3 Commonly Overdosed Medications

​People often overlook the dosage when the conditions are critical, or when taking the prescribed medication has become a routine. Although drugs are primarily for healing and treatment, too much, and you’ll find yourself in a toxic pit. Here are conventional medicines that are often taken more than the given dosage.

Acetaminophen Toxicity
Because of its antipyretic and analgesic properties, acetaminophen is often used for pediatrics. Common symptoms of an acetaminophen overdose are nausea and vomiting. The aftermath of severe toxicity is mostly because of the effects of hepatic failure. The drug can also result in tubular necrosis in the kidneys. For intentional overdoses, they are due to acetaminophen ingested together with other medications. It also is known as the leading cause of acute liver failure that is drug-induced. Early detection of acetaminophen toxicity is crucial for management and alleviates hepatotoxicity.

Clonidine Toxicity
Clonidine was studied due to its possibilities of becoming a nasal decongestant. It was then later realized that the drug was active as an antihypertensive agent. Recently, there is also increased usage of clonidine for children with ADHD. According to several reports, there is a substantially high amount of toxicity occurring after ingesting as little as 0.2mg clonidine. Common symptoms include bradycardia, respiratory and CNS depression, and hypotension. On rare occasions, abnormalities in conduction may also occur, such as a first degree and complete heart block.

Beta-Blocker and Calcium Channel Blocker Toxicity
There is often a significant result in morbidity and mortality when it comes to the toxicity of beta-blockers (BBs) and calcium channel blockers (CCBs). Because both of them have similar pathophysiology effects, overdose treatment is also the same. However, clinical manifestations may show subtle differences as to which drug was ingested that led to poisoning.

• CCBs
  - Those overdosed with CCBs have tendencies of alertness and insomnia while showing signs of profound bradycardia and hypotension.
  - CCBs toxicity also results in hypoactive bowel sounds or a dysfunctional ileus due to the GI tract having a blockade of its calcium channels.
  
  
• BBs
  - Children with BBs overdoses typically develop hypoglycemia while it’s uncommon for adults.
  - In addition to bradycardia and hypotension, patients overdosed with BBs are prone to an altered mental status – such as comma, delirium, or seizures.

 
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