Overdose
An overdose is when someone takes too much of a certain drug. This may be done voluntarily (as an attempt of suicide) or involuntarily (accidentally). The drug may be a drug taken to treat some medical condition, or it may be a drug taken for recreation. Overdoses are considered to be poisoning, usually. They may lead to death, depending on the drug used.
| Drug overdose | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
 Activated carbon is a commonly used agent for decontamination of the gastrointestinal tract in overdoses. | |
| ICD-10 | T36.{{{3}}}-T50.{{{3}}} |
| ICD-9 | 960-979 |
| DiseasesDB | 3971 |
| MeSH | D015537 |
What to do with people who had an overdose
If someone is thought to have had an overdose it is important to get them to a doctor, or hospital. It can be very hard to see what kind of drug was taken. Therefore, it can be hard for the doctor to find an antidote to give. For this reason, a packet (even if it is empty) of the drug should be taken.
- Act as described in medical emergency, call an ambulance.
- In addition, the person who has taken the overdose needs to be kept from the effects of the drug. In the case of pills that act like sleeping pills, he or she must be kept from falling asleep or unconscious. In the case of pills that act like stimulants, he or she must be calmed down, moved to a calm environment.
Overdose Media
U.S. yearly overdose deaths from all drugs.
US yearly overdose deaths, and the drugs involved. Among the 70,200 deaths in 2017, the sharpest increase occurred among deaths related to fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (synthetic opioids) with 28,466 deaths.
U.S. yearly overdose deaths involving benzodiazepines.
U.S. yearly overdose deaths involving cocaine.
U.S. yearly deaths involving prescription opioids. Non-methadone synthetics is a category dominated by illegally acquired fentanyl, and has been excluded.
U.S. overdose deaths involving all opioids. Deaths per 100,000 population.
U.S. yearly overdose deaths involving heroin.
