Medical Questions » First Aid Questions » Question No. 406
| Question: | I recently came across an acquaintance who had taken an overdose. I called an ambulance, but didn' t know what else to do. What should you do if someone takes an overdose of medication? |
| Answer: | Excessive doses of medication can be taken by accident (eg. children finding a bottle of pills, confused elderly people) or deliberately (eg. suicide attempt). The appropriate first aid by the person discovering the overdose may be life-saving.
Some medications are far more dangerous than others when taken in excess. You did the right thing in your situation, and provided an ambulance can attend within a few minutes, it is best left to the professionals to deal with the situation.
In other circumstances, for virtually all medication overdosages, the first aid treatment is to administer charcoal to neutralise the medication. Activated charcoal solutions are readily available from chemists without a prescription, and should be included in any home medicine chest.
If activated charcoal is not available, and there will be some delay in obtaining medical attention it is preferable to induce vomiting rather than allow the medication to be absorbed. Vomiting should NOT be induced if the patient is unconscious or otherwise liable to inhale any vomitus.
Activated charcoal should be given at any time after the overdose being taken. Induction of vomiting is most beneficial within 30 minutes of the overdose being taken, but even up to two hours later it may be beneficial. Many medications cause vomiting as part of their overdose effects, but by this time, the drug has already been absorbed and the vomiting is unlikely to reduce the effects of the drug significantly.
Vomiting can be induced by giving soapy water to drink, by applying pressure to the upper belly or by putting a finger down the back of the person' s throat (be careful not to be bitten, particularly if the patient is likely to convulse). The patient should be lying on their side with the neck extended, or sitting up and leaning over to avoid inhaling vomitus.
Carers should seek medical advice as soon as possible, and sometimes urgent medical attention must be obtained.
Advice is available from your own general practitioner, local hospital or the Poisons Information Centre (phone 13 11 26 from any phone in Australia).
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