How To Spot A Rohypnol Overdose And The Treatment That Will Be Given

Any overdose has the potential of being serious and indeed in a number of occasions there is of course the chance that it could prove to be fatal. It is, therefore, going to be very useful if you know the different potential symptoms of an overdose if you or someone you know is taking a particular drug on a regular basis to allow you to determine if they will actually need some medical help. That being said, what follows are the various signs of a potential rohypnol overdose as well as information on the treatment that is often administered.

Prior to discussing the overdose a quick recap about what rohypnol is used for may be useful for some people. Rohypnol is a powerful sedative and it belongs to a group of drugs that are known as benzodiazepines and it is seen as sharing a number of the same qualities as valium, but is seen as being approximately ten times as potent.

Symptoms of a rohypnol overdose.

There are a number of symptoms that may indicate someone is suffering from a rohypnol overdose and it is extremely important that the person receives some medical attention as quickly as possible. There is a chance that it could be life-threatening depending on how much of the drug they have taken and it is also worth noting that out of the various symptoms listed below they may only suffer from one or two and their severity will also vary from person to person.

The symptoms that you really need to be aware of include: extreme drowsiness that may result in it proving to be impossible to get a reaction from the person, a coma, loss of balance, slurred speech and speech problems in general, cold and clammy skin, dilated pupils, shallow and slow breathing, stopping breathing, a weak pulse, and even cardiac arrest. These symptoms should be easily identified and you will then have to take into account the time at which the drug was taken as to whether or not it is linked to it, but you are best to play things safe and get medical help as quickly as possible.

Treatment for a rohypnol overdose.

The quicker that treatment is administered, then the better the chances of a complete recovery without there being any potential long-term health problems. Clearly if there are any breathing problems or heart problems, then they will be treated individually in order to get your lungs or heart working at their required levels, but at the same time steps have to be taken to reduce the potential impact that the rohypnol is having on the body.

In order to do this, the patient may be given activated charcoal, but this works best when the person has ingested the drug within the last hour. This works by absorbing the drug and limiting how much actually enters the system and, therefore, reduces the potential impact it can have on the body. It does this by soaking it up within the stomach and intestines and it is certainly very effective at doing so.

Apart from charcoal, the patient may be required to have their stomach pumped and they will be given medication to help them vomit as this helps to expel more of it from their body. This does mean that they can often become dehydrated and this is why they will tend to be linked up to a drip to keep their fluids up as doctors work to get the rohypnol out of their system. Typically a person that has had an overdose will be kept in hospital for observation for anything between three and five days, but this does depend on how much they took and how they have reacted to treatment.

The main concern with a rohypnol overdose is, therefore, how it can affect breathing so treatment will focus both on making sure that this does not become an issue as well as getting the drug out of the system as much as possible. The risks of this becoming fatal are quite high so at the first sign of there being a potential overdose do get medical help as quickly as possible in order to prevent there being any potential long-term medical issues that could affect various organs around the body for years to come.