How to get poisoned at home. Overdose of pills with fatal outcome Home first aid kit: what can cause poisoning

Medications, when taken uncontrolled, can lead to intoxication of the body and cause severe poisoning. There are no completely safe pills. Even beneficial vitamins can be harmful to health. Uncontrolled use of medications often leads to fatal overdose.

Causes of drug overdose

Poisoning with medications occurs due to non-compliance with dosage and unauthorized prescription, when the individual characteristics of the course of the disease, allergic reactions and other factors are not taken into account. Often such irresponsibility leads to death.

A fatal drug overdose occurs in the following cases:

In case of incompatibility of several medications taken.
If the patient himself increases the dose of painkillers for severe pain syndromes.
When a person consciously takes tranquilizers and sleeping pills when attempting suicide.
When combining tablets with alcohol.
If a person has an individual intolerance to the components.
When medications are stored in places accessible to children.

Note. The lethal dosage is different for each person. It depends on gender, age, and the presence of chronic diseases.

What drugs can cause poisoning?

It is known that a number of medications, if taken uncontrolled, pose a potential danger to human life and health. Below is a list of which pills can be fatal.

Calming and sedatives. Once in the stomach, they are quickly absorbed and have their effect within 10 minutes. An overdose can lead to death within a quarter of an hour. Such drugs include Bromital, Donormil, Barboval.
Tranquilizers. These drugs depress the nervous, respiratory and cardiac systems. Even small deviations in dosage can cause fatal pill poisoning. These medications include: Elenium, Napoton, Diazepam, Phenazepam, Radedorm.
Nonsteroidal drugs (NSAIDs) with anti-inflammatory and antipyretic effects. These include: Paracetamol, Aspirin, Analgin, Ibuprofen, Nimesulide, Indomethacin.
Antibiotics (Penicillin, Levomycetin, Cefazolin), which are taken for bacterial and infectious diseases.
Antihistamines that relieve allergic reactions and have sedative properties. (Diazolin, Suprastin, Diphenhydramine).
Antihypertensive drugs (Anaprilin, Captopril, Nifedipine, Amiodarone) that lower blood pressure. They affect cardiovascular activity and can cause death in case of overdose.

All of the above-mentioned medications can lead to death if used uncontrolled, so it is necessary to strictly adhere to the instructions and draw up a schedule for taking medications for various diseases.

Death from sleeping pills and tranquilizers

People with an unstable psyche, wanting to end their lives, wonder which drugs lead to death quickly and which ones will. We do not give recommendations, but want to warn you so that an accident does not happen. This group includes all drugs that are actively absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and act on the nervous and cardiac systems. First of all, these are sleeping pills, tranquilizers and medications that lower blood pressure. Therefore, try to keep funds with such actions out of the reach of children, people with suicidal tendencies, and patients who cannot control their actions.

This is a sleeping pill with a sedative effect. Dispensed only with a doctor's prescription. The daily dose should not exceed 1 tablet, and the course of treatment should not exceed 5 days. The doctor will not be able to tell you how many Donormil tablets you need to take for a fatal overdose. Each organism is individual and the symptoms of poisoning manifest themselves differently. A lethal dose is considered to be taking more than 10 tablets at a time. A fatal outcome with an overdose of Donormil can occur even with a single dose of 3 tablets, especially.

Symptoms of poisoning appear:

drowsiness;
redness of the skin;
disorder of consciousness;
hallucinations.

Convulsions indicate serious poisoning. They are harbingers of death in case of an overdose of Donormil and other drugs that depress the nervous system. In this case, it can be extremely difficult to save the victim.

To regulate sleep and wakefulness, doctors often prescribe Melaxen. High doses can lead to serious intoxication of the body, causing apathy, loss of coordination and slow heartbeat. So far there have been no reported cases of death due to an overdose of Melaxen. However, intoxication causes a number of undesirable effects.

Tranquilizers are used for mental disorders, depression, insomnia, and panic attacks. Self-prescription of the drug can lead to an overdose and cause irreparable harm to the body.

Phenazepam is one of the strong tranquilizers. The daily dose should not exceed 7-9 mg. Doctors cannot say exactly how much Phenazepam needs to be taken to cause death; it is generally accepted that a one-time dose of 10 mg of the drug can lead to death.

Overdose symptoms:

drowsiness with transition to deep sleep;
decreased blood pressure;
cardiac arrhythmia;
nausea;
urinary retention;
increased salivation;
uneven breathing.

If the dose of Phenazepam is significantly exceeded, the probability of death is high: cardiovascular and renal failure occurs, the person falls into a coma, blood supply slows down. If timely assistance is not provided, an overdose of Phenazepam will inevitably cause death.

Zoloft is an effective antidepressant, which relieves panic disorders, copes with long-term depression, and post-traumatic stress conditions. How many Zoloft tablets will cause death is unknown to medicine. Severe symptoms of overdose have not been identified, but simultaneous use with other drugs and alcohol can cause severe intoxication and lead to death.

Stages of overdose with sleeping pills and tranquilizers

The rate of poisoning will vary in each individual case. It depends on age, weight, individual characteristics of the body and the presence of chronic diseases.

However, the stages of poisoning and symptoms of overdose with drugs that affect the central nervous system are usually similar:

First, there is a gradual slowdown, drowsiness and profuse salivation appear. If deviations are noticed in time and help is provided, a person’s condition can quickly be brought back to normal.
Loss of consciousness is an indicator of stage 2 overdose. In this case, the patient has a poor and thread-like appearance. Smooth muscles relax, and the tongue may sink. Timely assistance will help avoid death.

In the third stage, the person falls into a coma. It is observed that breathing is weak and blood pressure is low. There is a disruption in the functioning of internal organs. If a person can be brought out of a coma, there is a high probability of developing pathology of brain cells, liver failure, paralysis and, as a result, disability.
The terminal stage is characterized by a gradual decline in the functions of vital organs. Despite resuscitation measures, the person dies.

The patient will not be able to objectively assess his condition during an overdose and take measures to survive. In his death throes he will remain in deep sleep. First, breathing will stop, then the work of the heart muscle will stop, brain functions will still work for a short time, but then fade away.

Lethal doses of drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases

Such drugs are always in the medicine cabinet of older people. Overdoses of these drugs occur during self-treatment, when side effects and contraindications are not taken into account.

Tablets to lower blood pressure

Drug poisoning can occur due to the use of drugs to normalize blood pressure. Antihypertensives are intended to lower blood pressure. Capoten and Captopril are often prescribed to patients with hypertension. The required dosage is selected individually, based on the patient’s condition and side effects after taking the medicine. The maximum daily volume of drugs should not exceed 150 mg.

Often an overdose of Capoten with a fatal outcome occurs during a hypertensive crisis, when a person tries to quickly reduce blood pressure and independently increases a single dose. Signs of severe poisoning are:

hypotension;
chest pain;
discomfort in the lumbar region associated with renal disorders;
allergic reaction in the form of .

In the absence of timely assistance, there are high risks of kidney failure, pulmonary artery damage, and changes in brain tissue. If the pressure decreases, an overdose of tablets with a fatal outcome can occur within 30 minutes.

Heart medications

People with diseases of the cardiovascular system often take Nitroglycerin to relieve attacks of angina. The well-known medicine is in the medicine cabinet of almost every family. The drug promotes vasodilation and quickly normalizes a person’s condition. But an overdose of Nitroglycerin can be fatal.

Digoxin is prescribed for heart failure. It promotes vasodilation and has a moderate diuretic effect. The tablets are quickly absorbed, providing a therapeutic effect on the body. A 10-fold overdose of Digoxin can result in death. Poisoning with heart drugs causes irreversible consequences in a short period of time. Therefore, it is necessary to call a team of doctors at the first signs of intoxication.

Symptoms of heart drug poisoning:

Body systems		Symptoms of overdose

Cardiovascular		Cardiopalmus	Tachycardia
Skin		Blue discoloration of the epidermis	Pale, dry, cyanotic skin
Gastrointestinal tract			Vomiting
Neurological abnormalities		Drowsiness, tremors in the limbs, anxiety, lack of coordination	Trembling in the arms and legs, hallucinations, depression
Arterial pressure		Increased	Horse racing
Associated symptoms	Hyperthermia accompanied by perspiration		Temperature increase

Note. There is no special antidote to Nitroglycerin, which complicates resuscitation efforts when eliminating intoxication of the body. It is possible to neutralize Digoxin molecules with the help of drugs: Atropine, Unitol, Antidigoxin.

Providing first aid for pill poisoning

A fatal drug overdose requires calling an ambulance. Only medical intervention can improve the patient’s condition and prevent death. If the lethal pills were taken 30 minutes ago and the person is still conscious, immediately take the following actions:

Give enough water to lavage the stomach.
Try to induce vomiting in the patient.
Serve the person with sweet tea or milk.
Try to find used medication packaging, this will help in determining rehabilitation tactics.

Actions in case of a critical condition when a person is already unconscious:

Check for pills in your mouth.
If there are signs of breathing or palpitations, place the victim on his side, securing the position with available means.
When vomit is released, monitor respiratory safety and ensure airway patency.
If there is no pulse, perform a cardiac massage.

The ambulance team will assess the patient's condition and send him to hospital. Typically, victims are admitted to the intensive care ward, where they are prescribed antidotes and intravenous drips. The condition of vital organs is maintained with special devices.

In order not to die from pills, you need to consider which medications are combined with each other and which are contraindicated. Read the instructions, consult your doctor, take the tablets in strictly dosed proportions. Limit access to medications to children and older adults suffering from . An absurd question is often asked on the Internet.: what pills to take for death. Most suicide attempts do not lead to the desired result, but chain the person to a wheelchair and complicate life not only for him, but also for his loved ones.

Video

Many doctors know how to poison a person at home and how to avoid suspicious signs, however, such an act is criminally punishable. Nevertheless, today some people resort to this method in order to eliminate a rival, often this happens in criminal communities.

Natural products are dangerous if you know what can poison a person. Death is influenced not only by pathogens, but also by compounds. A well-known poison is botulinum toxin, which is produced by special microbes that can multiply intensively in a protein environment. It is the cause of intoxication after eating spoiled canned food, mushrooms and other foods. In the digestive tract, this toxin is not destroyed by enzymes and is absorbed into the mucous membranes of the stomach and intestines.

Persons who choose what to poison a person to death rarely choose botulinum toxin, since death in this case is rare.

However, signs of illness can always be attributed to the last meal, during which canned goods, sausage and other unsafe foods were consumed. Symptoms of poisoning are nausea, vomiting and dry skin, followed by paralysis of the striated muscles.

Most people are familiar with castor oil, but few are aware of ricin, a toxin found in castor bean seeds. Criminals looking for something to quietly poison a person often settle on this poison. It is odorless white crystals that dissolve in liquid, however, when the aqueous solution is boiled, the dangerous properties of ricin disappear.

The toxic substance does not penetrate the skin; it acts only when it enters the body. In case of ricin poisoning, the latent period of intoxication varies from 15 to 24 hours, sometimes symptoms appear earlier. Thus, intestinal colic, bloody diarrhea, nausea and vomiting are detected, and hemorrhages occur on the retina.

If a significant portion of castor bean seeds enters the body, death occurs after 6 days due to damage to internal organs, as well as extensive bleeding.

This poison is sometimes chosen by attackers who think about how they can quickly poison a person. However, death is rare.

The poison of the toadstool was known to medieval politicians and healers, who knew how to poison a person to death. Today, scientists have found that the mushroom contains toxins such as phalloidins and alpha-amanitins, which act quickly and irreversibly; these substances are not destroyed by heat treatment.

The latent period without alarming signs lasts up to 40 hours before the poison enters the blood in large quantities and causes depressing signs of poisoning. It is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration, as well as pale skin and increased heart rate. After a few days, extensive damage to the internal organs - the liver and kidneys - occurs, toxic hepatitis develops, after which death is declared.

How can you poison a person, if you do not take into account the above-mentioned means? The following components are used for this purpose:

atropine;
solanine;
aflatoxin.

Atropine is a substance from the group of alkaloids, found in plants - belladonna, dope, henbane and others. Intoxication occurs 1 hour after taking the poison; the degree of poisoning may vary.

Atropine is known to affect the structure of the brain, causing loss of coordination and damage to the heart and lungs. Death occurs infrequently due to an insufficient dose of toxin.

How to briefly poison a person? In this case, the solanine found in root vegetables is a suitable option. It can be found not only in potatoes, but also in tomatoes and eggplants.

Intoxication manifests itself in the form of nausea, vomiting, cramping pain in the abdomen and a feeling of bitterness in the mouth. However, it is unlikely that it would be possible to consume a large dose of solanine, which is why victims are not at risk of death.

In addition, aflatoxins are a common method of poisoning - a group of toxic substances secreted by a microscopic fungus. If stored improperly, it affects various food products, for example, dried fruits, milk, rice, tea and much more.

The poison in large quantities causes the death of liver cells, however, the poisoning passes without serious consequences and is limited to a temporary deterioration in health

In the old days, people knew the best way to poison a person. This can be easily done with the help of ordinary mercury; the dangerous metal causes fatigue, headaches, and memory loss. In addition, there is an increase in body temperature and a decrease in blood pressure. The digestive system also suffers, and diarrhea and a metallic taste in the mouth are often observed. When a significant amount of mercury vapor is inhaled, death is inevitable, which is why this drug has been a weapon for centuries for criminals who understood how to poison a person without any trace of a crime.

This unpleasant phenomenon occurs due to the consumption of spoiled or low-quality products, or substances unsuitable for consumption. How can you be poisoned? Every person should know the answer to this question, because preventing a dangerous situation is much easier than trying to improve your health and eliminate its consequences in the future.

General list of hazardous substances

So, let's make a general list of what can poison you at home. The most common categories of danger to human health are:

expired products;
products stored in violation of the required conditions;
poisonous secretions of plants, fungi or living organisms;
household chemicals;
means used for construction and finishing work and other household needs;
fertilizers and chemical compounds intended for plant care;
medications;
alcohol and tobacco.

It must be remembered that poisoning can occur not only through the gastrointestinal tract, but also through inhalation of vapors of a toxic substance.

Which of the following is the most dangerous thing that can quickly cause poisoning? First of all, it all depends on the dose, but it is generally accepted that household and industrial poisons are much more active than bacteria lurking in food.

About drug poisoning

What medications can cause poisoning? Recently, this issue has also become of significant relevance for all categories of citizens, from children and the elderly to adults and sensible people. There are quite a few reasons for this: some people are poisoned by accident, while others deliberately prescribe inappropriate treatment for themselves without consulting a doctor. What drugs can become not only useful, but also dangerous? Their list should definitely include the following items:

Painkillers (often taken in large quantities, which leads to unpleasant consequences). In addition, many people take several different types of tablets at once, forgetting that such mixing can be dangerous and strictly contraindicated.
Aspirin (even 5 tablets of this harmless drug can provoke serious liver damage, but doubling the indicated dose can even provoke death).
Psychotropic drugs (extremely dangerous if the rules of administration are not followed, as well as the individual dosage prescribed by a specialist).
Herbal-based sedatives and any other homeopathy (this category of remedies easily leads to quite serious poisoning). Most people sincerely assume that such medications are absolutely safe, they can be used in any quantity and for as long as desired, but this is not at all true. Excessive consumption of herbs and homeopathy over a long period of time leads to a cumulative effect that ultimately provokes human poisoning.

In addition, when answering the question of what can be poisoned from medicines, it should be noted iodine solution, vitamins, vasoconstrictor drops, hormone-based drugs. Conventional and affordable medications can become dangerous if the conditions for their storage and use are not followed.

Features of poisoning

When answering the question of what can cause poisoning, it is recommended to pay attention to the fact that the same substances can be perceived differently by the body of each individual person. With general weakening, even the smallest dose of a dangerous drug can be lethal, but strong people are able to withstand more significant concentrations of toxic products. Those at greatest risk are women, children, the elderly, and pregnant women. At the same time, we should not forget that even the strongest men are much more sensitive to a certain type of medicine than fragile representatives of the fair sex.

What are the dangers for pregnant women?

Expectant mothers should approach their health issues with special attention. When advising women about what can cause poisoning during pregnancy, many experts recommend not only paying attention to the expiration date and storage conditions of products, but also carefully adjusting the diet, removing the most potentially dangerous foods from it. These include seafood, canned food and pates, eggs, fermented milk products, sweets with cream. It is strongly recommended to avoid mushrooms and watermelons and to take special care when purchasing meat and fish, fruits and berries, and soft cheeses.

It should be remembered that possible poisoning has a detrimental effect not only on the health of the mother, but also on the fetus in her womb. A disease of this kind deprives the unborn baby of the nutrients necessary for its normal functioning and development. Dehydration, cramps and other unpleasant consequences of poisoning can lead to miscarriage or premature birth, and the formation of pathologies in the baby.

Alarming symptoms

If a victim ingests poison, first aid should be provided immediately. The following symptoms will help indicate that poisoning has occurred:

a sharp increase or decrease in temperature;
vomit;
convulsions;
burns at the site of penetration of the substance into the body;
bad breath;
impairment of respiratory functions and swallowing reflex.

First aid algorithm

Knowing what products can cause poisoning, anyone can correctly organize the sequence of actions to neutralize hazardous substances. The algorithm of events should be something like this:

calling an ambulance;
removal of poison through heavy drinking and subsequent vomiting (drink as much water as possible with a small amount of soda);
we neutralize the remains of hazardous substances using activated carbon or other absorbent;
We provide peace and restoration.

In case of consumption of toxic poisons, urgent gastric lavage is necessary in a medical facility.

The fact is that any substance under certain conditions can become toxic. Any of them can negatively affect human health to a certain extent; it is only a matter of dose or concentration, intensity and duration of exposure. For example, ordinary water from deep wells contaminated with hazardous chemicals tends to collect in shallow layers of soil. There it is absorbed by plants and can then enter our body with them. So water (more precisely, the toxins in it) can have a significant harmful effect on human health in a short time. In addition, life-giving oxygen is, in certain situations and conditions, a truly dangerous toxin. The air, especially in big cities, is polluted with many dangerous substances that threaten health and even often life.

Widely available and used table salt (sodium chloride) and even glucose can be toxic, of course, if they are consumed in large enough quantities. Sea water rich in salts is completely unsuitable for drinking precisely because of the high concentration of these salts, which are highly toxic.

Distilled water is also very dangerous for your health. The paradox is that this is absolutely pure water, but this is precisely why it is harmful. It does not contain any additional ingredients necessary for life. Such water is absolutely not absorbed by the body, and with constant use it poisons you.

Ideally, noble gases are not toxic to humans. Thus, nitrogen (the main component of air), hydrogen, or gas containing simple aliphatic hydrocarbons such as methane, ethane and propane are theoretically not toxic. But when a person living in poorly ventilated rooms inhales a constantly chemically inactive gas - due to an increase in its concentration in the atmosphere of the room - he poisons himself. Thus, oxygen is displaced from the air - typical symptoms of acute body ischemia occur. So - in theory, a completely non-toxic substance becomes, in this particular situation, negatively affecting human health.

The concept of toxicity of various substances, according to modern knowledge, is understood much more widely than before. The list of substances hazardous to health is not limited to the well-known “historical” poisons, such as arsenic, cyanide, strychnine, curare, hemlock (hemlock) alkaloids, snake venom, and toxins found in some mushrooms. It is supplemented by numerous substances that, in certain situations and conditions, turn from safe to toxic. While others can pose a danger to human health and even life.

The best example of such a substance, widely consumed in various forms, is ethanol. This is something you can poison yourself with in one day. Using very specific doses of ethanol in medications is safe for most people. Exceeding the dose or combining it with other medications and other chemicals can be very dangerous. As a result of adverse drug interactions, ethanol can cause very serious symptoms due to damage to organs and systems and disruption of their function.

It is worth noting that there are people with a genetically determined susceptibility to the pathological effects of substances recognized as toxic. Simply put, they cannot be poisoned by the same thing that would poison any other person. It is difficult to say whether such “immunity” arises as a result of constant contact with the toxin or whether there is another reason. Of course, under certain conditions, adaptive defense mechanisms may appear, but there is no scientific basis for this. There are simply people who are insensitive, for example, to snake venom. Or those who can easily tolerate large doses of ethyl alcohol (also a powerful toxin of its kind).

Truths and myths about toxic substances

Public knowledge about what is and is not a serious threat to human health is clearly deepening and expanding. But still this is not enough, especially in certain conditions where, unfortunately, people are often misled.

For example, there is a widespread belief (even among some doctors) that metallic mercury is a very dangerous poison. Often, parents who have a mercury thermometer in the house are afraid that it will break and poison everyone in one day. Meanwhile, there is no metallic mercury in such thermometers! There is ordinary liquid mercury, the vapors of which can also be dangerous, but only if you inhale them in large volumes and for a long time. Metallic mercury, in contrast, is dangerous even in microdoses, like many inorganic molten metal compounds.

The toxicity of certain products is determined by many people and assessed in a completely incompetent way. For example, based on their taste, aroma and appearance. Many people believe that they have come across a poisonous mushroom simply because it tastes bitter, or because the bottom of their cap does not darken as a result of oppression or exposure to light. In fact, whether the mushroom is bitter or not, it darkens when exposed to light. From a toxicological point of view, all this is absolutely irrelevant! The toxicity of mushrooms depends on the presence of toxic substances in them, which the human nose or other simple methods cannot detect.

Many times it has happened that some people mistakenly drink various poisonous compounds containing ethylene glycol. For example, brake fluid, which is a very dangerous poison. In almost every case, the person was convinced that the liquid was non-toxic, in part because it tasted good.

Denatured alcohols are almost symbolically considered one of the worst and most dangerous poisons for humans. In fact, they are just as toxic as other forms of ethyl alcohol.

Natural gas, which is widely used today, is considered to be highly toxic, while the release of incomplete combustion of carbon monoxide makes it very dangerous to health and life. Natural gas is actually another cause that is initially dangerous to humans - it accumulates in enclosed spaces. In addition to displacing the oxygen from it, it can suddenly explode with great force. An unpleasant odor often induces fear and leads to false judgments of perceived toxicity. But not all bad-smelling gases are toxic! Few people know that carbon monoxide released during incomplete combustion of natural gas is completely odorless, but several times more dangerous. This is exactly what you can poison yourself with - only a couple of hours are compared to one day. This is enough to get a lethal dose.

Despite the many shortcomings and gaps in knowledge that are available to modern society, people know quite a lot about the toxicity risks of various substances. But sometimes there are plenty of erroneous myths in this area. In any case, acknowledging a threat is better than denying it.