Narcotics (morphine, heroin) overdose

Chest | Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation | Narcotics (morphine, heroin) overdose (Disease)


Description

The term drug overdose (or simply overdose or OD) describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced. Symptoms of opioid overdoses include slow breathing, heart rate and pulse. Opioid overdoses can also cause pinpoint pupils, and blue lips and nails due to low levels of oxygen in the blood. A person experiencing an opioid overdose might also have muscle spasms, seizures and decreased consciousness. A person experiencing an opiate overdose usually will not wake up even if their name is called or if they are shaken vigorously.

Causes and Risk factors

An overdose may result in a toxic state or death. Signs and symptoms of an overdose varies depending on the drug or toxin exposure. The symptoms can often be divided into differing toxidromes. This can help one determine what class of drug or toxin is causing the difficulties.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Treating people who are addicted to narcotics is difficult. The most common long-term treatment of the narcotic withdrawal syndrome is substituting methadone for the illicit drug, followed by a slow process of then weaning the abuser off the methadone. Buprenorphine (Buprenex) is another medicine that can be used in the process of detoxification, with the concept being to replace one opioid (for example, heroin) with another and then taper the second opioid slowly.

The drug clonidine has been shown to relieve some of the symptoms of withdrawal, especially salivation, runny nose, sweating, abdominal cramping, and muscle aches. Clonidine, when used in combination with naltrexone, a long-acting narcotic antagonist, produces a more rapid detoxification. The first steps in remaining drug free are overcoming withdrawal symptoms and the physical dependence of narcotics. In addition, many treatment programs are available in the community to help addicts deal with usually intense, longer-term psychological dependence that goes along with being addicted to narcotics. ...