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A drug overdose is taking too much of a substance, whether it’s prescription, over-the-counter, legal, or illegal. If you’ve taken more than the recommended amount of a drug or enough to have a harmful effect on your body’s functions, you have overdosed. Stabilization of the person’s airway, breathing, and circulation (ABCs) is the initial treatment of an overdose. Ventilation is considered when drug overdose meaning there is a low respiratory rate or when blood gases show the person to be hypoxic.
KEY TERMS
- Measures are being stepped up across government to better equip policing, healthcare and Border Force to deal with this growing issue, as well as contributing to international efforts to better protect communities.
- The UN gives a figure of 300,000 deaths per year in the world through drug overdose.
- Usage of illicit drugs, in large quantities, or after a period of drug abstinence can also induce overdose.
- If you notice that someone is unresponsive and is having difficulty in breathing after taking a drug of any kind, call 911 immediately.
- Overdose of this drug causes liver damage with symptoms that include loss of appetite, tiredness, nausea and vomiting, paleness, and sweating.
- This type of overdose can cause heart attacks, strokes, and seizures.
Inhaling or injecting drugs may cause them to get to your brain more quickly and also increases your chance of using an amount that can severely harm you. The healthcare provider may be able to use an antidote for certain drug overdoses. For example, the drug naloxone can help reverse the effects of a heroin overdose. Symptoms of a drug overdose may include breathing difficulties, changes in heart rate or body temperature, seizure, stroke, and more. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that 106,699 people died of a drug overdose in the United States in 2021. ¶ Deaths with IMFs and stimulants detected (Panel C) could also have other drugs detected (e.g., prescription opioids).
“An overdose occurs when someone consumes more of a drug – or multiple drugs – than their body can handle,” Ryan said. Most metropolitan areas in the United States have poison control centers that provide information about chemical and drug poisoning, and most telephone directories list the number of the local center. This number should be copied and placed near a telephone or programmed into an automatic-dialing telephone or cellular phone. Overdose prevention is a CDC priority that impacts families and communities.
- And the symptoms of an overdose and its effects on the body can be poles apart, from slowed breathing to vomiting to overheating.
- Overdose prevention is a CDC priority that impacts families and communities.
- When you’re is mixing ketamine with a depressant like alcohol, that risk increases.
- Xylazine is a type of tranquilizer used in animals and not approved for humans.
- Providing as much information as possible to the poison control center can help determine what the next course of action should be.
Symptoms, treatment, and recovery depend on the specific drug involved. An overdose is not the same as a poisoning, although the effects can be the same. Poisoning occurs when someone or something (such as the environment) exposes you to dangerous chemicals, plants, or other harmful substances without your knowledge. Following their overdose treatment, patients need to go through detoxification to manage their withdrawal symptoms and slowly expel the drug from their system. Doctors should subsequently recommend them to the appropriate level of treatment so they can receive continued care.
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§ Jurisdictions were included if medical examiner or coroner reports and toxicology reports were available for ≥75% of deaths during January 2020–December 2022. Analysis was restricted to deaths with an available medical examiner or coroner report (139,740; 95.8% of all deaths). ¶ Jurisdictions were included if medical examiner or coroner reports and toxicology reports were available for ≥75% of deaths during January 2020–December 2022. While campaigning in 2024 for a second term, Trump reiterated the need for a supply-side approach to the crisis that would crack down on fentanyl smugglers and secure the U.S.-Mexico border. This policy emphasis on law and order also included eliminating the drug cartels operating in Mexico and Central America. As before, policymakers cast doubt on whether this would solve the problem.
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Although the number of deaths with evidence of ingestion increased 14.6%, from 3,189 to 3,656, the percentage of such deaths declined 4.6%, from 15.2% to 14.5%. The percentage of drug overdose deaths with evidence of smoking increased sharply in all U.S. regions from 2020 to 2022, indicating the importance of an updated response. By late 2022, among decedents with information on route of drug use, more than three fourths had evidence of a noninjection route, highlighting the diversification of methods through which they used drugs. During July–December 2022, most deaths with evidence of smoking (79.7%), snorting (84.5%), or ingestion (86.5%) had no evidence of injection; among deaths with information on route of use, 81.9% had evidence of a noninjection route.
The physique of the individual
If you see these signs of overdose, do not abandon the person out of fear of getting in trouble. You should seek medical help immediately if you have these symptoms or witness them in someone else and suspect they may have overdosed. The most obvious way to tell if these symptoms indicate overdose is if you know you have taken drugs or have seen someone else take drugs. Getting medical help quickly can make a big difference in the effectiveness of drug overdose treatment.
General Health
The drug naloxone (Narcan) can also help treat an opioid overdose by blocking opioids’ effects in the body. This medication is available in a nasal spray and as an intravenous injection at the hospital. Overdosing on a stimulant such as cocaine increases heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure.
Learn more about CDC’s overdose prevention strategic priorities
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Good Samaritan laws and similar legal protections exist across states to ensure you will not get into trouble for helping someone experiencing an overdose. If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for support and assistance from a trained counselor. If you have depression or suicidal thoughts, contact your doctor right away.