How harmful is overdose of medicines?

While medicines save millions of lives, they carry serious side effects and turn out to be fatal when consumed in excess amounts. A drug overdose is when a medicine is taken in excess amounts than what is medically recommended.  

Drug overdoses can either be accidental or at times intentional. However, different people react differently, some may be more sensitive to certain medications where even the low end of a drug may be toxic for them; a dose that is within the acceptable range of medical use may be too much for their bodies to handle. On the other hand, an intentional overdose is when illicit drugs, used to get high, are taken in excess amounts and a person's metabolism cannot detoxify the drug fast enough to avoid unintended side effects.

How does an overdose affect your body?

Drugs have an effect, be it positive or negative, on the entire body. In case of an overdose, while the effects may be a heightened level of the therapeutic effects seen with regular use, side effects become more pronounced, and other effects can take place, which would not occur with normal use. At times, some medications may cause only minimal effects with large overdoses, while other medications can cause severe effects, possibly death even with smaller overdoses. A single dose of some medications can turn out to be fatal to a young child. In some cases, overdoses may worsen a person's existing condition, for example, an asthma attack or chest pains may be triggered.

Signs and symptoms of an overdose vary depending on various factors including, the substance taken, quantity, how it is taken, age and other factors. Symptoms of a drug overdose may include:

• nausea and vomiting
• abdominal cramps
• diarrhoea
• chest pain
• dizziness
• loss of balance and co-ordination
• drowsiness
• confusion
• agitation
• paranoia
• slow or erratic pulse
• difficulty breathing
• hallucination
• visual disturbances
• choking or gurgling sounds
• snoring deeply 
• blue fingernails or lips
• pale or clammy face
• loss of consciousness

When to call a doctor

Any symptoms of drug overdose call for immediate medical attention and need accurate information about the name of the drug, the amount of the drug ingested, and the time when the drug was taken. Often, the information needed is available on the bottle the drug came in. as each person responds differently and it is hard to predict reactions, therefore, appropriate action is important when dealing with a drug overdose. 

While some who are directed to go to the emergency department do not develop any physical signs of poisoning, others will become quite ill. At times, a person with a drug overdose may be unwilling to go to the hospital and may need persuasion. In such cases, family members can assist persuading the person or services expert at handling such situations may be needed. Anyone accompanying the person with a drug overdose can be of help by finding all medication or chemical containers and bringing them to the emergency department doctor.

(The article has been written by Dr. Archana Dhawan Bajaj, Director of Nurture IVF Clinic. The views expressed are her own and not DNA's.)