Caffeine Overdose
What Is Caffeine Overdose?
Caffeine is a stimulant drug which occurs naturally in many edible plants. The cocoa leaf, tea plants, and coffee beans all carry it in trace amounts or better. It can also be produced for the additive value of certain manufactured food products such as soda. A more popular, and potentially harmful, form of this stimulant is found in diet and anti-drowsiness medications. The caffeine found in these pills is in much higher concentration than you will find within any natural food product, and caffeine overdose can be quite easily accomplished if these supplements are not taken properly. This ailment can be highly uncomfortable, and sometimes fatal, so knowing what to look for and how to avoid it are key to the health of caffeine consumers.
Caffeine overdose symptoms involve an over stimulation of the respiratory and nervous systems, as this drug targets those functions first and most successfully. Many who consume caffeine on a regular basis may experience slighter symptoms of a bigger problem without even realizing what they’re going through. Trouble sleeping is a common effect, as well as feeling jittery and unfocused. Diarrhea and dizziness can be signs that you have overdone it with the caffeine in a day, but you will want to watch yourself closely for more uncomfortable symptoms. You may also experience an increased heart rate, though it probably will not spike to dangerous levels unless you have a sensitivity to caffeine or you are actually suffering caffeine overdose.
Adults who are experiencing the full throws of a dangerous caffeine overdose will have any or all of the above symptoms, but the strength of them will be compounded. It is not uncommon for one to have multiple discomforts at once, and all of the following reactions should be offered immediate medical attention. Difficulty or strained breathing, chest pains and restrictions, convulsions, fever, and loss of consciousness are some of the most severe symptoms associated with caffeine overdose, and anyone showing these signs should receive emergency treatment.
Further along the list of symptoms due to overdose of this stimulant drug, we find vomiting, incessant urination, sleep disorders, muscle twitches and spasms, increased thirst, and irregular heartbeat. Children are highly susceptible to caffeine overdose, and their acute symptoms may include shock, tremors, rapid heartbeat, recurrent muscle tension and release, and vomiting. Treatments for this illness will most often include an absorbent charcoal ingestion to the stomach, intravenous fluids, laxatives, or stomach flushing using a tube inserted through the nose. Unfortunately, these methods are only successful for those who have not yet absorbed all of the caffeine from their stomachs into the blood stream. It is of the utmost importance that all symptoms, therefore, be given immediate medical attention.