Medicines that can be fatal. What pills can poison you: overdose and assistance

Drug overdose is a common acute clinical situation.

It is important to understand that intoxication with tablets can develop from taking any drug if the conditions for taking it have been violated.

However, more often an overdose develops from taking drugs that lead to the development of dependence (opiates, sleeping pills, CNS stimulants), or drugs that are used to treat mental patients (antidepressants, tranquilizers). It's connected with potential danger pharmaceuticals and human desire for self-healing.

Prescription drug overdose

It is worth considering in more detail which drugs most often cause an overdose. Here are the following groups:

Opiates (narcotic analgesics). The group of drugs includes methadone, heroin, codeine, darvon, morphine, oxycodone, hydromorphone and others. Taking an excessive dose of drugs leads to impaired breathing and consciousness, constriction of the pupils, drowsiness, nausea and vomiting, and diuretic disorders. Severe intoxication - stupor and coma occurs. Non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema may develop. The use of certain drugs causes the development of seizures. Lethal dose morphine is 0.5 - 1 g for oral administration, 0.2 g for intravenous administration, for heroin - 50-75 mg. However, for experienced drug addicts, the drug dosage should be much higher.
sleeping pills. This group of drugs includes barbiturates (phenobarbital, pentobarbital, secobarbital) and non-barbituric drugs (lorazepam, oxazepan, clorazepate, Noctec, Miltown). sleeping pills in large doses can cause a decrease in blood pressure, paralysis of the eye muscles, ataxia, respiratory failure, confusion. The lethal dose is ten times the therapeutic dose.
monoamine oxidase inhibitors. These are marplan, phenelzine, parnate. Excessive intake of pills can cause a violation of the psycho-emotional status - a rise in mood, psychomotor agitation is noted, cardiac activity is disturbed, coma develops. Symptoms of intoxication develop only after 24 hours, and in the absence of timely assistance, death from an overdose may occur.
CNS stimulants. This group includes amphetamines, cocaine and their derivatives. A significant drug overdose can lead to severe agitation, hallucinations, paranoid psychosis, hypertension, and coma. Deaths are associated with the development of cardiac arrhythmias. The lethal dose of amphetamine will be taking 120 mg of the drug, cocaine - about 1 g, depending on individual characteristics organism.
Hallucinogens. Among the drugs in this group, only the use of phencyclidine can lead to death. Fatal overdose causes confusion, hallucinations, analgesia, arterial hypertension, catatonic phenomena, convulsions, to whom.
This group includes: amitriptyline, desipramine, thorazine, mellaril, stelazin. Any of these drugs can lead to disturbing delirium, hallucinations, fever, dry skin and mucous membranes. Mortal danger threatens a person in the event of cardiac arrhythmia. Lethal will be the intake of 1200 mg of amitriptyline, the toxic dosage is 500 mg.

Overdose of over-the-counter drugs

It is equally common to overdose on over-the-counter pain relievers. For example, 5-10 g of paracetamol can lead to a painful and long death due to complete liver failure. A combination of drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and alcohol can also be fatal.

Lethal dose of some available drugs:

Iodine - 2 g;
Aspirin - 30-40 g;
Analgin - 15-20 g;
No-shpa or drotaverine - 100 tablets.
Vitamin C - more than 1 g of pure substance.

Consequences of an overdose

Not always excessive medication, for example, drugs can lead to lethal outcome. Often, doctors manage to effectively carry out resuscitation measures, and the patient can restore health without long-term physical disability. However, intoxication with certain drugs can cause irreparable damage to health. The patient develops irreversible damage to the vital important organs: liver, kidney, heart, brain, many of which are fatal.

If the overdose occurred intentionally, then a psychiatric consultation is necessary to reduce the risk of re-intoxication. After all, multiple overdoses will have a cumulative effect, which can lead to the development of multiple organ failure.

Prevention

To prevent accidental overdoses, it is necessary to keep medicines, including vitamins, out of the reach of a child.

This step is extremely important, because it is accidental poisoning that is considered the main cause of death for children under 5 years of age.

Prevention of intentional intoxication is possible only with the help of appropriate therapy and the support of relatives and friends.

AT modern world when TV screens tell us how and what to appease headache, lower the temperature, replenish the "reserve" of vitamins and strengthen the bones, people make their own decisions about their treatment. No one thinks that an excess of a dose of a drug can have a very sad effect on the health of the body.

Often children attracted bright colors and shape, take pills for sweets and end up in hospital wards with acute poisoning. They can be obtained if you exceed the dose of such well-known drugs as paracetamol, no-shpa, analgin.

Taking an expired drug can also cause serious problems with health. So what kind of pills can be poisoned?

Drug poisoning can develop various reasons. However, most often it happens like this:

Attempted suicide: as a rule, the patient takes from 30 to 100 tablets at a time. Commonly used agents such as azaleptin, amitriptyline, finlepsin. Also, a practitioner often encounters poisoning with aspirin, analgin, paracetamol.
Self-medication: Despite the absurdity of the situation, people often exceed doses of drugs by several times if their therapeutic amounts do not have the desired effect. It is not uncommon when a person, trying to stop a headache, drinks 15-25 tablets of analgin or other painkiller within 2-3 hours.
Erroneous re-medication in the elderly: patients old age sometimes they forget that they have already taken the drug prescribed by them, after which they drink the pill again. Symptoms of pill poisoning occur when a mistakenly taken drug requires strict dosing (cardiac glycosides, antihypertensive drugs).
Prescribing the wrong dose of the drug: such incidents are iatrogenic in nature and are the result of a medical error (for example, a specialist prescribed a child adult dose medicines). Exceeding the dose is rarely significant. Usually, drug poisoning is mild and requires only first aid measures.
Confusion with pills: isolated cases when a patient confuses a potent drug with a harmless one.

The following list shows the main mechanisms of intoxication. In addition, in practice there are cases of criminal poisoning (clophelin, psychotropic drugs), the use of drugs for the purpose of drug intoxication (lyrica, trigan) and other, more rare variants.

Table of the most common drug combinations with certain groups population:

Drug poisoning

Drug poisoning can be either accidental or intentional. A random factor occurs if the patient takes several drugs on a serious regimen.

due to workload or feeling unwell, you can forget that some of the medicines have already been taken and take it again. There is also the possibility of exposure to certain components of the drug or taking a dose of the drug at random without reading the instructions for taking.

Unfortunately, another factor leading to poisoning is “medical error”. An incorrectly prescribed complex of drugs can also cause complications.

All poisoning can be divided into groups of drugs.

Group I - cardiac drugs

This group of drugs includes drugs that contain cardiac glycosides. These drugs are prescribed when heart failure is detected. In their composition, they have plant components (Digoxin, Strofantin, Korglikon).

When used correctly, they improve the dynamics of cardiac activity. But they tend to accumulate in the body, are slowly excreted. If the dose is exceeded, or prolonged use can cause toxic damage to the body.

In case of poisoning with cardiac glycosides, the following symptoms:

nausea, vomiting;
pain in the stomach;
bradycardia;
pain in the region of the heart;
violation in the work of color vision;
hallucinations;
excited state;
sleep disturbance, headaches.

Group II - preparations for the nervous system

This group of drugs includes tranquilizers and antipsychotics. This includes sedatives and neurological agents. Because nervous system regulates the work of all body systems, then a failure in its work brings many problems.

In this case, various drugs are prescribed to maintain functionality. These include: Haloperidol, Seduxen, Valium, Piracetam and antidepressants. Such drugs, of course, are prescribed by a doctor, but such patients require strict control over taking the prescribed dose.

Symptoms of poisoning of this group of drugs are:

trembling of the limbs;
convulsions;
general weakness;
constant drowsiness, turning into deep dream and to whom;
disruption of the heart;
lowering blood pressure;
violation of the respiratory system;
possible pulmonary edema.

Group III - sleeping pills

This group includes all drugs containing barbiturates. These include such drugs as: Barbital, Phenobarbital, a mixture of Sereysky, Tardil, Bromital and others.

Most often, poisoning with these drugs occurs when you attempt suicide or sleep disorders. There is inhibition of the cerebral cortex, as well as the subcortex. encephalopathy appears.

neurons are being suppressed spinal cord. All this leads to disruption of the central nervous system and coma. As a result of a combination of violations of the activity of several systems at once, irreversible processes develop, leading to death.

The main symptoms of poisoning by this group of drugs include:

apathetic state;
the occurrence of drowsiness;
decrease in heart rate;
pupil constriction;
profuse salivation;
development of superficial coma;
the occurrence of edema;
development of hemorrhages under the skin, in the mucous membranes and lungs;
kidney failure.

Group IV - antipyretic drugs

Unfortunately, this group of drugs most often causes poisoning. The best known drug in this group is Paracetamol. Him affordable price and it is he who is contained in all antiviral and antipyretic drugs.

Often, patients take several cold medicines without even looking at the composition of the medicine. The consequences of such negligence are fatal.

Under the influence of a large dose of Paracetamol, the following occurs:

violation of the kidneys;
destruction of the liver.

The main symptoms of poisoning with antipyretic drugs include:

nausea and vomiting;
dyspnea;
tinnitus;
increased sweating;
drowsiness;
skin rashes;
decrease in body temperature;
delirium and coma.

Treatment

As with most other diseases, the treatment of drug poisoning is divided into three stages:

First aid;
First aid;
Medical assistance.

First aid is provided by witnesses of the incident, the first pre-medical aid is provided by employees of the ambulance service or on-duty doctors of organizations. Medical assistance is the prerogative of hospitals.

First aid

First aid for poisoning with pills includes the following activities:

Gastric lavage;
The introduction of a nonspecific antidote;
Call of the ambulance crew.

Gastric lavage is performed in a "restaurant way" only if the patient is conscious. With confusion, stupor or coma, the procedure is not carried out. Used to cleanse the stomach clean water in the amount of 500-1000 ml. The patient must drink it and induce vomiting. Repeat rinsing until no more swallowed tablets come out.

Used as a non-specific antidote Activated carbon. The price of the drug is low, so it is in almost every home first aid kit. The tool is given at the rate of 1 t / 10 kg of weight. Previously, the antidote can be crushed.

After the measures taken, the victim is laid on his left side, given a basin or tray in case of repeated vomiting, and his condition is monitored until the arrival of doctors. When breathing or cardiac activity stops, cardiopulmonary resuscitation begins.

Help in the ambulance

First aid is mainly symptomatic. During transportation, the patient's condition is monitored (BP, heart rate, saturation, respiratory rate) with the correction of existing disorders.

At reduced pressure, infusion therapy is started, hormones and vasopressors are administered, and at elevated pressure, antihypertensive drugs are administered. Arrhythmias can be stopped with lidocaine or cordarone. Respiratory failure requires inhalation of oxygen or transfer of the patient to a ventilator.

In the practice of "ambulance" there are situations when the patient behaves inappropriately, tries to repeat a suicide attempt, jump out of the car on the go. In such cases, the patient is gently fixed to the gurney and psychotropic drugs (chlorpromazine, haloperidol) are administered.

In accordance with the law 323-FZ of November 21, 2011, such actions are not a violation of the patient's rights if they are performed to ensure the safety of the patient and the people around him.

Medical assistance

Medical assistance includes measures aimed at the speedy neutralization and removal of the xenobiotic from the body.

The main steps in the treatment acute poisoning are:

Forced diuresis - an increase in BCC by massive infusion followed by the introduction of loop diuretics (lasix).
Correction metabolic disorders(sodium bicarbonate).
Correction of electrolyte disturbances (saline solutions).
Correction of disorders in the work of the heart (depolarizing mixture).
stool stimulation ( Castor oil, intestinal lavage).
Antidote therapy (enterosorbents, specific antidotes).
Hemodialysis for poisoning with dialyzing drugs and renal failure.

In addition to the above, patients receive symptomatic and supportive therapy. If necessary, a person is transferred to hardware breathing, the necessary level of pressure is provided by medication.

At the somatic stage of the disease, special attention is paid to organic disorders resulting from intoxication. More details about all this will tell the photo and video in this article.

Possible complications and prognosis

The prognosis for mild intoxication is favorable. As a rule, they do not lead to the development of complications and resolve on their own even without treatment. Assistance to such patients is provided in outpatient settings or after hospitalization in the general toxicology department.

What to do in case of poisoning with tablets of moderate or severe course the doctor decides. Almost always, such patients are hospitalized in intensive care units.

The risk of complications here depends on the age of the patient, the characteristics of his body and the type of toxicant. So, poisoning with analgin or paracetamol often leads to liver pathology and unremovable tinnitus, intoxication with hypnotics and psychotropic drugs - to hypoxia.

On a note: a long stay of the patient in intensive care in itself carries the risk of complications. Such patients often develop bedsores, congestive and aspiration pneumonia, nosocomial infection.

The length of stay in the hospital depends on the severity of the patient's condition. With mild intoxication, it can be 5-6 days, with moderate and severe poisoning, it takes 1-2 months to recover.

Prevention

It is important to remember that uncontrolled use of drugs can lead to a worsening of the underlying disease, as well as to the development of side effects. Self-medication often leads to the elimination of one of the symptoms, but the health problem will not go anywhere.

The instruction enclosed in each drug will tell you which ones side effects may provide some medicine. You can read the instructions at any pharmacy before buying the drug.

In order to reduce the risk of poisoning, you must follow a few simple rules:

Drugs with a different spectrum of action must be taken separately. The medicine needs time to start working. After a couple of hours, you can take the next drug.
It is imperative to follow the regimen prescribed by the doctor.
It is important to monitor the expiration date of medicines in the home first aid kit. You can not take the medicine if it is expired or it is impossible to find the date of manufacture, and you cannot remember the date of purchase.
If a drug therapy was prescribed by different doctors, you need to contact your therapist to clarify their compatibility. The doctor will tell you, if necessary, a safe analogue.
It is forbidden to store medicines in the bathroom due to high humidity. It is also not recommended to freeze liquid preparations.

Care must be taken when taking medications. In the event of health problems, seeking medical attention is recommended. Take care of your health. The photos and videos in this article are provided for a visual introduction to the topic.

Violation of the dosage of the drug, especially an excessive dose, changes the effect on the human body when, instead of the expected effect, we get something else. Overdoses of sleeping pills are especially dangerous, since in most cases they are taken before bed at night: the consequences of exceeding the dose may become known the next morning.

Reasons for an overdose

Sleeping pills are medication which applies to:

elimination of sleep disorders, improvement of its quality;
increasing sleep duration.

Sleep problems are diagnosed in every second person in the world. The reason is the pace of life nervous tension, impact sound waves, incl. noise from neighbors in apartment buildings. Therefore, the main and effective method insomnia - drugs. But sometimes sleep can be fatal.

A person, inadvertently or intentionally, can be poisoned by sleeping pills. Deliberate attempts are made by people with suicidal tendencies. If we are talking about an accidental overdose, this happens with people of advanced age. By virtue of age features distracted attention is manifested, so they can drink more than the required dose of sleeping pills. Sometimes an overdose of sleeping pills occurs due to the wrong recipe, chosen independently. For example, for one person, the use of a pill does not cause side effects, while another can take half the dose and get poisoned.

Sleep with aggravated consequences for life

There is no medicine that does not have side effects. Hypnotics, as sleeping pills are also called, are no exception. The undesirable consequences of taking these drugs affect the work of almost all organs:

Pain appears in abdominal cavity, dyspepsia, stool disorders, changes in salivation.
The heart rhythm is disturbed, the heartbeat is too fast (tachycardia) or slow (bradycardia).
There is a spasm of accommodation. The lens of the eye cannot "sharpen" when looking from near to distant objects, and vice versa.
The skin is covered with a rash. Irritation of the epidermis.

When the dose of sleeping pills is exceeded, general weakness, lethargy, drowsiness are observed. A side effect of sleeping pills can be impaired coordination of movements, memory impairment, absent-mindedness.

last dream

Sleeping pills are often chosen as easy way get out of life. The reasons for this are different: from incurable diseases, accompanied by excruciating pain or depriving a person of a normal life, to mental trauma caused by death. loved one, parting, etc. For such people in stressful situation you need to carefully observe and at the first suspicion of poisoning with sleeping pills, call a doctor.

It is necessary to differentiate true suicide attempts from the so-called provocative suicide. Teenagers often resort to this method, and the task of such an event is not to die, but to draw attention to themselves, to punish, to make them feel pangs of conscience - in a word - manipulation. In this case, no one sets the task of settling scores with life. On the contrary, they hint at their intention in advance. For example, they leave empty packages of sleeping pills in a conspicuous place.

But this does not mean that in this case it is not necessary to save a person: teenagers in a hyperemotional state may not even remember how many pills they swallowed.

Symptoms of an overdose

Symptoms of poisoning with sleeping pills depend on how much the normal dosage is exceeded: the concentration of a substance in the blood determines the speed with which a person goes through the stages of poisoning.

An overdose of hypnotics is accompanied by:

lethargy, drowsiness, apathy;
lack of muscle tone;
impaired coordination of movements and impaired speech;
slowing down breathing;
bradycardia;
a sharp drop in pressure.

Doctors have identified four stages of overdose.

At the first stage, the person remains conscious, but a slow pulse, lethargy, and drowsiness are recorded. Distinctive feature the first stage of poisoning by hypnotics is profuse salivation. When providing medical care, the prognosis is favorable.

At the second stage, consciousness is lost, smooth muscles relax. Saved vomiting reflex, reaction to pain and reaction of the pupil to light. A fatal outcome at this stage can be caused by retraction of the tongue and aspiration by saliva or vomit, so you need to call an ambulance and turn the victim on his side without trying to bring him to his senses.

At the third stage, coma occurs: reflexes are absent, respiratory and cardiac functions are sharply depressed. If you lift your eyelid, the pupil does not constrict. No corneal reflex normal person a light touch with a cotton swab to the cornea causes a reflex closure of the eyelids, this does not happen in a person in a coma. When providing medical care and resuscitation measures, death from sleeping pills can be prevented, but the consequences can be irreversible, up to disability: due to liver and kidney dysfunction, the work of the whole organism is disrupted, a violation may occur brain activity accompanied by paralysis. Without help, a person may not wake up.

On the fourth terminal stage the visiting doctor diagnoses death from an overdose: at this point, all life activity human body completely depressed, the heart stops, the person stops breathing. The onset of death at this stage is inevitable.

Drugs to be taken with caution

Considering the topic of which sleeping pills you can not wake up from, you must first understand that any drug can cause death. If you eat not one pill, but a pack of medicine. And in the same way, you can save any person if you pay attention to the symptoms in time. The clinical picture may vary depending on which sleeping pills the victim of poisoning used:

Barbiturates (Barbital, Phenobarbital, Hexobarbital)

Rarely used in modern medicine due to a large number undesirable consequences. The main one is high danger overdose. The lethal dose of a barbiturate is the lowest: ten times the therapeutic dose. These powerful sleeping pills are prescribed less and less often because they cause heavy sleep, after which the person does not feel rested.

Hypnotics of the benzodiazepine series (Relanium, Diazepam, Phenazepam)

They are used quite often, if the dosage is exceeded, they can cause memory impairment, motor coordination, inhibition of reflexes. The person's temperature drops arterial pressure, the heart rate slows down. The pupils are very dilated. To be lethal, a very large amount of the drug must be drunk: a tenfold excess of the therapeutic dose, which causes death in other cases, here can cause a moderate overdose. But the combination of taking benzodiazepine drugs with alcohol and drugs is deadly.

Bromides (Bromizoval, Potassium Bromide)

it sedatives, which can also be used as a sleeping pill. They cannot be called potent sleeping pills, and to kill a person with bromides, a very large dose is needed. But, nevertheless, with an overdose, a violation of the central nervous system occurs: lethargy, memory impairment, lethargy. Medical assistance quickly eliminates the consequences of such poisoning.

Suprastin and Diphenhydramine

The most famous representatives of the antihistamine series of drugs. The main purpose is to stop allergic reactions, and the drowsiness and lethargy that occurs after taking them is adverse reaction. An overdose of antihistamines can lead to heart rate, pressure, and the combination of these drugs with alcohol gives serious consequences.

Donormil

A modern drug to improve sleep, refers to blockers histamine receptors. Death from an overdose of this drug has not yet been diagnosed even once, but it is not worth exceeding the therapeutic dose of donormil.

The maximum dose is three tablets per day. In case of an overdose, the temperature rises, the person has a feeling of heat, accompanied by dry mouth and redness of the face and neck. With a significant excess of the dosage, Donormil causes a hallucinatory effect, convulsive muscle contractions, in the most severe cases - a coma.

Consequences of an overdose

Most grave consequence- fatal outcome. It occurs when a very large dose of sleeping pills is taken and there is no control from others, or when poisoning is noticed too late. It is possible to bring the victim out of a coma, but it is likely that such a condition will affect his brain activity and the irreversible loss of some important body functions.

Actions in case of suspected poisoning

The first thing to do in case of an overdose is to call an ambulance. While waiting for the doctor, it is necessary to do a gastric lavage. To do this, a person must drink at least 2 liters of water, and then induce vomiting. You can add crushed activated charcoal to the water.

If the victim has a confused mind, he cannot control his actions and help himself on his own, he must be carefully drunk, making sure that water does not get into Airways, and when vomiting, keep it in such a position that aspiration of vomit does not occur. Continue to take all necessary measures to maintain life until the arrival of an ambulance.

If water or vomit enters the respiratory tract, a person who has already recovered from an overdose of sleeping pills may end up in the hospital with a complication such as pneumonia.

give poisoned medications;
drink it with anything other than non-carbonated water at room temperature;
attempt to manipulate an unconscious person in any way.

Precautions to avoid poisoning or overdose:

keep the tablets in a place where they can never be taken by children;
monitor the intake of sleeping pills by the elderly;
never combine medication with alcohol;
if necessary, prescribe any medications from doctors, be sure to report which sleeping pills you are taking;
never exceed the prescribed dose;
after taking hypnotics and antihistamines, do not drive and do not engage in work that requires concentration and quick reaction.

Before trying to normalize sleep with sleeping pills, first try to improve its quality in other ways: do not overeat before going to bed, ventilate the room, sleep on a comfortable bed with an orthopedic mattress, use earplugs if necessary.

Modern medicine offers remedies for the treatment of almost all diseases and strengthening the body as a whole. But after all, many have heard that drugs treat one thing, and cripple another. Sometimes this expression, which has long become winged, is also applied to human life. Violation of the rules for taking medications or hypersensitivity organism to chemical compounds may provoke best case toxicity and, at worst, death. So which common medications should be treated with caution? Overdose of which pills leads to death?
Rules for taking medicines
Before using any medication, you should consult your doctor. This is rule number 1 in the treatment of diseases. But there is a small problem: not all doctors have sufficient knowledge and experience. Therefore, to resolve the issue, it is better to choose a reputable specialist, especially in the case of serious illnesses.

Secondly, not every person seeks help from a doctor, preferring to self-medicate. For headaches, slightly elevated temperature or a superficial scratch to go to the hospital even ashamed. And a person uses medicines on his own, often following the recommendations of very dubious advisers, completely forgetting to read the instructions. The result is often the swallowing of an excessive amount of tablets, which instead of healing leads to a serious complication. Therefore, under any circumstances, you need to read the instructions. The manufacturer always indicates the therapeutic dose of the drug, pharmacological group, possible side effects and compatibility with other medicines.
From an overdose of which pills does death occur? From the most diverse Popular today and familiar from childhood. Let us consider in more detail the types of drugs with which care must be taken.
Types of dangerous drugs
It turns out that absolutely all medicines can poison a person. Even harmless, at first glance, Aspirin and advertised Paracetamol. But if such drugs are used only to eliminate symptoms (and therefore quite rarely), then some drugs are used systematically. This applies to elderly people who are fighting for their lives by all means, this also applies to chronically ill people of any age. And often such patients violate medical recommendations hoping to get the best effect from a larger dose. Old people sometimes simply forget that most recently they have already taken medication.
Overdose of which pills can cause death? Doctors call several types of especially dangerous medicines:
Sleeping pills.
Cardiological.
Neurotropic.
Painkillers.

sleeping pills
Derivatives of barbituric acid (Pentobarbital, Phenobarbital, etc.) were widely used as sedatives and hypnotics. Over time, their insecurity has been proven, and therapeutic use has narrowed significantly. In addition, doctors carefully prescribe non-barbituric drugs (Lorazepam, Noktek, etc.), because they also provoke pronounced side effects:
breathing disorder;
violation of muscle motility (ataxia);

decrease in heart rate;
paralysis of the eye muscles;
confusion.

If a person takes such tablets 2-3 times more than the recommended amount, then intoxication is guaranteed. And in the case of a 10-fold excess of the therapeutic dosage, death occurs.
Cardiological
Performance improvement of cardio-vascular system worries many older people. It is after 50-60 years that problems with pressure, vascular tone and the functioning of the heart most often begin. As an aid, doctors recommend preparations based on glycosides - compounds of natural origin. Subject to therapeutic dosage, they significantly prolong the life of elderly patients.
But if you exceed the number of tablets at least 10 times, the patient will show the following symptoms:
intestinal disorders (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting);
nervous disorders (delusions, hallucinations, agitation);
headache;
convulsions;
violation of the heart rhythm.
Not everyone's heart can withstand such a load. And in the case of a prolonged illness and weakening of the main muscle of the body, there is every chance of earning a myocardial infarction.
In addition, a considerable danger is potassium intoxication, the ions of which are involved in metabolic processes cells, regulation of heart contractions, maintenance of water-salt homeostasis and transmission of nerve impulses through neurons. Accidental data overdose chemical element

provokes arrhythmia, disorientation and pressure decrease. And if you introduce 14 g of pure potassium into the body, then the heart will stop. By the way, this feature was adopted by the US authorities: in recent decades, executions have been carried out by a lethal injection of potassium.
Neurotropic
In psychiatric practice, one usually resorts to drug treatment, which consists in the use of tranquilizers, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Doctors have different attitudes towards such therapy. Some consider it appropriate to use such means, while others prefer more humane ways to help the patient.
Medicines of this group act on the central nervous system either depressingly or excitingly. It all depends on the purpose of the treatment. For example, monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors increase the concentration of compounds such as serotonin, dopamine, and a number of others. These substances directly affect the formation of human mood. However, exceeding the dosage causes such a strong excitement that the risk of clinical death (coma) increases significantly. Intoxication sometimes becomes noticeable only a day after the abuse of funds, and if you do not help the patient, then a fatal outcome is quite possible.

Even 100 years ago, cocaine was considered a safe stimulant. nervous system and sold in pharmacies without a prescription. Today it is rarely used in medical practice. There are so many cases of death from cocaine overdose that the United Nations in 1963 added the compound to the list of banned. And yet it doesn't stop former medicine» to remain the most popular drug in the world. It is known that long-term use of cocaine provokes the development of psychosis and hallucinations. If you take more than 1.2 g of white powder at a time, then the heart will not cope with the load and will stop.
A similar danger comes from tricyclic antidepressants (Amitriptyline, Stelazin, etc.). These drugs are considered reliable means to suppress feelings of anxiety, but almost every member of this group causes the following symptoms when overdosed:

weakness;
lowering blood pressure;
hallucinations;
anxiety delirium (madness, delirium);
fever.
Death in most cases occurs due to heart rhythm disturbances. And if the toxic dose of Amitriptyline is 500 mg, then the lethal dose is 1200 mg.
Painkillers
Although this group includes a large number of drugs, special attention deserve narcotic analgesics: morphine, heroin, codeine, methadone and the like. In medical practice, these drugs are used to relieve severe pain. There are many reasons for such a serious treatment, but in each case, the medicine is prescribed exclusively by a doctor. And if the dosage is exceeded, then the patient has the following symptoms

constricted pupils;
nausea and vomiting;
breathing disorder;
clouding of consciousness up to hallucinations;
convulsions.
As a result of intoxication narcotic analgesics a person often falls into a coma. If the maximum dosage is exceeded clinical death the matter is not limited - a fatal outcome occurs. Some people see a kind of high in the symptoms of side effects. They are called drug addicts. They get hooked on such drugs after 2-3 applications, and getting off the needle is sometimes impossible.
Lethal dose of heroin for an adult intravenous administration- 75 mg, morphine - 200 mg. However, for "experienced" drug addicts, such an amount will only bring pleasure. By the way, long-term use of these drugs significantly reduces the body's susceptibility to chemical compounds. And when a disease occurs, doctors simply shrug their hands in impotence: the patient is not affected necessary funds due to drug addiction.

What pills can be poisoned? Any medications, if used improperly, can lead to severe poisoning and intoxication. In severe cases, instant death can occur. This article discusses an overdose of fatal pills, symptoms of poisoning by various medicines, methods of providing first aid, components of treatment in a hospital setting.

Reasons for the development of drug poisoning

Drug overdose can develop for many reasons. It most often develops in people who take drugs without consulting a doctor or change their dosage without permission. Below are the main reasons why pill poisoning can develop.

Self-medication, taking drugs that are not agreed with the attending physician. Sometimes people drink drugs on the advice of friends, neighbors, relatives.
Taking large doses of the drug in critical or emergency situations. For example, with an increase in body temperature, people, trying to bring it down quickly, drink large doses of drugs, combine them with each other. Such uncontrolled use of drugs often leads to fatal poisoning.
A person taking drugs that are contraindicated for him due to age or health status. For example, the drug aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is deadly for children, it causes Reye's syndrome in them and leads to rapid death from internal bleeding.
A fatal overdose of pills can develop in children who have eaten pills left by adults. Kids love to taste everything, they are interested in everything. All medicines that are at home should be kept out of the reach of children.
An overdose of drugs for the purpose of suicide (suicide). Most often, people use sleeping pills and tranquilizers for this purpose. From them comes a relatively easy death from an overdose.
Drug poisoning due to taking them together with alcoholic beverages.
Dangerous drug combination. In the instructions for the drugs, you should carefully read the list of drugs with which they cannot be combined.
Intentional murder. Medicines can deliberately poison a person. Some drugs in large doses are potent poisons for humans.

Please note that for each person, the lethal dosage of any drug is purely individual. It depends on the weight and age of the person, whether he has any diseases.

Features of the clinical picture in case of drug overdose

Anyone can get poisoned by pills to death. Death is possible with a certain dose of any drug. Below we will look at the symptoms of poisoning by the most common medications.

Sleeping pills, sedatives

Sleeping pills and sedatives are dangerous to human life. You can get an overdose of them unintentionally, during some kind of stressful situation. A person, wanting to calm down or fall asleep after an emotional overstrain, may take a large dose of medication, striving to fast action drug.

Strong sedatives and hypnotics include:

bubbled;
phenobarbital;
bromital;
medinal;
teraligen;
barbital.

These substances enter digestive system are rapidly absorbed and act. They can cause the death of a person in 15-30 minutes. The following are the symptoms that develop with an overdose of sleeping pills.

Increased drowsiness, weakness and lethargy. On the initial stage poisoning with a person, you can still establish contact, talk, ask something from him. Then deep sleep develops, in severe cases - coma. As a rule, when poisoned by these drugs, people die in their sleep.
A decrease in all reflexes develops due to depression of the central nervous system.
Hyperthermia. For poisoning sleeping pills characterized by an increase in body temperature up to 40 degrees.
Perhaps the development of vomiting in a dream. Due to a decrease in the severity of the swallowing and gag reflex, aspiration of vomit into the respiratory tract may occur and respiratory arrest may develop.
Slow breathing. The person begins to breathe slowly and shallowly, with a frequency of less than 10 breaths per minute. This change is associated with inhibition of the respiratory center in the brain. When poisoned with sleeping pills, you can die from respiratory arrest.
Bradycardia (slow heart rate) and hypotension (low blood pressure).
Perhaps the development of seizures and hallucinations.

tranquilizers

Severe overdose of tranquilizers often results in death. These drugs act on the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as on breathing and heart function. Tranquilizers are taken strictly according to the prescription, and even a slight deviation from the dosage prescribed by the doctor can cause poisoning. Below is a list of drugs in this group:

elenium;
napoton;
seduxen;
diazepam;
oxazepam;
tazepam;
eunoctin;
librium;
radedorm.

The clinical picture of poisoning with tranquilizers is the same as with poisoning with sleeping pills.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most commonly used drugs. These drugs include:

paracetamol (efferalgan, panadol);
acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin);
analgin;
ibuprofen (nurofen);
ketorolac (ketanov, ketolong);
nimesulide (nimesil);
indomethacin.

The drugs in this group have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. Some reduce body temperature (paracetamol, ibuprofen). Aspirin is used to thin the blood.

Poisoning is not for death NSAIDs most often develops as a result of an overdose in order to accelerate their action. For example, feeling severe pain, the person takes a larger amount of medicine.

Please note that when used by children acetylsalicylic acid(aspirin) rapid death may develop. Children do not have the enzyme to process this drug. They develop Reye's syndrome. Therefore, this drug is strictly prohibited for children.

Symptoms of poisoning with NSAID drugs resemble intestinal poisoning. The patient has a stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhea, general weakness, dizziness. It is also possible a decrease in body temperature, the development of hand trembling, the appearance of a feeling of anxiety and restlessness. By themselves, drugs in this group rarely lead to death. Dangerous are the complications that can be triggered by taking these drugs in high dosages, namely:

gastrointestinal bleeding. All NSAIDs irritate the gastric mucosa and duodenum. If you drink a lot of these drugs, integrity damage may develop. vascular wall in the submucosa of these organs. Gastrointestinal bleeding is manifested by dark vomiting, black stools (chalky), pallor and blue skin, strong weakness, drowsiness, rapid heart rate and lowering blood pressure. A person may die due to large blood loss;
acute pancreatitis is a non-infectious inflammation of the pancreas, in which necrotic death of its tissues develops. This pathology can be caused by an overdose of NSAIDs. The patient develops severe girdle pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, flatulence and diarrhea. Small purple hemorrhagic spots may appear on the skin of the abdomen. Body temperature rises to 39 degrees. This disease is without surgical intervention leads to death;
acute liver failure can develop as a result of taking a large number of drugs that the liver is not able to neutralize. The patient's skin, mucous membranes and sclera of the eyes turn yellow, pain appears in the right hypochondrium. Consciousness may be impaired. Death may occur due to liver failure;
kidney failure, in which the kidneys are unable to cope with their function and purify the blood. This pathology can occur with toxic damage nephrons (structural units of the kidneys) with anti-inflammatory drugs.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics are drugs that are widely used in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases. They are appointed by a doctor who negotiates with the patient the rules for both admission and dosing.

The table below shows the features clinical picture with an overdose of various antibacterial agents.

Group name antibacterial drugs and medicines	Symptoms and signs
Penicillins, cephalosporins (amoxil, ceftriaxone, cefodox)	nausea, vomiting and diarrhea; attacks of general convulsions (as in an epileptic seizure); redness and itching of the skin (acute urticaria); arrhythmia (due to an imbalance of potassium in the blood); mental agitation or falling into a stupor.
Tetracycline	severe pain in the stomach; nausea, profuse vomiting; arrhythmia; convulsions; angioedema.
Levomycetin	nausea and vomiting; headache; anorexia (lack of appetite); heartburn; diarrhea; When using this drug in large doses, the development of acute cardiovascular insufficiency is possible.
Fluoroquinolones	kidney failure (edema, decreased amount of urine) disruption of the heart, breathing; fainting, impaired consciousness.

Antihistamines

Antihistamines are used for allergic pathologies. They may be assigned to allergic dermatitis, hives, atopic dermatitis etc. These drugs block the production of histamine, the main mediator that triggers allergic reactions. Some drugs also have a mild sedative effect. When treating them, a person is forbidden to drive a car.

The drugs in this group include:

loratadine;
suprastin;
diphenhydramine;
diazolin;
pipolfen.

Symptoms of poisoning antihistamines appear in 15-30 minutes. With a lethal dose, a person can die within an hour.

Overdose antihistamines the nervous system is primarily affected. Symptoms of poisoning with these drugs include:

feeling severe dryness in oral cavity and eyes, thirst;
increase in body temperature up to 38-39 degrees;
nausea followed by vomiting;
first, a general excitation develops, which sharply changes with lethargy;
hand trembling;
convulsions of the type of epilepsy;
tachycardia, possibly a violation of the heart rhythm;
change in blood pressure, at first it rises sharply, and then also quickly decreases to critical numbers;
incoordination, staggering;
increased drowsiness;
gradual falling into a deep coma.

Drugs to lower blood pressure

Heart pill poisoning is very common in the general population. At heart attack or a sudden rise in blood pressure, a person can drink a lot different drugs fearing for your life.

Also, an overdose of such drugs can develop in older people who can forget that they took the drug and take it again.

Please note that when taking beta-blockers (for example, anaprilin) by people who are ill bronchial asthma, rapid death may develop.

Names of popular antihypertensive drugs:

captopril;
lozap;
enalapril;
amiodarone;
anaprilin;
magnesium sulfate;
metoprolol;
nebivolol;
nifedipine.

In case of poisoning with antihypertensive drugs, the patient's blood pressure drops sharply, nausea and vomiting may develop, and consciousness is disturbed. This condition is deadly, it can lead to respiratory arrest and heartbeat.

What to do in case of drug overdose

At the slightest suspicion of an overdose of any medicine urgent need to call an ambulance. By phone, inform the dispatcher about what happened, list the symptoms of the patient and accurately name your location.

Remember that trying to cure a person of a drug overdose on your own is very dangerous. He may die in your arms and there is nothing you can do to help him. In order not to endanger his life, contact immediately for medical care.

What to do while waiting for doctors? The arrival time of the ambulance team depends on many factors (for example, traffic congestion, the availability of free doctors at the time of the call). While waiting for the ambulance crew, you need to start providing first aid to the poisoned person at home. It is from her that the prognosis for the life of the patient may depend. Below are its main components.

In order to clear the stomach of the rest of the drugs you have drunk, you need to drink a liter of water in one gulp and provoke vomiting. For best results, repeat this wash several times.

This procedure is not carried out with:

disturbed consciousness of the patient;
the appearance of black or bloody vomiting.

It is not necessary to add potassium permanganate solution or any other components to the gastric lavage solution. You cannot know what chemical reaction they will enter into with the drugs that poisoned the person.

Cleansing enema

An enema is made on the basis of ordinary boiled water. The temperature of the bowel lavage fluid should be neutral (room temperature).

Sorbents

These drugs will help bind and flush out any medications that are left in the digestive tract.

Sorbents that are taken in liquid form act faster (for example, smectite or atoxyl). But if you don’t have these at home, give the patient any other sorbent, even activated charcoal will do.

Before you give a person to drink the drug, read the dosing rules that are listed in the instructions for it.

Drink

The liquid will reduce the concentration of the drug in the blood and accelerate its excretion by the kidneys, reduce dehydration. You can drink mineral water or plain water, tea with sugar.

Actions in case of loss of consciousness

If the patient loses consciousness, you need to monitor him until the arrival of the doctors so that he does not choke on vomit or his tongue. Turn his head to the side, in this position the risk of aspiration is minimal.

To improve blood flow to the head and heart, lift his legs and fix them in this position.

Before the arrival of doctors, monitor the presence of his pulse and breathing. If they stop, start an indirect closed heart massage.

What to do with the development of seizures

The only thing you can do is hold the person's head so that he does not hit her on the floor.

Remember that a person during a convulsive attack should not put anything in his mouth, especially his fingers.

medical treatment

Doctors from the ambulance, having arrived at the call, will conduct a quick examination and assessment of the condition of the poisoned person. Show them the drug that he took, and as accurately as possible name the number of pills he took. You should also describe the amount of assistance that you yourself managed to provide to the victim.

Medics will try to stabilize the condition of the victim and take him to the nearest hospital. In case of drug poisoning, treatment is carried out in the condition of the toxicological department. Critically ill patients are admitted to the ward intensive care(resuscitation).

Treatment may include hemodialysis, antidotes, drips, and respiratory and cardiac support. What will happen to a person and what result to expect from treatment, only a doctor can say after examining the patient and an objective assessment of his condition.

Drug poisoning can be fatal. Treatment of this condition is carried out in a hospital setting. The prognosis depends on the amount of the drug taken, active substance timeliness of seeking medical help. It is impossible to treat a drug overdose on your own.