First aid for drug poisoning

Drug poisoning occurs quite often, since there are a lot of reasons for this phenomenon. You can get poisoned with drugs on purpose or by accident, you can exceed it without knowing the dosage, or you can get an allergic reaction as a result of even competent use according to the instructions or prescriptions of a doctor. A variety of groups of drugs complicate the rehabilitation of victims and the method of first aid in case of poisoning. It is important to know at least the basic approaches to first aid in order to prevent a severe outcome in case of poisoning.

Why poisoning occurs

Some suicidal people may intentionally take large amounts of medication in order to kill themselves. Sometimes patients do not know the allowable dose of the drug, which can be used once or throughout the day, and sometimes they do not understand that they are drinking the same substance under different brands (this applies, for example, to paracetamol-based antipyretics).

Also, drug poisoning can occur when its use is combined with other medicines or substances, the combined use of which causes intoxication. Tranquilizers and antidepressants should not be abused, since their excessive amount depresses the activity of the nervous system, heart drugs, painkillers.

Poisoning can also occur due to absent-mindedness, when older people forget whether they have already taken a pill or not, and double the dose. The same thing happens with young children who show interest in everything new and unusual, and parents leave drugs in the general area, which encourages kids to try pills.

Frequent causes of drug poisoning are situations with self-medication, when, without consulting a doctor, a person starts taking the wrong drug, or the drug in the wrong dosage. This leads to a worsening of the course of the disease, an exacerbation of other internal diseases that a person did not take into account when he started drinking the drug.

There are cases of allergic reactions to drugs, as well as deliberate attempts to poison someone with the help of medications. In everyday life, it is necessary to try to take into account all the above factors as much as possible so that taking medicines does not lead to serious consequences.

The main symptoms of drug poisoning

Depending on the group of the drug, the composition and effect of the substance, the symptoms of drug poisoning can manifest themselves in different ways. Common symptoms include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, abdominal pain, loss of consciousness, or severe weakness. The rest of the symptoms will depend on the pharmacological group of drugs used.

So, for example, with an overdose of tranquilizers, drugs or antidepressants, the following signs of poisoning will appear (in addition to the above-mentioned general ones, which are almost always present): depression of consciousness, alternating drowsiness and overexcitation, tremor of the limbs, pallor and muscle weakness, visual disturbances, breathing, heart rhythm , convulsions, hallucinations, delirium, fainting and loss of consciousness, dry mouth.

In case of poisoning with sleeping pills, there is often a lack of reflex activity, drowsiness and relaxation of the body, respiratory depression, sound sleep.

If the victim was poisoned by cardiovascular drugs, there may be a disorder in the gastrointestinal tract, heart rhythm disturbances, noises in the head, and a blackout.

With intoxication caused by antibacterial drugs, the patient has:

• pain in the right hypochondrium (liver area);
• body temperature rises;
• pronounced bitter taste in the mouth;
• urticaria may begin;
• excessive sweating;
• disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
• rapid heart rate.

In case of an overdose of antipyretic drugs, the symptoms of poisoning are expressed in:

• sweating;
• weakness;
• tinnitus;
• cramps
• pain in the right hypochondrium;
• disorders of the gastrointestinal tract;
• drop in visual acuity.

If the victim was poisoned with iodine-based drugs, then in addition to the general symptoms of poisoning, he will experience bloody yellow-brown vomiting, pallor of the skin, burning pain in the esophagus and stomach. When poisoning with antihistamines, convulsions, redness of the skin, dry mouth, overexcitation, followed by weakness, ataxic state, respiratory rhythm disturbance and coma occur.

First aid

When a drug poisoning is detected, an ambulance is called first of all, since only in a medical institution will it be possible to begin high-quality resuscitation of the victim. Doctors should be told about the drug that caused the poisoning, if known. So resuscitation can be done more efficiently.

Before the arrival of the ambulance, the victim should try to wash the stomach. To do this, they actively drink it with a large amount of salted water, and a few minutes after drinking they induce vomiting. This process must be repeated many times until there is only pure water in the vomit.

After gastric lavage, the victim must take activated charcoal or any sorbent that is at hand. The dosage of activated charcoal should be 1 tablet for every 5 kilograms of the victim’s weight. After activated charcoal, it is necessary to give the person a laxative.

The victim should be laid on his side or on his stomach (with his head on his side) and left at rest. In the room where the poisoned person is located, it is necessary to actively ventilate to ensure a constant flow of air to the lungs. Also, during the entire time before the arrival of emergency assistance, it is important to monitor changes in the pulse and breathing of the victim, and if the indicators become critical, it is necessary to take resuscitation measures in the form of chest compressions and artificial respiration. All the time before the arrival of an ambulance, a person must be given plenty to drink.

At the same time, it is important to remember that it is absolutely impossible to wash the stomach on your own for children under 5 years old, with iodine poisoning and poisoning with drugs with active substances that cause burning in the mucous membranes, with late pregnancy, with cardiovascular problems in a patient, in an unconscious state or if more than 2 hours have passed since drug poisoning.

If the remains of the drug that poisoned the victim are found, they must be handed over to the doctors when the patient is hospitalized.

Preventive measures

When taking various medications, it is very important to follow certain rules that will help to avoid intoxication and poisoning of the body. In this case, it is important to remember that self-treatment never leads to recovery, at best, it aggravates the course of the identified disease, adds complications to it, and transforms the disease into chronic status. At worst, self-medication can even lead to death. In any case, a certified doctor is better versed in dosages and categories of drugs, so it is imperative to seek medical help during treatment.

In the office of a specialist, when prescribing drugs for a specific disease, it is important to inform the doctor about those drugs that are used in everyday life to treat other diseases, since the incompatibility of pharmacological agents very often leads to sad consequences. After the medication is prescribed, it is important to take it strictly in the dosage prescribed by the doctor.

It is also important to study the instructions for the drug on your own, since it always contains contraindications for use. If a person finds among them a disease that suffers or once suffered, it is important to inform the doctor about this before taking the drug. Perhaps, having learned about this, the specialist will be able to replace the drug with one that will have fewer side effects on the body.

It is also necessary to store medicines according to all the rules that are indicated in the instructions, and after the expiration date, it is strictly forbidden to take pharmacological agents. Naturally, medicines must be stored in places where small children cannot get them.

It is necessary to purchase medicines in pharmacies, and not on sites or from the hands, in order to be sure of their quality. If the patient has memory problems, then each time you take the pill, this should be noted in a special calendar or diary in order to avoid an overdose of the drug.

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