestion or application of a drug in quantities larger than the recommended dose.
A drug dose that is large enough to be toxic is called an overdose.
All drugs can be misused, whether prescribed by a doctor, purchased over-the-counter, or bought illegally.
When the correct and safe usage of a particular drug is abused, there are adverse effects which could result in death.
George Ssennyondo, a pharmaceutical technician at Hawa Pharmacy in Entebbe, says there is always a criteria followed when drugs are prescribed.
These include age, body weight, sex, and the disease condition.
Ssennyondo says drug overdose can result when a patient is not given proper guidance on how to take the drug.
Often, when a drug is prescribed to be taken three times a day, some people will make the mistake of taking it at breakfast, lunch and supper instead of after every eight hours.
Other people take overdose out of negligence. For example, in the case of pain killers, when the pain does not subside immediately, the person may get tempted to take an additional dose with the hope that this will help ease the pain.
One thing such patients do not know is that medicine does not act as soon as it is taken and the fact that the pain has not gone immediately does not mean the drug has not worked.
You need to give it time to act and any additional dose before the prescribed time is an overdose.
Self medication using over-the-counter drugs without proper prescription is another potential risk.
It is common for people with simple ailments like headache, a cold or a stomach pain to rush to the nearest drug shop and buy medicine with any prescription, a tendency health experts say is very dangerous.
Poor advice from unqualified people can also expose one to the risk of an overdose.
In addition, people who suffer from depression sometimes have suicidal thoughts and are at high risk of drug overdose, health experts say.
The use of illicit drugs of unknown purity, in large quantities, or after a period of abstinence, is yet another cause of overdose.
Improper storage of drugs is yet another practice that exposes people, especially children, to drug overdose.
Overdose in young children often occurs with sweet or colourful medicines like multi-vitamins.
Multivitamins contain iron which is a component of haemoglobin (the protein in the red blood cells that transports oxygen around the body).
When taken in small amounts, iron replenishes haemoglobin.
However, in large quantities, iron causes severe imbalances in the body and if not treated, can lead to death or permanent damage.
Birungi says drug overdose can be diagnosed by identifying the left-over medication or empty containers of the medication, or the history of the patient, for instance, if he has been taking a particular drug for some time.
Symptoms
These vary depending on the specific drug. However, the common ones include sweating, agitation, tremours, convulsions, difficult breathing, drowsiness, unconsciousness, hallucinations, violent or aggressive behaviour, delusional or paranoid behaviour, staggering or unsteady gait, abnormal pupil size or non-reactive pupils.
Prevention
Some of the preventive measures, according to Birungi, are;
Avoiding self-medication and consulting a pharmacist or physician before taking any drug.
Keeping all drugs out of reach of children.
Taking extra care should when giving children medication as their doses are much less than those for adults.
Caution
Some drugs can cause violent and unpredictable behaviour.
Seek professional help immediately.
Give help without offering opinions. You do not need to know why drugs were taken in order to give first aid.
Do not try to reason with someone taking illicit drugs. Do not expect them to behave normal.
First aid management
Check the patient’s airway, breathing and pulse.
Treat the patient for signs of shock. These include: weakness, bluish lips and finger nails, paleness and decreasing alertness.
First aid shock treament include mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. If the patient is unconscious but breathing, lay him down, keeping the head low, raise and support his legs, loosen tight clothing, and protect him from cold and reassure him.
If an overdose is suspected, try to prevent the patient from taking more drugs.
Call for medical help immediately.
Keep monitoring the patients vital signs like pulse, rate of breathing and blood pressure until emergency medical help arrives.
Determine which drugs were taken and when. Keep any available drug containers and any remaining drug sample or the person’s vomit for analysis.