How to Avoid a Fatal Prescription Overdose

Most people think that most accidental drug deaths only happen to hardened, street drug addicts. You may not be able to imagine that you could die of a drug overdose, after all you only take legally, prescribed drug medicines. Well that is not case and it could happen to you or your loved one at any time. In 2006, over 24,000 people died in the U.S. from accidental drug overdoses. That is 100% increase from 2000.

A new research study was just published in December by Dr. Richard Miech, head of the Health and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Colorado Denver, on accidental drug deaths. The researchers expected to see a rise in accidental death rates for the baby boomer age group. What they didn't expect to see was an overall increase in death rates for all ages. The conclusions from this data were evaluated from the U.S. Census reports and recorded death data compiled from over the whole country. Many thousands of records were reviewed and evaluated. The problem of prescription drug over dosage is confirmed by much research including data from the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

Research conclusions were very interesting:

The increase of drug deaths coincides with the increase of prescription drug usage from little kids to the elderly.

White men and women have a nine times greater chance of dying from accidental drug poisoning today than in 1968 and 1969.

Black men and women had three times greater risk for accidental prescription drug death.

The death rate in both white and black men was higher than in women.

The age group with the greatest proportion of accidental overdoses was not children , teens, or young adults but people in their 40's and 50's. This fact will be a surprise to most readers.

Overall, remember that this study has shown that accidental death rates increased significantly in all age groups. With almost half of our population on some kind of drug and many taking several, it is no wonder. The DEA says the greatest accidental death rate comes from painkillers with Vicodin being is the lead. Other drugs that top the list include: Oxycodone, Methodine, Hydrocodone, Fentanyl, and Buprenorphine.

Painkillers make it easy to abuse drugs and succumb to a accidental overdose. Many people suffer from debilitating chronic pain. They cannot work without pain killing medicine. That is where the problem lies in accidental prescription drug overdoses.

Tips on how to prevent accidental prescription drug deaths:

Yourself: Research each drug you are prescribed and its possible reactions with other drugs. Read all available information including talking to your local pharmacist. If it is a painkiller and it makes you groggy, keep a schedule of your medications. Mark down each time you take them. It is easy when in pain and groggy from the side effects, to think you took the dose hours ago when it was more recently. Put your medications separated into days in a box to help you be more accurate. If your pain medicine side effects seem worse all of a sudden, you need to call your doctor or a friend. If you are worried you will take too many, have a friend or family member call you to make sure you are alright everyday.

Your Child: Don't give more medicine than the directions suggests. Don't give them adult medicines. Write it down as you give them each dose. In the middle of the night, when you have gotten little sleep, is a critical time for making dosage mistakes. Use a measured dosage spoon, don't guess. If it is Ritalin or another medication for ADD or ADHD, give them the dose yourself. Lock up the excess. It is a real problem today with kids selling the Ritalin to other kids or taking more than prescribed to get high. If they dose themselves, check the bottle to see if the prescription is being used more quickly than it should. Lock up your own medicines if there are kids in the house, no matter what age. If your child seems unusually drowsy or affected, call the doctor or take them to emergency. If they exhibit symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, severe headache, or heart symptoms call the doctor immediately. Heart problems are one of the side effects in over-dosage. If they become depressed or violent, call for help. Time is critical when a drug overdose is suspected.

Tips With An Elderly Parent: You can help by weekly filling a pill box for each day of the week. Put the rest of the medicine in a restricted place or lock it up. If they insist on filling it themselves, watch that it is filled correctly. A lot of prescription medicine looks the same or similar. It is easy to get them mixed up. Reread each prescription for the dosage as you begin. It is easy when distracted to pick up the wrong one.Once you have finished with each medicine, put the bottle away. Write on the medicine bottle lid, the amount of pills needed and AM, Noon, or PM. If your parent is independent, monitor its use. Observe if they are taking two days pills instead of one or changing the pills around. If you are not around to check that, call and ask questions.

Go with your elderly parent to the doctor when you can. Make sure the doctor knows exactly what they are taking and when. Often patients, no matter what the age, forget to let the doctor know of changes. If you have any questions or concerns ask the pharmacist and research the issue in the PDR yourself. In today's medicine, you often get a different doctor every visit. It is up to you to be proactive in the prevention of a prescription drug overdose.

References:

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20080922/drug-overdose-deaths-rise?page=2

http://link.reuters.com/jab43r Addiction, on line December 2, 2010.

http://www.lifescript.com/Health/News/Reuters/2010/12/24/Drug_overdoses_on_the_rise_in_most_age_groups.aspx