Drug overdose

A drug overdose occurs when a chemical substance (i.e. drug) is ingested in quantities and/or concentrations large enough to overwhelm the homeostasis of a living organism, causing severe illness or death. Essentially it is a type of poisoning.

Symptoms

Symptoms of overdose occur in various forms:

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• Exaggerated form of normal action (sleepiness on antiepileptics, hypoglycemia on insulin)
• Other effects due to chemical properties of the medication (metabolic acidosis in aspirin, liver failure due to paracetamol)
• Non-specific symptoms due to central nervous system irritation (confusion, vertigo, nausea, vomiting)