Stimulants, alcohol, and benzodiazepines can also lead to drug overdose. Illinois and Washington reported deaths from counties that accounted for ≥75% of drug overdose deaths in the respective state in 2017, per SUDORS funding requirements; all other jurisdictions reported deaths from the full jurisdiction. ¶¶¶ Analysis of drugs detected was restricted to decedents with an available toxicology report (136,466; 97.7% of deaths with a medical examiner or coroner report). § Jurisdictions were included if medical examiner or coroner reports and toxicology reports were available for ≥75% of deaths during January 2020–December 2022. Analysis was restricted to deaths with an available medical examiner or coroner report (139,740; 95.8% of all deaths).

Another method for decreasing overdose risk is drug checking or testing substances for adulterants. Harm reduction organizations, such as syringe services programs, often distribute fentanyl and xylazine test strips or use more advanced technology to conduct point-of-service checking for multiple substances in a sample of drugs. Laws that limit access to harm reduction programs or criminalize these tools can discourage their use.

An “exposure” means that someone has come into contact with something. You can be exposed to poison ivy if you accidentally meaning of overdose touch it and get it on your skin. You can also be exposed to a poison if you eat it, get it into your eye or on your skin, breathe it in, inject it, get stung or bitten by an insect or animal, or have bodily contact with it in some other way. A poison is any substance that can cause harm to a living thing, but a toxin is a more specific kind of poison. A “toxin” is a poisonous substance produced by living cells or organisms. The best methods remove opportunities for accidental overdose or triggers for intentional overdose in the first place.

Can natural products be poisonous?

Prevention activities help educate and support individuals, families, and communities and are critical for maintaining both individual and community health. You should seek medical help immediately if you have these symptoms or witness them in someone else and suspect they may have overdosed. The most obvious way to tell if these symptoms indicate overdose is if you know you have taken drugs or have seen someone else take drugs. Getting medical help quickly can make a big difference in the effectiveness of drug overdose treatment.

Anyone receiving an opioid prescription should speak with their doctor to learn more about the risk of overdose. Combining different drugs can cause a particularly dangerous overdose. This can lead to breathing difficulties, lowered heart rate, seizures, and loss of consciousness.

How can a person prevent drug overdose?

Afterward, you may experience many complicated emotions about the overdose, how you reacted, and what to do to prevent future overdoses. Know that medical and mental health community support is available, and you don’t need to go through this alone. When an opioid overdose is suspected, naloxone hydrochloride should be administered as soon as possible to reverse the effects of an overdose. The word “toxicology” refers to the study of all things poisonous. A “toxicologist” is a scientist or clinician who studies the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of poisonings.

Some things are poisonous in small amounts, while others are only poisonous after exposure to larger amounts. For example, fentanyl is a very powerful opioid painkiller, and injection or ingestion of small amounts of fentanyl can be fatal to humans. Unlike fentanyl, the dietary supplement melatonin can cause toxic effects, but this generally occurs only after exposure to extremely large amounts.

• Laws that limit access to harm reduction programs or criminalize these tools can discourage their use.
• The DFC program has been a central component of our nation’s youth substance use prevention strategy and it provides funding and support to community coalitions to prevent and reduce youth substance use.
• The term poisonous is typically used to describe substances that can cause harm to the body when swallowed (ingested).
• ¶ Deaths with IMFs and stimulants detected (Panel C) could also have other drugs detected (e.g., prescription opioids).
• This medication is available in a nasal spray and as an intravenous injection at the hospital.
• Illinois and Washington reported deaths from counties that accounted for ≥75% of drug overdose deaths in the respective state in 2017, per SUDORS funding requirements; all other jurisdictions reported deaths from the full jurisdiction.

Health Care Providers

• Almost anything can be poisonous or toxic when used in the wrong way, wrong amount or dose, or by the wrong person.
• This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.
• Be familiar with the steps below for ingested poisons, poisons in the eye (ocular exposures), on the skin (dermal exposures), or inhaled (breathed in).
• Even after administering this medication, it is crucial to take anyone experiencing an opioid overdose to the emergency room.
• Do not leave it up to the person to tell you they are overdosing; they may not know or not be able to communicate it to you.

Venom is a poisonous substance made specifically by animals such as reptiles, spiders, insects, and some marine animals like lionfish and jellyfish. Venom is usually injected into other living things by biting or stinging. Brown recluse spiders, ants, coral snakes, jellyfish, black widow spiders, and copperhead snakes are just a few examples of venomous animals. Because drug supply and drug use patterns change, policies must be flexible to allow organizations serving people who use drugs to adapt in real time according to local needs.

What are the treatments for drug overdose?

First, analyses included 28 jurisdictions; results might not be generalizable to the rest of the United States. Second, for nearly one half of deaths, no information about route of drug use was available; thus, percentages of deaths with evidence of each route are underestimated. However, no notable differences by time or demographic characteristics among deaths with and without route of drug use information were identified.

MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.

To avoid being poisoned by prescription or over-the-counter drugs, always use medications according to the directions on the package. It is important that comprehensive, community-based prevention and response efforts incorporate culturally responsive actions that address disparities in drug overdose deaths and the inequities that contribute to them. Evidence-based prevention interventions are informed by research, practice, and indigenous knowledge.

The person may need to be admitted to the hospital to continue treatment. Depending on the drug, or drugs taken, multiple organs may be affected. You should call if you have any questions about an overdose, poisoning, or poison prevention. Anyone experiencing symptoms of an overdose should seek emergency medical care immediately. An overdose is when a person consumes “over” the recommended or typical dose of a substance. An overdose can be accidental (i.e., you were prescribed a dose of medication, and your body does not handle it as expected), or it may be intentional.