Sleeping pills were necessary for people a few thousand years ago. At that time, there was no industrial pharmacology, therefore, to improve sleep, vegetable preparations were used, including narcotic drugs (for example, opium). For the same purpose, alcoholic beverages were used. Today, there are several groups of drugs produced in pharmacology. Any sleeping pills have indications and contraindications, as well as the recommended amount of admission, non-compliance which causes an overdose.
The effect of sleeping pills
To any sleeping pills a number of requirements are put forward:
- to accelerate the period of falling asleep and improve the quality of sleep;
- not to cause addiction and dependence;
- no side effects.
The ideal drug for the treatment of insomnia is still not invented, and existing, most often, addictive or side effects. Adapting to sleeping pills over time leads to an increase in the dose, which, in turn, is fraught with various complications. One of these complications is an overdose of sleeping pills.
Consequences of an overdose of sleeping pills
The main danger is that there is no specific dose that inevitably leads to an overdose. This is strictly individual and depends on many characteristics (age, height, weight of a person, his anamnesis). For one, it can be 10 tablets, but for another there are only two. That is why in taking sleeping pills it is necessary to strictly follow the doctor's prescribed dosage.
With a slight overdose, confusion, drowsiness, speech and breathing difficulties, hallucinations may occur. A person looks like after drinking a lot of alcohol.
When an overdose of a potent sleeping pill, often in parallel and alcohol, the central nervous system is depressed. The second phase of sleep is absent, while breathing becomes superficial, a sticky sweat appears on the skin, the pupils dilate, the pulse becomes frequent and weak. In severe cases, seizures appear, similar to epileptic, skin turns blue, acidosis develops, which can lead to coma.
Severe overdose of sleeping pills can lead to death in a short time. Therefore, when a person who has abused sleeping pills is found:
- First of all, you need to call an ambulance.
- Then try to rinse the stomach to the victim.
- Give activated charcoal.