Emergency Procedure
This page is a work in progress and should not yet be taken as complete or valid
Sometimes the use of drugs can lead to a situation where a personal will need immediate medical attention, often as the result of an overdose. This page acts as a set of guidelines for someone who is looking after a person who is having a difficult experience whilst on drugs. If you are unsure whether medical attention is required, it is always quicker and easier to ring your local emergency number (usually either 112 or 911) immediately and explain your situation to them.
General Emergency Symptoms
If you or someone with you is experiencing what may be a medical emergency, determine if you must contact emergency services (enter common ems numbers here) and if unsure, consult this section. If you are certain only one substance is causing the worrisome signs and symptoms, please view the tables below this section directly correlated to drugs and drug classes The surest sign that you or someone else needs immediate medical attention, regardless of the substance or dose that someone has taken, is to look at the symptoms they are currently experiencing. However, it should be noted that the anxiety caused by certain drugs can also make one experience symptoms which, at the time, can be indistinguishable from those which indicate a medical emergency. Unfortunately, it is impossible and unethical for TripSit or a tripsitter to try and diagnose this beyond obvious matters. If you are having trouble deciding whether you are having an anxiety attack or are experiencing an overdose, try reading through our Overdose and Panic Attacks guides - if you are still unsure, then you should either contact health hotline services (e.g. Poison Control or NHS Direct), or otherwise seek medical attention. This table describes some medical symptoms common to immediate emergencies, and the course of action which should be taken for such symptoms:
| Symptom | Worst case scenario | Possible causes | Primary action | Secondary action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constant Chest pain; sometimes a squeezing sensation; unrelieved by sitting or resting, pain may spread to the arms | Heart attack/AMI | Stimulant use, certain steroid usage, certain hallucinogenic research chemicals | Contact Emergency services immediately, | Aspirin (~300mg) [1] |
| Constant high heartrate; unrelieved by rest or relaxation (Resting heart rate over 120, or over 140 on stimulants possibly, err on the side of caution) | Heart attack | Stimulant use, certain steroids and certain research chemicals | Contact Emergency Services | Avoid excessive physical work/movement, remain calm while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, do not continue using stimulants |
| Extremely high heart rate (150-200 beats per minute) | PSVT | Stimulant use, any drugs that increase heart rate | Immediately contact emergency services | If a medical professional is near you they can provide a carotid massage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVMCX9LuPgc |
| Low heartrate (under 60bpm) | Respiratory failure, Death, multiorgan system damage secondary to inadequate blood flow | Opiate overdose, digoxin toxicity | Contact Emergency services |
|
| Unresponsiveness to pain or voice | death, permanent brain or organ damage | alcohol, or opiate overdose, OD'ing on "downers" | Contact emergency services | Check for a pulse (carotid or radial), if you cannot find a pulse or if the victim is not breathing begin CPR |
| Shallow breathing | Death | Alcohol or Opiate overdose or "downers" in general | Contact emergency services | If you are trained in CPR, perform rescue breathing but DO NOT do chest compressions |
| Hypertensive crisis (blood pressure over 180) | Stroke;Kidney failure; Congestive Heart Failure | Stimulant use, steroid use, certain RC's, decreased intake or depletion of potassium or calcium | Contact Emergency Medical Services | |
| Seizure, especially lasting over 10 minutes | Brain damage | Stimulant/drug use, cocaine use, tramadol usage | Contact emergency medical services | move all objects away from the person so they do not hit themselves on anything that could physically injure them |
Levels of help
There are often several different levels of help available to someone who is undergoing a difficult drug-related experience. In order of priority, those are:
Emergency services
The most immediate way to get medical attention is to ring the emergency services for your country. It is important to be honest and direct about what substances you have have taken, any symptoms you are experiencing and your current location and situation. Police officers are not usually dispatched when a person is dealing with a drug overdose, and if you are honest and co-operative with paramedics there is usually no reason for police to get involved, though this varies depending on country.
How to contact emergency services and assist EMS in working
1) Call Emergency services and state the emergency/nature of call. Give your location/address, number of patients needing medical attention if there are more than one, age and gender of the patient (yourself or someone else) and any potential hazards Emergency medical workers may run into
2) If you are not experiencing the emergency try to write down some valuable information if you know the patient for the first responders and give the paper to them. Useful information is: drugs the patient is one; medications the patient takes; any allergies the patient has; when the emergency began; and a brief description of events leading up to the emergency. Alert the first responders if the patient looks different than normal as in "his face normally isnt so pale or droopy" so as to give them a better picture of what they are dealing with
3) If asked to leave, please do so, interference with medical intervention will not help your friend
See Emergency Numbers for some localised emergency services numbers.
Health hotlines
Many countries have numbers you can call to get advice about your health in a non-emergency situation. The most relevant of these is poison control, which are available in many countries (including the United States, Australia, United Kingdom) and are able to give advice on toxic substances and whether a person may need medical attention.
Some countries also offer non-emergency health hotlines for more general illnesses. For example the United Kingdom have a number that can be called to receive health advice from the NHS (111).
Psychological help
If a person is experiencing psychological distress but posing no risk to their own (or anyone else's) physical health, the next best course of action is psychological help. This can often be as simple as providing support for someone and giving them a person to talk to. There are many great resources available to provide psychological help to a person:
- #tripsit - drug related psychological support
- 7 Cups Of Tea - emotional support
- Befrienders - suicide prevention
See also How To Tripsit In Real Life if you are or will soon be in the company of someone who needs support.
[1] http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/heart-attack/Pages/Introduction.aspx