The Physical Effects of a Drug Overdose
Your body reacts, sometimes in very drastic ways, when you take an overdose of drugs, whether you’ve done so intentionally or accidentally. It’s essential to know the symptoms of a drug overdose and what happens to your body during a drug overdose, so you’ll realize when you or someone you care about is suffering from a toxic intake of substances.
A drug overdose situation can occur when someone takes higher doses of a prescription medication than prescribed. Overdosing can also happen when someone has acquired an addiction to a drug and needs to take more significant amounts to achieve the “high” they’re seeking because they’ve become tolerant to the doses they had been taking.
What happens to your body during a drug overdose can affect your vital signs, including your body temperature, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure. These signs of life can either be increased, decreased, or not be present at all when an overdose of drugs occurs.
What Is a Drug Overdose?
A drug overdose occurs when someone has taken a toxic amount of a substance into their system. The dosage or amount taken is at a level that will severely affect its normal physical or cognitive functioning.
Symptoms of an Overdose
In general, the symptoms of an overdose include:
- Intense chest pain
- Seizures
- Severe headaches
- Breathing difficulties
- Signs of being incoherent
- Extreme agitation
- Intense anxiety
Different types of drugs can account for various symptoms in an overdose situation.
Central Nervous System Depressants
When someone overdoses on prescription drugs like Valium and Xanax, the symptoms can include:
- Shallow breathing
- Feeble pulse rate
- Cool, sweaty skin
- Coma
- Death due to restricted breathing
Hallucinogenic Drugs
Hallucinogens can cause psychotic reactions that can lead a person to do risky things, such as jumping from a high rooftop. These substances can also cause extreme agitation and delirium.
Inhalants
Inhaled substances affect a person’s central nervous system, with an overdose possibly causing the following symptoms:
- Depressed brain activity
- Arrested breathing
- Loss of consciousness
- Coma
- Seizures
- Irregular or increased heart rate
- Death from heart
Marijuana
- Extreme sleepiness
- Uncoordinated walking
- Vomiting
- Increased heart rate
- Agitation
- Psychotic thinking/behavior
Opioids
Whether prescription opioids or illegal drugs like heroin, an overdose can include symptoms like:
- Barely able to retain consciousness
- Decreased breathing rate
- Cold, sweaty skin
- Skin that appears blue in color
- Severely constricted or dilated pupils
Stimulants
- Body temperature rises
- Heart rate increases
- Blood pressure rises
- Heart rate is erratic
- Agitation
- Hallucinations
- Seizures
- Heart-related emergencies
What to Do In Case of a Drug Overdose
If you think you or someone else has suffered a drug overdose, it’s imperative to call 911 right away. Do not leave the person until help has arrived.
If someone has lost consciousness, move the person onto their side to don’t choke if vomiting were to occur. Don’t give food or drink to someone you believe has overdosed.
If you realize that a stranger is reacting to a drug overdose, a state’s Good Samaritan Law requires you to call 911 for help while ensuring immunity for possession of specific amounts of illegal substances. This law has meant the difference between life and death in many drug overdose incidents.
Drug Rehab and Detox at Resurgence
You can count on the professionals at Pacific Manor Recovery to be there for you when you need options to overcome addiction.
From our medical detox program to our various levels of holistic rehab programs, we work with you on an individualized basis to help you achieve your goals for long-term recovery from addiction. Our bucolic campus is perfect for the inpatient rehab treatment, but we also offer other outpatient options for recovery.
Call us today (888) 300-4370 to find out which treatment program is best for your needs.
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