Tablets lethal to life list. Which pills can cause a fatal overdose?

There are medications that do more harm than good, yet doctors continue to write prescriptions for them. This happens, in particular, due to the bribery of doctors by dishonest companies.

The Observer has compiled a list of medications that can cause fatal harm to the human body.

Jess (Yaz) - contraceptive drug

The drug is produced by Bayer for women 35+. Their main component is drospirenone, which increases the concentration of potassium in the blood, which leads to the risk of heart rhythm disturbances and potential death. In addition, this substance promotes the formation of blood clots.

Today, more than 10 thousand people are suing the company, which has already paid $750 million in compensation.

Nuvaring - contraceptive vaginal ring

The drug is produced by the Dutch company Oragnon (now Merck). The company lists only minor side effects: headache and nausea. But the ring provokes blood clots, which can lead to a heart attack, thrombosis and stroke.

Today there are more than 1,700 cases against Nuvaring in the courts. The company was accused of hiding information.

Implants from Stryker

Many companies today offer hip and knee replacements. However, Stryker's Rejuvenate, ABG II and Accolade artificial hip joints are susceptible to corrosion in the human body. During corrosion, foreign substances enter the bloodstream and patients suffer from terrible pain in soft tissues and bones, which even leads to necrosis.

In June 2015, the court imposed a fine on the company in the amount of $1.5 billion.

Androgel - replacement therapy for testosterone deficiency

5% of men diagnosed with testicular hypogonadism have Androgel, Striant or Axiron in their medicine cabinet. Fans of these drugs complain of heart pain, blood clots and other cardiac abnormalities. Abbot Pharmaceutical, the manufacturer of Androgel, was caught bribing doctors to prescribe this particular drug.

Endoscope "Olympus"

The Olympus TJF-Q180V endoscope was used at the Ronald Reagan Medical Center in California and was associated with two deaths. He became a spreader of antibiotic-resistant enterobacteria. There were about 200 such cases. 50% of all infected could die. The investigation showed that no one thoroughly disinfected the endoscope before use, since its structure does not allow processing.

Mirena - contraceptive intrauterine device

Developed and introduced to the market in Europe in 1991, the Mirena intrauterine device from Bayer releases the hormone levonorgestrel. The first alarm bells began to ring when the company itself announced that it was not entirely sure that it knew how the spiral actually worked. Among the complications, cases of ectopic pregnancy and prolapse of the IUD have become common. Mirena caused a disease such as peritonitis due to damage to internal organs.

Zofran - tablets for nausea and motion sickness

The manufacturer of the tablets was accused of not specifying in the instructions what forms of nausea can be relieved with this drug. For example, pregnant women should not take Zofran during toxicosis. Studies have linked the use of Zofran to the risk of developing defects in newborns, including cleft lip, clubfoot, and others. The main component ondansetron affects the level of serotonin in the brain. In pregnant women, this substance crosses the placenta and negatively affects the fetal brain, which is still developing.

In 2012, the company paid $3 billion in fines to the courts.

Xarelto is an anticoagulant drug

An oral anticoagulant is used to treat deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. This drug has a number of serious side effects, including uncontrolled bleeding from any part of the body, including the stomach, brain, or eyes. The worst thing is that no one knows the antidote. Many patients died during treatment.

Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic drug

The drug was developed for the treatment of schizophrenia and depressive conditions, in addition, it was actively used to treat aggressive conditions in children diagnosed with autism. The drug blocks receptors that produce dopamine in the brain. Among the complications during its use, cases of diabetes, obesity, stroke and gynecomastia in men were noted.

Modern medicine offers remedies to treat almost all diseases and strengthen the body as a whole. But many have heard that medicines cure one thing and cripple another. Sometimes this expression, which has long become popular, is applied to human life.

Violation of the rules for taking medications or increased sensitivity of the body to chemical compounds can provoke intoxication at best, and death at worst. So, what common medications should you be wary of? An overdose of which pills leads to death?

Rules for taking medications

Before using any medications, you should consult your doctor. This is rule No. 1 when treating diseases. But there is a small problem: not all doctors have sufficient knowledge and experience. Therefore, to resolve the issue, it is better to choose a proven specialist, especially in the case of serious illnesses.

Secondly, not every person turns to a doctor for help, preferring to self-medicate. If you have a headache, a slightly elevated temperature or a superficial scratch, it’s even embarrassing to go to the hospital. And the person uses the medications on his own, often following the recommendations of very dubious advisers, completely forgetting to read the instructions.

The result is often the swallowing of an excessive amount of tablets, which, instead of healing, leads to a serious complication. Therefore, under any circumstances, you must read the instructions. The manufacturing company always indicates the therapeutic dose of the drug, pharmacological group, possible side effects and compatibility with other medications.

What pills cause death from an overdose? From the most diverse. Popular today and familiar from childhood. Let's take a closer look at the types of drugs that you need to be careful with.

Types of dangerous drugs

This applies to elderly people who are fighting for their lives by all means, this also applies to chronically ill people of any age. And often such patients violate medical recommendations, hoping to get a better effect from a larger dose. Old people sometimes simply forget that just recently they were already taking medication.

An overdose of which pills can cause death? Doctors name several types of especially dangerous medications:

Sleeping pills.
Cardiological.
Neurotropic.
Painkillers.

Sleeping pills

Derivatives of barbituric acid (Pentobarbital, Phenobarbital, etc.) were widely used as sedatives and hypnotics. Over time, their unsafety was proven, and their therapeutic use was significantly narrowed.

In addition, doctors prescribe non-barbituric drugs (Lorazepam, Noctek, etc.) with caution, because they also provoke pronounced side effects:

breathing disorder;
impaired muscle motility (ataxia);
decrease in heart rate;
paralysis of the eye muscles;
confusion.

If a person takes 2-3 times more of these tablets than the recommended amount, then intoxication is guaranteed. And in the case of a 10-fold excess of the therapeutic dosage, death occurs.

Cardiological

Improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system is a concern for many older people. It is after 50-60 years that problems with blood pressure, vascular tone and heart function most often begin.

As aids, doctors recommend drugs based on glycosides - compounds of natural origin. If the therapeutic dosage is observed, they significantly prolong the life of elderly patients.

But if you exceed the number of tablets by at least 10 times, the patient will experience the following symptoms:

intestinal disorders (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting);
nervous disorders (delusions, hallucinations, agitation);
headache;
convulsions;
heart rhythm disturbance.

Not every person's heart can withstand such a load. And in the case of a long-term illness and weakening of the main muscle of the body, there is every chance of a myocardial infarction.

In addition, potassium intoxication poses a considerable danger, the ions of which are involved in the metabolic processes of the cell, the regulation of heart contractions, the maintenance of water-salt homeostasis and the transmission of nerve impulses through neurons.

Accidental overdose of this chemical element provokes arrhythmia, disorientation and decreased blood pressure. And if you introduce 14 g of pure potassium into the body, the heart will stop. By the way, this feature has been adopted by the US authorities: in recent decades, executions have been carried out by lethal injection of potassium.

Neurotropic

In psychiatric practice, they usually resort to drug treatment, which consists of the use of tranquilizers, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Doctors have different views on this therapy. Some consider it advisable to use such means, others prefer more humane ways of helping the patient.

Medicines in this group act on the central nervous system either depressingly or stimulatingly. It all depends on the purpose of treatment. For example, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) increase the concentration of compounds such as serotonin, dopamine and several others.

These substances directly affect the formation of a person’s mood. However, exceeding the dosage causes such strong excitement that the risk of clinical death (coma) increases significantly.

Intoxication sometimes becomes noticeable only a day after the drug is abused, and if help is not provided to the patient, death is quite possible.

Just 100 years ago, cocaine was considered a safe stimulant of the nervous system and was sold in pharmacies without a prescription. Today it is rarely used in medical practice. There are so many cases of deaths from cocaine overdose that the UN added the compound to the prohibited list in 1963.

And yet this does not prevent the “former medicine” from remaining the most popular drug in the world. It is known that long-term use of cocaine provokes the development of psychosis and hallucinations. If you take more than 1.2 g of white powder at one time, your heart will not be able to cope with the load and will stop.

A similar danger comes from tricyclic antidepressants (Amitriptyline, Stelazine, etc.). These drugs are considered reliable means for suppressing anxiety, but almost every representative of this group causes the following symptoms in case of overdose:

weakness;
decreased blood pressure;
hallucinations;
anxious delirium (madness, delirium);
fever.

Death in most cases occurs due to heart rhythm disturbances. And if a toxic dose of Amitriptyline is considered to be 500 mg, then a lethal dose is 1200 mg.

Painkillers

Although this group includes a large number of drugs, narcotic analgesics deserve special attention: morphine, heroin, codeine, methadone and the like. In medical practice, these drugs are used to relieve severe pain.

There are many reasons for such serious treatment, but in each case the medicine is prescribed exclusively by a doctor.

And if the dosage is exceeded, the patient experiences the following symptoms:

constricted pupils;
nausea and vomiting;
breathing disorder;
clouding of consciousness up to hallucinations;
convulsions.

As a result of intoxication with narcotic analgesics, a person often falls into a coma. If the maximum dosage is exceeded, the matter is not limited to clinical death - death occurs.

Some people see a kind of high in the symptoms of side effects. They are called drug addicts. They become addicted to such drugs after only 2-3 uses, and sometimes it is impossible to get off the needle.

The lethal dose of heroin for an adult when administered intravenously is 75 mg, morphine - 200 mg. However, for experienced drug addicts, this amount will only bring pleasure. By the way, long-term use of these drugs significantly reduces the body’s sensitivity to chemical compounds.

And when a disease occurs, doctors simply throw up their hands out of helplessness: the necessary drugs do not work on the patient due to existing drug addiction.

Popular drugs

There are many over-the-counter drugs on the pharmaceutical market that do not require a doctor's prescription. And patients do not always go to the hospital for consultation. Everyone already knows: if you have a headache, Aspirin or Analgin will help, and if you have a fever, Paracetamol will help.

But such popular medications are fraught with danger, which neither doctors nor pharmacy workers warn about. An overdose of which pills can cause rapid death? Let's look at the most popular drugs.

Paracetamol Currently, Paracetamol is produced by almost 30 companies. The medicine is supplied under various brand names, but the active compound is the same everywhere. Preparations based on it are used to reduce body temperature. Some patients believe that if you consistently take 2-3 types of medicinal tea (Coldrex, Fervex, etc.), and also take a tablet with the same substance, the effect will be more pronounced.

Of course, the temperature will drop. And at the same time, intoxication will occur, as a result of which the liver will first suffer. But there is also a risk of destruction of brain cells. The maximum daily dose of Paracetamol is 4 g. Consumption of at least 15 g per day provokes intoxication, and over 20 g - death. Statistics show that in the USA and European countries Paracetamol leads in the number of poisonings, incl. and with fatal outcome.

Aspirin is on the list of essential medications. This chemical compound has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic effects, which is why it is very popular. Back in 1982, the authors of the discovery were awarded the Nobel Prize for giving the world such a miraculous medicine!

A few years later, doctors began to notice the development of Reye's syndrome in children taking Aspirin, even in prescribed doses. This disease is characterized by the destruction of liver cells, and although it occurs very rarely, it is sometimes impossible to save the patient. In addition, the drug thins the blood, which doctors call stomach bleeding.

In light of the popularity of Aspirin, pharmacists forget to warn people: exceeding the therapeutic dose by 10 times leads to intoxication, and consumption of 30-40 g leads to death.

Analgin As a safe pain reliever, domestic doctors often recommend Analgin - metamizole sodium. The medicine acts relatively quickly: in just half an hour the patient will feel relief.

However, in a number of countries (USA, Japan, Sweden, etc.), sodium metamizole is banned due to its ability to cause agranulocytosis, which is characterized by a decrease in the level of leukocytes in the blood and, as a result, an increase in susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infections.

The maximum daily dosage of Analgin is 3 g, and exceeding it leads to the following side effects:

nausea and vomiting;
decrease in blood pressure;
tachycardia;
dyspnea;
respiratory muscle paralysis;
disturbance of consciousness, delirium;
convulsions;
hemorrhagic syndrome.

As you can see from this list, there are plenty of reasons for concern. If the patient’s body is weak initially, then overcoming the symptoms of an overdose without medical help will be problematic. And if you consume more than 20 grams of Analgin, death cannot be avoided.

Iodine After the Chernobyl disaster, authorities disseminated information that iodine reduces the effects of radiation exposure. Yes it is. There is even scientific evidence. However, some people sometimes treat iodine irresponsibly, either not knowing or forgetting about the dangers this chemical element poses.

If you consume more than 500 mg of the drug per day, a person will develop characteristic symptoms:

increase in goiter;
protrusion of the eyes;
tachycardia;
decreased muscle tone;
indigestion.

These symptoms will seem insignificant if the dosage is increased to 2 g. Iodine will simply provoke protein denaturation, which will naturally lead to cell death. But before this, the person will feel severe pain due to burns of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, larynx, stomach and intestines.

This chemical element will be absorbed into the blood, the central nervous system will malfunction, and the heartbeat will sharply slow down. Death from an iodine overdose will be painful.

Vitamins Various vitamin preparations are taken to strengthen the immune system and improve the health of the body; they are generally considered useful and do not cause any harm. However, an excess of vitamins can lead to dire consequences.

Vitamin D is necessary for the body to grow bone tissue. Its deficiency leads to rickets at an early age. To prevent the development of this disease, caring mothers regularly feed their children double and triple doses of vitamin D. The result is often the death of the child due to excessive mineralization and ossification of the skull.

Vitamin C activates immune defense, so it is rightfully considered one of the most important compounds. The daily dose of pure substance for an adult is 90 mg. But if you consume more than 500 mg of vitamin C daily, the human DNA will begin to mutate - instead of normal cells, cancer cells will appear.

In addition, anemia often develops, which in itself is dangerous due to the risk of premature tissue death. And yet this does not prevent some pharmaceutical companies from producing complexes containing ascorbic acid 2-5 times higher than normal.

Vitamin A is required for good vision, growth and development of the body. It is part of the structure of cell membranes and provides antioxidant protection. The permissible daily dose of vitamin A for an adult is 10,000 IU or 3 mg. However, a single consumption of more than 25,000 IU per 1 kg of weight provokes acute poisoning, which is characterized by convulsions and paralysis. If medical assistance is not provided, death is possible.

In turn, daily intake of 4000 IU of vitamin A for 6-15 months causes a chronic overdose. In this case, a person’s vision is impaired, the liver becomes enlarged, and the pressure inside the skull increases with all the ensuing consequences. In addition, with a constant excess of this compound, there are frequent cases of bone fractures without significant load.

First aid for drug overdose

What first aid should be given to a person who has been poisoned by drugs?

A person who has been poisoned by medications requires urgent hospitalization. Only doctors will provide qualified assistance, if, of course, they have time. And for the situation to be clear from the beginning, doctors need to know the name of the tablets.

Anyone who finds a victim should immediately call an ambulance and carefully look for empty drug packs. Perhaps they were the cause of intoxication.

What to do first in case of drug poisoning?

And while the medical team is on the way, it is recommended to rinse the patient’s stomach with salt water (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of water). After drinking 5-6 glasses of this solution, you need to induce vomiting. To be extra safe, the victim should be given 4-5 tablets of activated carbon.

Specialty: general practitioner

Uncontrolled use of sleeping pills and sedatives is very dangerous for a person, especially if he is weakened by illness or has heart problems. The same dose of medicine simply causes a sound sleep in one person, but turns out to be lethal for another. People with unstable mental health may deliberately take a lethal dose of sleeping pills in an attempt to commit suicide, but end up with an overdose and a headache. And some, exhausted by chronic insomnia, exceed the therapeutic dose of the drug recommended by the doctor and die.

Causes of overdose

An overdose of sleeping pills occurs due to non-compliance with prescriptions and negligent attitude towards one’s own health. During the consultation, the doctor takes into account not only weight, age and existing pathologies, but also such important factors as possible side effects of the drug, the person’s condition at the time of prescription, individual intolerance and other characteristics of the body. Exceeding the dose sometimes leads to a tragic outcome.

Most often, death from overdose occurs in the following cases:

If sleeping pills are taken together with alcohol, this enhances the negative effect of the medicine.
In case of unauthorized use of drugs that are incompatible in composition.
If a person himself increases the dose to enhance the soporific effect.
In case of intolerance to the active ingredients of the medication.
When a mentally unstable person deliberately commits suicide.
In case of careless storage of tablets, resulting in poisoning of a child.

In case of overdose, the patient should receive medical assistance as soon as possible. Symptoms of this condition may include loss of coordination, loss of consciousness, weak breathing and cardiac activity.

What drugs can cause poisoning?

Self-medication can cause serious health problems, and in some cases have tragic consequences. An overdose of the following groups of sleeping pills can lead to death:

Benzodiazepines. This group includes drugs such as Nitrazepam, Phenazepam, Relanium, Diazepam. Exceeding the dosage is most often associated with the appearance of bradycardia, hypotension, nystagmus, shortness of breath, hypothermia, loss of coordination and confusion. When drinking alcohol together, serious disorders such as respiratory depression or coma may develop. The lethal dosage of benzodiazepines is quite high. Poisoning is accompanied by moderate symptoms, even if you drink a lot (10 times more than normal).
Barbiturates(Barbital, Phenobarbital). These drugs have many side effects and are rarely used to treat sleep disorders. The lethal dosage of barbiturates is low; it is enough to exceed ten times the average therapeutic amount of the drug. The drug is quickly absorbed in the stomach and enters the blood. Poisoning can cause the death of a patient within 15 minutes.
Antihypertensive drugs(Captopril, Anaprilin). In case of overdose, they provoke a sharp drop in blood pressure, bradycardia, electrolyte imbalance, and in severe cases lead to shock and death.
Bromides(potassium and sodium bromide, Bromizoval). Drugs from this pharmaceutical group enhance inhibition processes in the cerebral cortex. An overdose of medications leads to depression of the functions of the central nervous system and cardiac activity.
Antihistamines(Diphenhydramine, Doxylamine, Suprastin). The effect of these drugs on the central nervous system is due to the blockade of histamine receptors. First generation drugs have a pronounced sedative and hypnotic effect. In case of overdose, respiratory depression, drop in blood pressure, confusion, and blurred vision are possible.

New generation sleeping pills (Zolpidem, Melaxen) are the safest. They are designed to take into account the side effects that were present in the original versions of sleeping pills. The last of them is the safest even in case of overdose.

Death from sleeping pills and tranquilizers

All pharmaceuticals that are actively absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and affect the central nervous system and heart can cause intoxication and death. But overdose of sedatives and sleeping pills is especially insidious; there are also cases of death from taking bromides, death from tranquilizers and antihypertensive drugs.

If you follow the dosage and your doctor's instructions, it is safe to take medications that normalize sleep.

If the dose recommended by a specialist is not enough to achieve an effect, you should visit the doctor again and discuss this situation with him. It is unacceptable to increase the amount of sleeping pills on your own.

Donormil

This sleeping pill is used to normalize the duration and structure of sleep. Despite the over-the-counter sale of tablets, it is dangerous if used uncontrolled. Donormil should not be taken with alcohol, as this can lead to serious poisoning.

The dose of Donormil that can cause death in humans is unknown. The drug affects people differently. Overdose provokes renal failure, convulsions, paralysis of accommodation, delirium, hallucinations, tachycardia.

Melaxen

This is a powerful remedy for insomnia and disorders of the physiological structure of sleep. An overdose of this sleeping pill does not cause serious mental disorders; if a very large amount of the drug is taken, depression, spatial disorientation, irritability, and aggression may develop. In mild cases, absent-mindedness, memory loss, and fatigue occur.

Phenazepam

This drug belongs to a number of powerful tranquilizers. There is no data on how much Phenazepam you need to drink to cause death, it depends on the person’s health condition. For some, a single dose of 10 mg of sleeping pills will cause deep sleep, and for an elderly person, this amount of medication can lead to death.

The total daily dose of the tranquilizer should be a maximum of 7-9 mg.

Symptoms of Phenazepam poisoning:

Dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract.
Uneven breathing.
Drowsiness.
Hypotension.
Urinary retention.
Arrhythmia.
Hypersalivation.
Weak pulse.

Overdose can be fatal. First, heart and kidney failure, circulatory problems, coma appear, and if urgent medical care is not provided, intoxication will cause death.

Zoloft

These are sedative sedatives that are used for depression, anxiety disorders, PTSD, panic attacks and OCD. Whether it is possible to be fatally poisoned by this drug is unknown. An overdose of Zoloft (Sertraline) is accompanied by moderate symptoms of poisoning, but parallel use of the drug with other pharmaceuticals and alcohol causes severe intoxication.

Lethal doses of drugs

Each organism is individual, and the symptoms of poisoning manifest themselves differently. It is impossible to say exactly how many tablets of a particular drug will be needed to cause death, but averages still exist.

The lethal dose of Donormil is 10 tablets (150 mg). Drinking alcohol while taking pills is fraught with severe poisoning with a fatal outcome; death can occur even with a single dose of 45 mg of the drug.

The maximum daily dose of Phenozepam is 7-9 mg. Taking 10 mg of sleeping pills can cause death.

Zoloft does not produce significant symptoms in case of overdose, but the simultaneous use of this sleeping pill with some other drugs or alcohol causes severe intoxication, and in some cases cause the death of the patient.

The lethal dose of barbiturates is dangerously low - taking 10 times the normal dosage is enough. But with timely auxiliary measures, a person can be saved in most cases.

First aid

If symptoms of an overdose of sleeping pills appear, an intensive care team is urgently needed. While waiting for medical help, you should try to detoxify the body on your own, since substances are absorbed every minute and aggravate the person’s serious condition:

First you need to do a gastric lavage or induce a gag reflex. The procedure makes sense if no more than 40 minutes have passed since taking the medicine. The victim must be conscious at this time. You need to give him as much water as possible (3-4 glasses), and then press on the root of the tongue with two fingers until the urge to vomit appears. Repeat the manipulation a couple of times. If the patient is very weak, you can lay him on his side; this will ease his condition and prevent aspiration of stomach contents.
After gastric lavage from sleeping pills, any available sorbent (Enterosgel, Smecta, Polysorb) is given parenterally.
If, as a result of poisoning during an overdose, the patient is unconscious and there is no reaction to pain, then vomiting is unacceptable. This will lead to the development of aspiration pneumonia, which in turn will be complicated by heart failure and pulmonary edema.

If the resuscitation team is delayed, and the patient shows signs of cardiac and respiratory arrest, then chest compressions and artificial ventilation should be started. Intensive care measures must be continuous until the doctors arrive.

Almost every instruction for the use of a particular drug contains an “Overdose” clause, which indicates the consequences that threaten the patient if the drug is “too much.”

As a rule, the lethal dose of the tablets is not indicated there. However, it is necessary to know about this, if only so that in case of accidental ingestion, you can correctly identify the symptoms of poisoning and provide first aid.

There are interesting statistics, albeit for America, but this is not the point. In this country, literally every 19 minutes, one person dies due to overdosing on medications.

The problem of taking lethal doses of pills is quite common today. After all, for poisoning to occur, you need a dose only 10 times higher than normal. Thus, the lethal dose of Phenazepam tablets, a popular tranquilizer, is 10 mg.

The figure for children and the elderly is two times less.

There are a number of reasons for overdoses, among which an important one is people’s love for self-medication. This is also predisposed by the fact that many medications - and by no means harmless ones - are sold in pharmacies without a prescription.

A person can take lethal pills consciously, wanting to commit suicide. But more often it happens that this happens either due to absent-mindedness, or in case of non-compliance with the recommended rules of administration. A similar nuisance can happen to a child who discovers a package of pills and decides to try them like candy. Be that as it may, the person must be saved and done as quickly as possible.

How to determine an overdose?

If the patient has taken an increased dose of pills, the body’s reaction will not be unambiguous: it depends on various factors, including gender and age. The disease for which a particular drug is prescribed, as well as possible concomitant ailments, also play a role.

Of course, the symptoms will also depend on the type of pills taken - what properties and mechanism of action they have. Among the brightest and most frequently encountered are the following:

the patient may feel dizzy;
often the condition is aggravated by abdominal pain and stool upset;
the appearance of seizures is observed;
poisoning of this kind threatens depression and respiratory arrest;
vision is impaired;
Hallucinations occur.

Video: Dose Required to Death

Such reactions, in particular, can be caused by paracetamol, a very popular antipyretic and analgesic medicine. The lethal dose of paracetamol in tablets, according to various sources, ranges from 50 to 75 pieces. If we express this in grams, then the figure will be: 10–15 g. But even when taking more than 20 tablets, big troubles are guaranteed. Thus, the occurrence of acute liver failure can also be added to the reactions described above. In such a situation, if you do not immediately consult a doctor, the only way to save the person within 24 hours is with a liver transplant.

The whole body, as a result of “overdosing” with paracetamol, slowly but surely decomposes, and after a week and a half it can be stated: an overdose of tablets has occurred with a fatal outcome.

The very first aid

Help provided “hot on the heels” can literally save a person’s life. But, nevertheless, if an overdose of pills occurs, what to do before starting any action is to first call an ambulance or call a poison control center and get advice. To do this, you need to know the name of the medicine that the patient took, when approximately this happened, as well as the age of the victim.

First aid for an overdose of tablets before the ambulance arrives will be to rinse the victim’s stomach, causing him to vomit, and thereby preventing the drug from being absorbed into the mucous membranes. This measure is applicable, of course, if the patient is not unconscious, and is especially effective in the first half hour after taking a large dose of medication, but not more than two hours.
In any case, after gastric lavage, an overdose will not interfere with activated carbon - an excellent adsorbent that can quickly neutralize the medication. Charcoal tablets must first be crushed, and four tablespoons of powder should be diluted in a glass of water. To neutralize a lethal dose of pills for humans, in particular, aspirin or sleeping pills, 10 grams of activated carbon is enough.
To combat the effects of sleeping pills or sedatives, you can use regular tea, which contains substances that excite the nervous system.

How to induce vomiting?

Although the symptoms of an overdose of some drugs include vomiting, you should not wait for this to happen by itself, since the drug will already have time to be absorbed, and rinsing in this case is unlikely to help.

Vomiting can be induced in several ways.

An effective solution of dry mustard or salt is to drink at least three glasses, diluting two teaspoons of powder or salt per glass.
You can give the victim a soap solution to drink.
Pressing your palm on the upper abdomen can also cause vomiting.
And the classic version is “two fingers in the mouth”, i.e. put your finger down the throat of an overdose victim.

We must remember, so to speak, about safety precautions: so that the patient does not choke on vomit, vomiting must be induced by laying him on his side or sitting with his head tilted forward.

Video: TOP 5 Lethal Doses of Common Substances

Poisoning can be avoided

I would like to once again quote the usual phrase from the instructions for using medications: store in a place inaccessible to children. And since we are talking about children, it makes sense to remind you of the necessary precautions.

Be sure to check whether you are giving the right drug to your child. After all, by any chance, the required pills in the package may turn out to be completely different.
It is strictly not recommended to call it delicious candy when persuading a child to take a pill.
Children's medicines in liquid form usually come with a dropper or measuring spoon. You need to use only them, then the possibility of an overdose will simply be excluded.

Video: TOP 10 UNSUCCESSFUL SUICIDES - Interesting facts

To the question: “What pills can cause death overdose?” – didn’t arise at all, you need to adopt a few simple rules. So,

Before you start taking prescribed medications, you should definitely read the contents of the package insert, paying special attention to side effects.
Follow the recommendations of the doctor who prescribed this or that medicine.
If you have received a prescription from different specialists, you should consult with your therapist regarding the compatibility of the prescribed drugs. In case of uncertainty or uncertainty, it is better to stop at some safe analogue.
If several medications are prescribed, then different tablets are taken separately, and not all in one handful.
No economic considerations should force you to take expired medications.
Observe the rules and storage conditions: temperature, light, moisture, etc. In particular, it is not recommended to keep pills in the bathroom cabinet, no matter how ideally designed it is for this purpose.

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Rules for taking medications

Before using any medications, you should consult your doctor.

This is rule No. 1 when treating diseases. But there is a small problem: not all doctors have sufficient knowledge and experience. Therefore, to resolve the issue, it is better to choose a proven specialist, especially in the case of serious illnesses.

Secondly, not every person turns to a doctor for help, preferring to self-medicate.

If you have a headache, a slightly elevated temperature or a superficial scratch, it’s even embarrassing to go to the hospital.

And the person uses the medications on his own, often following the recommendations of very dubious advisers, completely forgetting to read the instructions.

What pills cause death from an overdose? From the most diverse. Popular today and familiar from childhood. Let's take a closer look at the types of drugs that you need to be careful with.

Types of dangerous drugs

It turns out that absolutely all medications can poison a person. Even harmless, at first glance, Aspirin and advertised Paracetamol. But if such drugs are used only to eliminate symptoms (which means quite rarely), then some drugs are used systematically.

This applies to elderly people who are fighting for their lives by all means, this also applies to chronically ill people of any age.

And often such patients violate medical recommendations, hoping to get a better effect from a larger dose.

Old people sometimes simply forget that just recently they were already taking medication.

An overdose of which pills can cause death? Doctors name several types of especially dangerous medications:

sleeping pills;
cardiological;
neurotropic;
painkillers.

Sleeping pills

Derivatives of barbituric acid (Pentobarbital, Phenobarbital, etc.) were widely used as sedatives and hypnotics.

Over time, their unsafety was proven, and their therapeutic use was significantly narrowed. In addition, doctors prescribe non-barbituric drugs (Lorazepam, Noctek, etc.) with caution, because they also provoke pronounced side effects:

breathing disorder;
impaired muscle motility (ataxia);
decrease in heart rate;
paralysis of the eye muscles;
confusion.

If a person takes 2-3 times more of the recommended amount of such tablets, then intoxication is guaranteed. And in the case of a 10-fold excess of the therapeutic dosage, death occurs.

Cardiological

Improving the functioning of the cardiovascular system is a concern for many older people.

It is after 50 - 60 years that problems with blood pressure, vascular tone and heart function most often begin. As aids, doctors recommend drugs based on glycosides - compounds of natural origin. If the therapeutic dosage is observed, they significantly prolong the life of elderly patients.

But if you exceed the number of tablets by at least 10 times, the patient will experience the following symptoms:

intestinal disorders (diarrhea, nausea, vomiting);
nervous disorders (delusions, hallucinations, agitation);
headache;
convulsions;
heart rhythm disturbance.

Not every person's heart can withstand such a load. And in the case of a long-term illness and weakening of the main muscle of the body, there is every chance of a myocardial infarction.

Accidental overdose of this chemical element provokes arrhythmia, disorientation and decreased blood pressure.

And if you introduce 14 g of pure potassium into the body, the heart will stop. By the way, this feature has been adopted by the US authorities: in recent decades, executions have been carried out by lethal injection of potassium.

Neurotropic

Medicines in this group act on the central nervous system either depressingly or stimulatingly.

It all depends on the purpose of treatment. For example, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) increase the concentration of compounds such as serotonin, dopamine and several others. These substances directly affect the formation of a person’s mood.

However, exceeding the dosage causes such strong excitement that the risk of clinical death (coma) increases significantly. Intoxication sometimes becomes noticeable only a day after the drug is abused, and if help is not provided to the patient, death is quite possible.

Just 100 years ago, cocaine was considered a safe stimulant of the nervous system and was sold in pharmacies without a prescription. Today it is rarely used in medical practice.

There are so many cases of deaths from cocaine overdose that the UN added the compound to the prohibited list in 1963. And yet this does not prevent the “former medicine” from remaining the most popular drug in the world.

It is known that long-term use of cocaine provokes the development of psychosis and hallucinations. If you take more than 1.2 g of white powder at one time, your heart will not be able to cope with the load and will stop.

weakness;
decreased blood pressure;
hallucinations;
anxious delirium (madness, delirium);
fever.

Death in most cases occurs due to heart rhythm disturbances. And if a toxic dose of Amitriptyline is considered to be 500 mg, then a lethal dose is 1200 mg.

Painkillers

Although this group includes a large number of drugs, narcotic analgesics deserve special attention: morphine, heroin, codeine, methadone and the like.

In medical practice, these drugs are used to relieve severe pain.

There are many reasons for such serious treatment, but in each case the medicine is prescribed exclusively by a doctor. And if the dosage is exceeded, the patient experiences the following symptoms:

constricted pupils;
nausea and vomiting;
breathing disorder;
clouding of consciousness up to hallucinations;
convulsions.

As a result of intoxication with narcotic analgesics, a person often falls into a coma. If the maximum dosage is exceeded, the matter is not limited to clinical death - death occurs.

Some people see a kind of high in the symptoms of side effects. They are called drug addicts. They become addicted to such drugs after 2-3 uses, and sometimes it is impossible to get off the needle.

The lethal dose of heroin for an adult when administered intravenously is 75 mg, morphine - 200 mg. However, for experienced drug addicts, this amount will only bring pleasure.

By the way, long-term use of these drugs significantly reduces the body’s sensitivity to chemical compounds. And when a disease occurs, doctors simply throw up their hands out of helplessness: the necessary drugs do not work on the patient due to existing drug addiction.

Popular drugs

But such popular medications are fraught with danger, which neither doctors nor pharmacy workers warn about. An overdose of which pills can cause rapid death? Let's look at the most popular drugs.

Paracetamol

Currently, Paracetamol is produced by almost 30 companies. The medicine is supplied under various brand names, but the active compound is the same everywhere. Preparations based on it are used to reduce body temperature. Some patients believe that if you sequentially take 2 - 3 types of medicinal tea (Coldrex, Fervex, etc.), and even take a tablet with the same substance, the effect will be more pronounced.

Consumption of at least 15 g per day provokes intoxication, and over 20 g - death. Statistics show that in the USA and European countries Paracetamol leads in the number of poisonings, including deaths.

Aspirin

Acetylsalicylic acid - Aspirin - is on the list of essential drugs. This chemical compound has anti-inflammatory, antipyretic and analgesic effects, which is why it is very popular. Back in 1982, the authors of the discovery were awarded the Nobel Prize for giving the world such a miraculous medicine!

In light of the popularity of Aspirin, pharmacists forget to warn people: exceeding the therapeutic dose by 10 times leads to intoxication, and consumption of 30 - 40 g leads to death.

Analgin

Domestic doctors often recommend Analgin - metamizole sodium - as a safe pain reliever. The medicine acts relatively quickly: in just half an hour the patient will feel relief.

The maximum daily dosage of Analgin is 3 g, and exceeding it leads to the following side effects:

nausea and vomiting;
decrease in blood pressure;
tachycardia;
dyspnea;
respiratory muscle paralysis;
disturbance of consciousness, delirium;
convulsions;
hemorrhagic syndrome.

Iodine

After the Chernobyl disaster, authorities disseminated information that iodine reduces the effects of radiation exposure. Yes it is. There is even scientific evidence.

However, some people sometimes treat iodine irresponsibly, either not knowing or forgetting about the dangers this chemical element poses. If you consume more than 500 mg of the drug per day, a person will develop characteristic symptoms:

increase in goiter;
protrusion of the eyes;
tachycardia;
decreased muscle tone;
indigestion.

When this chemical element is absorbed into the blood, the central nervous system will malfunction, and the heartbeat will sharply slow down. Death from an iodine overdose will be painful.

Vitamins

Vitamin D is necessary for the body to grow bone tissue. Its deficiency leads to rickets at an early age.

To prevent the development of this disease, caring mothers regularly feed their children double and triple doses of vitamin D. The result is often the death of the child due to excessive mineralization and ossification of the skull.

However, a single consumption of more than 25,000 IU per 1 kg of weight provokes acute poisoning, which is characterized by convulsions and paralysis. If medical assistance is not provided, death is possible.

In turn, daily intake of 4000 IU of vitamin A for 6 to 15 months causes a chronic overdose. In this case, a person’s vision is impaired, the liver becomes enlarged, and the pressure inside the skull increases with all the ensuing consequences. In addition, with a constant excess of this compound, there are frequent cases of bone fractures without significant load.

First aid for drug overdose

Anyone who finds a victim should immediately call an ambulance and carefully look for empty drug packs. Perhaps they were the cause of intoxication.

And while the medical team is on the way, it is recommended to rinse the patient’s stomach with salt water (1 teaspoon of salt per 1 liter of water). After drinking 5 - 6 glasses of this solution, you need to induce vomiting. For greater reliability, the victim should be given 4 - 5 tablets of activated carbon.

Conclusion

This article provides a detailed answer to the question, “Which pills can cause a fatal overdose?” However, this information is not an instruction for suicide, but a warning about the dangers of illiterate use of medications.