Opioid Overdose: What Are Its Causes and Effects?

Opioids are currently one of the most widely used substances in the world. However, this fact does not mean that its use without medical supervision has devastating effects on physical and mental health.

And it is that the synthetic drugs derived from them cause, as the pattern of use of these drugs consolidates, each time greater effects on the body of the user who consumes them, giving rise to a severe case of addiction and other pathologies derived from is. In addition, the abuse of opiates can also harm us in the very short term without the need for the addictive disorder to consolidate; is what happens with opiate overdose, which we will talk about in this article.

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What are opiates?

In order to prevent the public health problem caused by the use and abuse of opiates, we must know what the causes and effects of an overdose or intoxication caused by these substances are. Let's start with the most fundamental: what kind of drugs are we talking about?

Opioids are drugs commonly prescribed to relieve acute pain in some diseases or related to surgical interventions, a property due to the powerful analgesic action of one of the its main active components: molecules that bind to the opioid receptors that are distributed throughout our system highly strung.

When the neurons capture these molecules, a chain reaction is generated that results in short-term functional changes in the central nervous system (in a matter of seconds and minutes), and if the intake is continued, long-term structural and functional changes also occur throughout the nervous system.

It is this last type of process that constitutes one of the main components of addiction: our body "gets used" to functioning with a certain presence of opioid-type molecules circulating inside it, and if that supply ceases, a crisis linked to the syndrome of abstinence. But as we will see, although the interruption of the consumption of opioids generates discomfort, the excess of this substance can, in a single dose, cause much greater health problems, or even death. That's what makes opioid overdose so dangerous.

There are many opiates used for several decades in medicine, the most common are morphine, codeine, thebaine, oxycodone, hydrocodone, heroin, methadone and many other drugs that have been or are marketed legally and with a medical prescription.

Similarly, there are also illegal synthetic opiates such as fentanyl or morphine derivatives, whose Consumption exposes the person to much more intense effects on their body that could put their own health at risk. life.

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Opioid dependence

The essential feature of opiate dependence is that the person will need each time more doses of the drug to experience the same effects in your body as at the beginning of the management. For this reason, and due to the fact that if the use of these substances is not controlled, an overdose and even death, it is very important to follow the doctor's instructions if the use is given in the context of treatment against a illness.

Besides that, With dependence, a withdrawal syndrome develops., a phenomenon that occurs when the person stops consuming the substance and is related to the appearance of a series of symptoms of both physical and psychological discomfort.

Some of the main symptoms associated with withdrawal syndrome are: malaise, restlessness, irritability, restlessness, sweating, rapid heart rate, muscle or bone pain, chills, flailing of the legs, diarrhoea, vomiting or anxiety.

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What are the causes of opioid overdose?

The prescribed consumption of this type of medication is indicated, as has been mentioned, to treat a wide variety of acute pains present in various diseases; nevertheless, its indiscriminate use also presents the risk of suffering an overdose.

The generalized consumption of an opiate ends up generating physical dependence that can have some symptoms or others depending on the characteristics of the user of this drug and that may end up causing an overdose due to problems in moderating the dose.

Causes in the context of a treatment

The causes of opiate overdose can be several and are differentiated between cases in which consumption is prescribed and cases in which there is no prescription and consumption is illegal. In cases where the administration of the opiate has been prescribed by a health care provider, the causes of the overdose may be the following.

1. The doctor or provider does not know that the person is already taking an opioid at home

In a case in which the doctor does not know the history of previous prescriptions of the patient, may end up prescribing an opium-derived drug the same or similar to the one the person is already taking.

In these cases, a case of intoxication or overdose due to excess of the drug in question may occur.

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2. The person has a specific health problem

In the face of certain health problems such as liver or kidney problems, the use of opiates is strongly discouraged, since it can lead to a case of overdose.

This is why, again, it is so important to know the patient's medical history before prescribing any drug.

3. The doctor prescribes a sedative before the opiate

Sleep medications, also called sedatives, are incompatible with the use of opiates.

When consuming both types of medication, a case of intoxication may also appear that endangers the life of the person. That is why the doctor must be well informed of the medications that are being used.

4. The provider does not know that another provider has already prescribed another opioid

A case similar to that of scenario number 1, in which there is a communication problem between health care providers.

That is why it is so important that the patient is also aware of what he is taking and carefully read the instructions for use of the drug.

Causes in the use of opioids outside the medical field

In cases where the person uses opiates recreationally and without a prescription, the causes of overdose can be:

1. excessive consumption

It is evident that any drug or drug consumed excessively can end in an overdose, something that seriously affects the life of the person in question.

Any drug consumed excessively can cause an overdose or intoxication. in the body, even those that are legal.

2. Opioid use with other drugs to maximize their effects

Combining an opiate with other substances or drugs such as alcohol or sleeping pills increases the risk of overdose.

Taking any drug in conjunction with other drugs will always be more dangerous than administering it independently.

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3. Use of the opiate in a different way than normal

Using an opiate in a different way than usual, such as being smoked or inhaled through the nose, also increases the risk of overdose.

Any alternative modality of consumption that the person puts into practice, will substantially increase the danger of the drug in your body and the likelihood of intoxication or overdose.

What are the effects of overdose?

The effects of opiate overdose or intoxication are also several and diverse depending on the physical and psychological characteristics of the person who consumes said substance and who suffers from it.

Among the most important effects we can highlight: drowsiness, slow breathing, loss of consciousness, disorientation, anxiety, malaise, muscle pain and in more serious cases it can cause the death of the consumer.

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