Problems Associated with the Misuse of Drugs Among Young People. Benzydamine Poisoning – Case Study

Dorota Owsianik
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Elżbieta Mach-Lichota
Marek Wojtaszek
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Apteka otwarta, Rzeszów, Polska
Oddział Intensywnej Terapii i Anestezjologii z Pododdziałem Ostrych Zatruć, Szpital Wojewódzki nr 2 w Rzeszowie, Rzeszów, Polska
Department of Didactics in Intensive Medical Care and Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rzeszow, Rzeszow, Poland

Abstract

Psychotropic substances market in Poland is regulated by the Drug Abuse Prevention Bill (Dz.U.2005 Nr 179 poz.1485) with amendments. Despite adding 17 new substances, which are typical ingredients in “legal highs”, to the prohibited drug list and introducing the concept of “substitute”, which gave the State Health Inspection a tool to simplify and accelerate the process of removing new psychotropic substances from the market, the supply of products of this kind to the Polish market did not decrease. Also, teenagers’ interest in the possibility of intoxicating themselves using substances found in popular over-the-counter medications which, when ingested in doses significantly exceeding therapeutic levels, cause psychoactive effects, is on the increase. The recreational usage of benzydamine, contained in gynaecological formulations, and dextromethorphane, the ingredient of medications used in dry cough treatment, is becoming alarming because of its scale. Dissociative effects, arousal, strong hallucinations caused by these drugs, and especially their combination with alcohol or cannabinoids may become a threat to the users’ health and life. In this article, we describe a case of acute poisoning due to benzydamine usage of a 17-year-old boy who was treated at the Department of Toxicology at Regional Hospital No 2 in Rzeszów

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