Recognizing the Symptoms of Oxycodone Overdose

An overdose will take effect rather quickly, and trouble breathing is one of the symptoms.

Opiate addiction rates have reached epidemic proportions, with prescription pain medications and heroin being the most commonly abused opiate drug types. According to Harvard Health Publications, more than one million people struggle with opiate addictions within any given year.

Oxycodone, one of the more popular opiate drugs of abuse, places users at serious risk of addiction as well as overdose. Symptoms of oxycodone overdose stem from the drug’s effects on a person’s brain chemical processes. Anyone showing symptoms of oxycodone overdose should receive immediate medical attention as the risk of fatality is high.

Oxycodone Uses & Effects

According to the University of Maryland, oxycodone ingredients appear in a number of different opiate medications, some of which include OxyContin, Percodan, Tylox and Percocet. OxyContin, in particular, contains especially high levels of oxycodone ranging anywhere from 10 to 80 milligrams per dose. Intended to work in a slow, time-release fashion, these drugs work well at treating conditions involving chronic pain symptoms, such as arthritis and cancer.

When used for non-medical purposes, users rather crush oxycodone tablets and ingest the powder by snorting or injecting in solution form. These methods of use deliver the full strength of the drug all at once, which accounts for the total calm and euphoria users experience. These practices also place a person at considerable risk of experiencing symptoms of oxycodone overdose.

An especially dangerous practice sees users consuming alcohol while ingesting oxycodone power (either snorted or injected). By combining the drug with alcohol, users greatly increase their risk of developing symptoms of oxycodone overdose.

Symptoms of Oxycodone Overdose

Like any other opiate drug, oxycodone works as a central nervous system depressant that slows down major systems and processes in the body. According to the University of Pennsylvania, when a person ingests a larger dose than the body can handle, symptoms of oxcodone overdose will likely develop. The length of time a person has used and his or her overall health condition determines the severity of symptoms that develop.

In effect, oxycodone alters vital brain chemical processes responsible for regulating nerve cell signal transmissions. These transmissions play a pivotal role in regulating heart, digestive, respiratory, brain and motor functions. Likewise, symptoms of oxycodone overdose typically take the following forms:

• Breathing difficulties
• Stupor-like state
• Nausea
• Lightheadedness
• Hallucinations
• Changes in skin color

Breathing problems represent the most dangerous of all symptoms of oxycodone overdose with the majority of overdose deaths resulting from respiratory failure.

Causes of Overdose

People with a long history of oxycodone abuse (or abuse of opiate drugs in general) encounter the greatest risk of overdose since the brain and body have developed a high tolerance for the drug’s effects. The higher a person’s tolerance levels go, the greater the risk of developing symptoms of oxycodone overdose.

As recreational users attempt to recreate oxycodone’s high effects with each successive “fix,” those with long drug histories require increasingly larger doses to experience the same desired effects. In actuality, the body’s tolerance levels increase slower than the brain’s. This means the brain can reach a point where it requires larger doses than the body can handle.

In any event, symptoms of oxycodone overdose require immediate medical attention, as overdose fatalities are common with opiate-based drugs.