Drug Overdose (OD)

The world can be a dangerous place, but even with all the bad drivers, treacherous heights and violence, more people are dying from drug overdoses than from any other cause of injury death, including traffic accidents, falls or guns - Nick Wing

Drug Overdose (OD)
Drug Overdose (OD)

image by: HWN

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Why are more Americans than ever dying from drug overdoses?

The growing drugs crisis sweeping across the US is deadlier than gun violence, car crashes or Aids, none of which have killed as many Americans in a single year as overdoses did in 2017.

Newly confirmed figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show the increasing scale of the crisis.

The drugs epidemic is not confined to a small number of states nor to lower-income areas, but instead has spread across the whole country. While there are concentrations around the midwest, and regional differences in the type of substance, overdose deaths are happening everywhere.

Major cities and rural areas are now in the grip of the crisis

One…

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The primary clinical toxicology database of the National Poisons Information Service.

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 Meth Is Top Drug in the West for Overdose Deaths

Methamphetamine, or “meth,” the powerful man-made alternative to plant-based stimulants like cocaine and crack, is playing a bigger role in fatal overdoses in the western half of the U.S. than the synthetic opioid fentanyl.

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Articles of Interest

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Drug Overdose Is a National Crisis: It's Time to Act

Unfolding before our eyes is a national public health crisis: fatal drug overdose has increased more than six-fold in the past three decades. Today, more Americans are dying of drug overdoses than traffic accidents, primarily from heroin and prescription pills like oxycodone and Vicodin. Every single day, 120 people die in the U.S. of a drug overdose.

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Resources

Find Your Local Poison Control Center

Program the Poison Help Number – 1-800-222-1222 – into your home and cell phones so you have it handy when you need it.

App Drug Overdose

App for anyone who wishes to help consumers of opiate drugs (such as codeine, fentanyl, heroin, methadone, or morphine), including family, friends, social welfare workers, and the drug consumers themselves.

International Overdose Awareness Day

International Overdose Awareness Day hopes to diminish the stigma associated with drug use. That includes all drugs, licit and illicit (and alcohol, too)..

PrescribeToPrevent.org

Here you will find information you need to start prescribing and dispensing naloxone (Narcan) rescue kits, including some useful resources containing further information about this life-saving medicine.

The Poison Review

Welcome to The Poison Review, a critical update and evaluation of recent scientific literature, news stories, and cultural events related to the field of medical toxicology. Our interests are wide-ranging and eclectic, since we take our philosophy from Paracelsus, often called the father of toxicology: “All things are poison and nothing is without poison, only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.”

American Association of Poison Control Centers

The American Association of Poison Control Centers supports the nation’s 55 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures. Poison centers offer free, confidential medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. This service provides a primary resource for poisoning information and helps reduce costly emergency department visits through in-home treatment.

American College of Medical Toxicology

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