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Most Medication Mishaps Can Be Handled at Home
Interviewer: It's time for another edition of "ER or Not," this time with the Medical Director of the Utah Poison Control Center, Dr. Michael Moss, where we are going to try to help you figure out if it's a reason to go to the ER, head to an urgent care, see your provider, or if it's something you can handle on your own. Today's question: You realize someone, maybe a family member, maybe a friend, has taken too much medication. Is this something that requires an ER or not?
Dr. Moss: So there are lots of different medications and lots of different drugs. The good thing is that, for most exposures, we're able to take care of people at home via the . And so my first recommendation is that if someone is able to stand up, walk, talk, and breathe, you should call us first before calling 911 or going to the emergency room.
Poison Control Is Free, Fast, and Staffed by Experts
Interviewer: I guess if someone calls in, what can they expect information-wise, cost-wise, etc.?
Dr. Moss: So the Poison Center is completely free to anyone who calls us. We serve all of Utah. We talk to the general public and healthcare providers, and our staff are all pharmacists and pharmacy students who have training specifically not just about medications and drugs and prescriptions, but all sorts of other household products. This includes drugs of abuse and things like that, too. That you will speak to someone who is an expert, not someone who is simply an operator, who can give you an expert answer in just minutes.
When It Is Time to Call 911
Interviewer: So if someone is feeling okay, or there's someone in the house who can make that phone call, you can kind of talk through and figure out what to do. But what about a more serious case? Like, when is it time that you need to call 911 or go to the ER rather than call Poison Control?
Dr. Moss: If we ever have someone who doesn't look like they're able to breathe well, maybe they can't talk because they're choking, if someone is having a seizure, or you can't wake them up, that's someone that you'd need to just call 911 right away. We prefer that instead of driving someone there, because we don't want them to get worse on the way. So your best bet there is to call 911. But in those other cases, where someone is doing okay, but may have some mild symptoms, go ahead and give us a call first.
Common Medication Overdoses
Interviewer: Now, when it comes to drugs or medications, what are some of the more common overdoses that you guys see?
Dr. Moss: The common things that we get every day and the ones that we're commonly able to take care of and leave people at home would be simple over-the-counter things, like your ibuprofen, acetaminophen, which is brand name Tylenol. Those are really common medications. And then it's lots of common prescription things that kids might be around, like medications for ADHD. And then the other group that we see is maybe older patients who are on lots of different medicines from their doctor, and they end up taking a medicine twice, or they take their morning and night medications all at once, or maybe they take their spouse's medication by accident. And some of those could be blood pressure medicines or diabetes medicines. Many of them are safe to keep at home, but occasionally we find that even one extra dose of something may require someone to go to the ER. But the best bet is always just to give us a call.
Should You Absolutely Not Make Someone Throw Up
Interviewer: Now, one of the old myths, when, say, I'm looking online and things like that, is that if someone has taken a medication they shouldn't have or they've taken too much of something, like a drug, etc., they should throw up. Is that recommended, or is that not really what we should be doing?
Dr. Moss: Yeah, everyone has heard of some of these old-school things that used to happen, like inducing vomiting or syrup of ipecac that people still find in their medicine cabinet that grandma had. We stopped doing that quite a while ago because we recognize that it doesn't work that well. It doesn't make everyone vomit. Some things it's dangerous to vomit because if it makes you sleepy and then you're throwing up when you're not awake, you could end up choking on that vomit. Kind of gross, but potentially dangerous.
Interviewer: Okay. So do not induce vomiting, is what I'm hearing.
Dr. Moss: No, we don't induce vomiting. For some things, we'll have someone wash out their mouth or drink some water, and we have some other specific things, but we're not inducing vomiting. No one is drinking the old syrup of ipecac anymore. No, we certainly don't tell you to. Occasionally, people do it when they find it in the medicine cabinet, but it's not too common anymore.
When It's Time to Go to the Emergency Room
Interviewer: All right, Dr. Moss. Final diagnosis, ER or not? Someone who may have overdosed on a medication or drug.
Dr. Moss: Well, the first step is always to see how that person is doing right now. If they're having trouble breathing, or you can't wake them up, or maybe someone is having a seizure, then you're going to need to call 911 and get that person to the emergency room.
If someone is awake and has some mild symptoms, your first call can be to the . We have expertise in managing all sorts of drugs and medications and household products, and we can help you figure out if this person needs to go to the ER, or we can save you a visit and follow along with you at home and call back to make sure someone is doing okay. So we'd always recommend that someone call the Poison Center if they're not sure. We're available 24/7 at our toll-free 1-800 number, 1-800-222-1222.
Is it really an emergency?
ER OR NOT?