Drug Overdose
What is Drug Overdose?
“ A drug overdose is taking too much of a substance, whether its prescription, over the counter, legal or illegal.”
When someone takes more than a recommended amount of a drug, it ends up affecting the entire body’s functions and that’s what we call an excessive dose. Taking a drug overdose can have serious medical complications. The chances of a person’s survival after taking overdose depends on the type of drug taken as well as the health and medical history of the person. It is an even bigger risk when a person using illicit drugs ends up with drug overdose.
World Health Organization Statistics :
“According to a report by World Health Organization community management opioid overdose, Worldwide there are an approximately 69,000 deaths from opioid overdose, per year.”
Injected drug users are at even higher risk of overdose as compared to opioid and poly drug users. Usage of opioid drugs along with alcohol can potentiate drug overdose and can cause death as well.
Symptoms of Drug Overdose :
Symptoms of a drug overdose mostly depend on the person, the drug being used and the amount of dose being taken. However, following are some of the well- known universal symptoms.
- Hallucinations
- Aggressive behavior
- Difficulty in breathing
- Vomiting
- Drowsiness
- Unconsciousness
- Agitation
- Difficulty in walking
You should ask for immediate medical help, if you or someone you know got these symptoms. An immediate medical response can prevent major consequences such as death due to drugs overdose.
After the treatment, the person using illicit drugs should be taken for mental health evaluation. Finding a support group for substance abuse problem can be very helpful in understanding the causes of drugs overdose.
Prevention:
Illicit drug overdose is a matter of extreme concern and can only be prevented by taking the drugs away from the person. To keep the illicit drug users away from drugs, they can be treated at a rehabilitation centre, where there is a greater focus on mental health issues which can help in changing the mindset and prevent the person from using drugs.
International Overdose Awareness Day :
Today’s the international overdose awareness day. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness of overdoses among the members of the community and general public, reduce the stigma of drug-related deaths and to acknowledge the sorrow and grief of family and friends who lost their loved ones to the drugs overdose . The initiative to celebrate this day and to raise awareness about it was taken by SJ Finn of Australia in 2001, who was managing a needle and syringe program in St Kilda, Victoria. It has been run by Pennington institute since 2012.
Despite the efforts to raise awareness regarding this matter, the death toll continues to rise. Covid-19 has also played its part in it. More efforts are required across the globe to raise awareness among people of all backgrounds against drugs overdose and the usage of illicit drugs.
We at Hero Health Care (H&H) are dedicated to play our part in decreasing the number of drugs overdose cases by providing a complete treatment for the drugs overdose patients as well as for illicit drugs users.
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