A healthy night's sleep is a prerequisite for good health. If for some reason its quality is reduced, nervous disorders, psychosomatic and other disorders inevitably appear. Today there are many ways to make it easier to fall asleep and restore normal sleep. However, most people are accustomed to using medications for this.
If safety precautions are not followed, an overdose of sleeping pills sometimes occurs. Most often this happens to elderly patients due to inattention. In addition, the risk group includes people with unstable mental health or those who want to commit suicide. Let's look at the symptoms of an overdose of various types of sleeping pills (hypnotics).
Basic information
Sedatives are a group of drugs (psycholeptics) of herbal or chemical origin, the action of which is aimed at reducing emotional stress (calming) without a hypnotic effect. In comparison with stronger tranquilizers or antidepressants, sedatives do not have a pronounced antiphobic effect, and also do not cause muscle relaxation (myorelaxation) and chaotic heterogeneous muscle contractions (ataxia). This type of medication is successfully and safely used to treat mental disorders in elderly and senile patients.
How to deal with sleep disturbances due to alcoholism?
The only way out is alternative methods. If you are intoxicated, but need to cope with insomnia, try to neutralize the negative effects of alcohol.
Drink 7-8 tablets of activated carbon and 1.5-2 liters of water. This will allow your body to quickly overcome intoxication and relieve the stress placed on important internal organs: kidneys, liver and blood vessels.
Sleeping pills and alcohol are incompatible things. strongly do not recommend taking them at the same time , because such a combination can lead not just to negative, but to unpredictable consequences for your body!
Causes of overdose of sedatives
The problem of overdose of sedatives is due to the fact that most of these drugs are sold in pharmacies without a doctor's prescription, as well as the tendency of people to self-medicate. Poisoning can be intentional (attempted suicide) or accidental (failure to comply with the instructions for using pills).
Most often, middle-aged and elderly people, mainly men, suffer from an overdose of sedative pills. The prevalence of sedative overdose is slightly lower among children and adolescents under 15 years of age, since this category of citizens uses medications the least. In addition, the use of expired medications and/or combining them with other pharmaceuticals can also cause serious intoxication of the body.
Attention! If, despite maintaining a normal daily routine, the use of sedatives does not give the desired effect, you should consult a specialist.
Preventive measures
In order to avoid undesirable consequences of using hypnotics, you should adhere to a number of simple rules:
- Before use, always carefully read the names of drugs and instructions, pay attention to the expiration date.
- Avoid self-medication. That is, do not mix drugs, do not prescribe them yourself, do not increase the dose without the advice of a doctor.
- Listen to the body’s reactions, immediately respond to unusual signs (dizziness, nausea, problems with stool).
- Do not drink alcoholic beverages while taking hypnotics.
The ability to buy some products without a prescription does not eliminate the risks and side effects! In any case, consultation with a specialist is necessary!
Hypnotics are the last resort if other means (walking, massage, activity) are ineffective.
Symptoms of an overdose of sedatives
We wrote about an overdose of Novo-Passit here. Now let’s look at the main clinical signs of poisoning with sedatives in general. So, what happens if you take a lot of sedatives?
- Headache and dizziness,
- Weakness, fatigue and drowsiness,
- Heartburn, nausea and vomiting,
- Pain and discomfort in the abdominal area,
- Stool disorder (diarrhea),
- Urinary dysfunction
- Allergic skin rashes,
- Thirst and feeling of dry mouth,
- Loss of coordination of movements,
- Uncontrollable muscle contractions (cramps),
- Visual and hearing impairment
- Lethargy and disorientation in space and time,
- Delusions and hallucinations,
- Depression of cardiac activity and breathing until they stop.
The severity of negative manifestations depends on the form of the drug and the amount of the drug taken, the age and general health of the person. Tablets take longer to dissolve and enter the bloodstream more slowly than drops or injection solutions, so the victim’s overdose symptoms develop less intensely. And this increases the chances of his salvation. In the older generation, as well as in patients with an extensive list of pathologies, metabolism is most often slowed down, which also reduces the risk of death if assistance is provided in a timely manner.
Note: even an overdose of valerian can negatively affect the health of an elderly person, although it is classified as a mild sedative.
Sleep without sleeping pills
Taking pills to speed up sleep is a fundamental method of combating insomnia, which in many cases can be dealt with on your own. To do this, you need to reconsider your diet, daily routine and lifestyle. Poor sleep is caused by: • an uncomfortable bed; • incorrect posture during rest; • physical activity before bedtime, which provokes excitability of the body; • prolonged work at the computer, especially in the evening; • eating before bed. Despite the availability of drugs in pharmacies that are sold without a prescription and help cope with lack of sleep, you can overcome the disease by observing the correct rest and wakefulness regime.
First aid and subsequent treatment
Mild poisoning often does not require medical intervention. It is enough to do a gastric lavage and take a sorbent to eliminate the negative symptoms. But since it is very difficult for a non-specialist to determine with high accuracy the boundary between degrees of severity, it is best to play it safe and call an ambulance.
What to do in case of an overdose of sedatives before the doctors arrive? Rinse the stomach: drink a couple of glasses of clean water and mechanically induce vomiting (press your fingers on the root of the tongue). Repeat the procedure several times until the wash water is clear.
After emptying the stomach, take enterosorbent. This is a drug that binds and removes toxins from the body, normalizes digestion and restores intestinal microflora after poisoning, and will be effective both as an emergency aid and as a therapeutic and prophylactic agent for further therapy.
The most affordable sorbents that should be in any first aid kit:
- Activated carbon,
- Smecta,
- Polysorb,
- Polyphepan,
- Enterosgel,
- Neosmectin,
- Bifiform,
- Whitesorb et al.
After completing the activities, you need to follow the instructions of specialists and drink plenty of fluids to “flush” toxins from the body.
Further therapy for an overdose of sedatives consists of taking antihistamines (antiallergic) drugs, enterosorbents, painkillers, antiemetics, etc. The list of medications can be expanded depending on the variety of clinical manifestations. Only a doctor can prescribe medications for poisoning.
Normal dose of the drug and effect on the body
The main ingredient of donormil is doxylamine, a chemical that can block H1 receptors and M-cholinergic receptors, which transmit impulses in the central nervous system. As a result, brain activity decreases, nervous excitement is relieved, relaxation occurs and sleep improves.
Under the influence of the drug donormil, calm occurs, falling asleep becomes easier, and the time and depth of sleep increases . Donormil is very quickly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, its effect begins after 15-20 minutes, reaches a maximum after 2. The drug begins to be eliminated from the body after 6 hours, and by 8 hours its effect ends.
The described effect can be achieved by following a certain dose, which for adults is from 7.5 to 30 mg per day. Each tablet contains 15 mg of the active substance, the first dose begins with ½ tablet, if the effect is weak, take a whole tablet. The dose can be increased only on the recommendation of a doctor, and it should not exceed 2 tablets per day.
Further in the article you will find answers to questions such as: is it possible to take the drug with alcohol, is donormil addictive, what are the symptoms of an overdose of sleeping pills and how to provide first aid in case of poisoning.
Consequences of an overdose of sedatives
Any emergency condition, including an overdose of sedatives, does not pass without leaving a trace on the body. All acute symptoms can transform into chronic pathologies or life-threatening conditions:
- renal/liver failure,
- Quincke's edema,
- anaphylactic shock,
- respiratory dysfunction,
- cardiovascular diseases,
- intestinal dysbiosis,
- disruption of brain function,
- paralysis,
- coma,
- death.
The lethal dose of a sedative for a person is calculated purely individually. Medicine knows of cases where intoxication developed and death occurred from taking tablets in an amount of 0.1-0.3 g per kg of body weight. And vice versa, from the dose of 45 g taken, not only did no one die, but they continued to feel great.
Possible forecasts
Death is the worst ending in case of poisoning. The comatose state speaks for itself - it is a borderline option, ambiguous, individual.
In addition to these outcomes, there are others that you can live with:
- mental disorders;
- pneumonia;
- renal, liver, heart failure;
- neuralgia.
An overdose of first-generation sleeping pills (barbiturates) often results in disability. The prognosis depends on the amount of the substance taken.
The presence, nature and strength of the consequences depend on the type of sleeping pill taken, the duration of the period of intoxication, and the assistance provided (timeliness and effectiveness). In some cases they can be avoided. Otherwise, you can live with them, but the quality of life will suffer.
Prevention
The main methods for preventing overdose of sedatives are as follows:
- Do not self-medicate.
- Carefully study the instructions before using the drug, in particular, sections with contraindications and side effects.
- Do not exceed the dosage permitted by the instructions and the doctor.
- Do not take medicine that has expired.
- Observe the storage conditions of the medicine specified in the instructions.
- Store medications in places inaccessible to children and elderly and senile people, as well as those suffering from dementia.
If you follow these rules, then neither you nor your loved ones will suffer from an overdose of sedatives.
Sedatives are the safest of all psychotic drugs. They do not cause withdrawal symptoms, do not provoke the development of addiction, and at the same time show good effectiveness in the treatment and prevention of nervous disorders. But nevertheless, to prevent the medicine from becoming a poison, you need to be careful when using sedatives, follow the instructions and doctor’s recommendations.
Sleep disorders affect any person, regardless of age. The reasons are different: stress at work or at home, poor performance at school, unhappy love or upcoming life changes. Problems accumulate during the day and in the evening they deprive you of sleep. And here comes the turn of sedatives. Let's figure out what is the lethal dose of sleeping pills for a person in tablets, why it is better not to buy medications without a prescription, and whether there is an effective non-addictive medicine.
Tablets for eternal sleep on sale
As scary as it is to realize, even the popular “No-shpa” can lead to death. An overdose of any medicine has dangerous consequences. That is why all pharmacists and doctors strongly advise keeping any medications away from children and carefully reading the instructions.
Drugs sold without a prescription, but which pose a direct threat to life in case of overdose - all sleep medications containing active substances: doxylamine succinate, phenobarbital, barbiturates, benzodiazepine. These may be medications:
This list may include many other harmless remedies for allergies and colds, as well as tranquilizers. If you take them incorrectly, a person may simply not wake up.
Is it addictive to Donormil?
All drugs that act on the central nervous system are addictive to one degree or another, and Donormil is no exception. And although these properties are expressed to a small extent, with prolonged use the effect is weakened and there is a need for a higher dose before achieving the effect.
It is not recommended to use the drug for more than 2 weeks, and the dose should always be agreed with your doctor.
Addiction sets in faster when Donormil is combined with alcohol. It weakens the sensitivity of the nervous system to the drug and reduces its effect. As a result, a higher dose is required, and this contributes to the development of addiction. Therefore, Donormil should be taken no earlier than 2-3 days after drinking alcohol.
Another problem is that Donormil is not included in the list of prescription drugs and can be freely purchased at a pharmacy. There is an opinion that if the medicine is not one of the barbiturates and other potent drugs, then there is no fear of addiction or poisoning. This is a misconception: Donormil is a convenient and “fast” sleeping pill, but requires a careful approach to administration.
Emergency life saving
If one of your family or friends is taking a dangerous drug, you need to monitor how much the person has taken. It is especially important to control the dosage in older people who are prone to forgetfulness. It would be useful to learn the symptoms that indicate that you have taken a lot of the drug.
In any case, you cannot do without calling an emergency team. It is important to remember the name of the medications and not throw away the containers of the medications so that doctors can begin detoxification as quickly as possible and minimize the strong negative effect of poisoning.
First steps at home
While the ambulance is on its way, you should take a number of independent measures. In particular, if a person started using sleeping pills 30 minutes ago and is still conscious, you need to:
- give as much water as possible to drink;
- induce vomiting;
- give sorbents (activated carbon);
- pour sweet strong tea or milk.
If a person is unconscious, the algorithm of actions is:
- open your mouth and check for tablets - a large amount cannot be swallowed at once;
- if there are signs of breathing or heartbeat, place the patient on his side;
- vomiting began, you need to make sure that the respiratory organs are not clogged.
In case of cardiac arrest, indirect massage is necessary. You need to know this if there is a seriously ill person in the house, whose treatment is carried out with injections or sleeping pills.
Chances of survival
With timely help, the result of poisoning can be reversible. It is only important that the right doctor or person who knows what to do is nearby. With all other factors, there is also a chance to survive, however, severe damage to the brain and internal organs will result in a series of diseases, mental disorders and other troubles.
yaHLORNLSH OPHGMYUYH
yKKHMKHVEYAYU YYUPRKHMYU NYARPNTSN NRPYUBKEMKH • oYAKHUNMEBPNKNTSKHVEYAYKHE PUYAYARPNYARBU, ONYAKEDNBUREKEMNYARE YARYUDKHI (B GYUBKHYAHLNYARKH NR YNKKHVEYARBU OPKHMIRNTSN BE YYYARBU) •• I YARYUDKH (K╦TSYNE NRPYUBKEMKHE) ••• mYUPYNRHVEYAYNE NOEMEMKHE, YAOSRYUMMNYARE YANGMMYUMKHE, NTKSKSYEMKHE, YANONPNNGMSHI TKSANYKHI YANM; YNMRYUR I ANKEMSHLH BNGLNFEM ••• xGLEMEMHE BEKHVKHMSH X PEYUYZHHH GPYUVYNB MU YABER, ORNG, MKHYARYUTSL, MYUPSIEMHE YNMBEPTSEMZHHH ••• tsHONRNMKH LSHZH X YAMHFEMHE YASUNFH KEMSHU PETKEYANB, LNGFEVYNBU YURYUYAKH ••• khMNTSDU TSKHONRNMKH LSHZH YALEMERYAY OEPKHNDHVEYAYKHL ONBSHYEMKHEL LSHYEVMNTSN RNMSYU ON YAOYUYARHVEYAYNLS RHOS X NFKHBKEMHEL I SUNFHKEMSHU PETKEYYANB •• II YARYUDKH (NRPYUBKEMKHE YAPEDMEI RFEYARKH) ••• onBEPUMNYARMYU YNLYU, NASHVMN I STSMEREMKHEL YNPMEYUKEMSHU KH YASUNFKHKEMSHU PETKEYANB, MYUPSIEMKHE TSKNRYUMKH, NYAK YUAKEMHE YUKEBNTSN PETKEYYAYU ••• gPYUVYH NASHVMN SGYKHE, PEYUYZHH MU YABER NRYASRYARBSER •• III YARYUDH (RUF╦KNE NRPYUBKEMKHE ) ••• tsKSANYU YNLYU I YUPETKEYAKHEI, YURNMKHEI H NRYASRYARBHEL PEYUYZHKH MU ANKE ••• oPENAKYUDYUMHE LHDPHYUGYU; PEYUYZHKH GPYUVYNB MU YABER X YNPMEYUKEMSHE PETKEYYASH NRYASRYARBSCHR ••• mYUPSEMKH DSHUYUMH - NR ONBEPUMNNYARMNTSN YUPHRLKHVMNTSN DSHUYUMH DN ETsN NYARYUMNBYKH ••• yaEPDEVMN – YANYASDHYARSHE MYUPSYEMKH — RYUUHYUPDKH, OYUDEMKHE yud (STSMEREMKHE YANYASDNDBHTSUREKEMNTSN ZHEMRPU) ••• pYuYYARPNYARBU REPLNPETSKIZHKH (TSKHON – HKH TsHOEPREPLKH).
• mYUPSYEMKH DSHUYUMKH (MUACCHDYUCHR B 10–15% YAKSVYUEB) •• yuYaOKHPYUZHNMMN – NARSPYUZHNMMSHE MUPSYUMKH, BSHGBYUMMSHE LEUUMKHVEYAYNI YUYATHYYAKHEI BYAKEDYARBHE APNMUNPEKH, TsKHOE PYYUKKHBYUZHKH, GYUOYUDEMKH YGSHYU, KYUPKHMTSNAPNMUNYAOYUGLYU, YUYAOKHPUZHKHH (OPENAKYUDUCHR OPH ONBEPUMNYARMNI YNLE) •• ZHEMRPUKEMSHE MYUPSYEMKHYU, BSHGBYUMMSHE STSMEREMKHEL OPNDNKTSN BYURNTSN LNGTSYU (OPENAKUDYUCHR OPH TsKSANYNL YNLYURNGMNL YANYARNMHH).
• mYUPSYEMKH TSMYZHKH yayaya •• RYUUHYYUPDH, YUPREPHYUKEMYU TSKHONREMGH, OPHTSKSEMMNYARE RNMNB YEPJYU, YAHYARNKHVEYAYKHI LS •• RNYYAHVEYAYU DHYARPNTKH LHNYYUPDYU, ONKM NYARECH NAPIURKHLYU OPH BSHGDNPNBKEMXX.
yKKHMKHVEYAYU YUPRKHMYU UPNMKHVEYAYNTSN NRPYUBKEMKH • yuAYARKHMEMRSHI YAHMDPNL •• VEPEG 16–20 IN ONYAK ONYAKEDMETSN OPH╦LYU AYUPAKHRSPYURNB ONEBKCHRYA AEYAONYNIYA RBN, YAKYUANYARE, MYUPYUYARYUCHYKHI RPELNP PSY, AEYAYANMMKHJYU •• VEPEG 24–30 V YAHLORNLYURHYU YARYUMNBHRYA ANKEE BSHPUFEMMNI, OPKHYANEDKHMCHRYA RNMNRYU, PBNRYU, ANKE B FH BNRE •• mu 2–3 – AND DEME BNGDEPFYUMHЪ LNTsSR ONЪBKHREYA YKNMHYNRNMHVEYAYKHE YADNPNTSKH BOKNRE DN SCHOHKEORKHVEYAYNTSN YARYURSYAYU, GPHREKEMSHE TSYUKKCHZHHMYUZHKH, TSHOEPREPLKH, D BKHTSUREKEMNE BNGASFDEMKHE, YNKKYUOYA; BNGLNFEM KERYUKEMSHI HYAUND • yaL. RUYFE PYYYYARPNYARBU, YABGYUMMSHE I SONRPEAKEMHEL OYAKHUNYYRKHBMSHU BEYYYARB. kYUANPYURNPMSHE HYAYAKEDNBYUMH • PEYAOKHPYURNPMSHI H LERYUANKHVEYAYKHI YUZHHDNG • yaOOEIRPNTNRNLERPHVEYAYKHI LERND ONGBNKYER NOPEDEKHRE SPNBEM AYUPAKHRSPYURNB B YPNBH (ONBEPUMNYARM YUNLYU PUGBKHBUERYA OPH YANDEPFYUMKHH B YPNBKH SHHRYULKHMYUK – MYURPHJ NYNKN 10 LYC/BK, AYUPAYULKHKYU — NYNKN 30 LYC/BK, TEMNAYUPAHRYUKYU — ANKEE 40 LYC/BK). YaOZHHYUKEMSHE LERNDSH HYAYAKEDNBYUMKH • mu schits — YAHMSYANBUYU RYUUKHYUPDH, YAMHFEMHE ST MHFE KHGNKKHMKHH, NRPKHZHYUREKEMSHI GSAEZH r • schschts. dHTTEPEMZHYUKEMYU DHYUTSMNYARKHYU NYAMNBYUMYU MU NYANAYEMMNYARU YKKHMHYN – MEBPNKNTSHVEYAYNI YUPRKHMSH GUANKEBYUMKH X HGLEMEMHYU schschts.
