“TOXIC” I always hear this word from students having a hard time in their studies. Most of them are Medical Technology students. It is also a very common word; even our department lanyard has the word “toxic” in it! But, setting aside all these, do you really know what does “TOXIC” means?
Toxic comes from the
Greek word “toxicos” which means poisonous. Toxicos + Logos = Toxicology
…adding the word “logos”, we form TOXICOLOGY, which is the study of the origin, nature, properties, and adverse effects of poisons on living organisms. It also includes the study of symptoms, mechanisms, treatments and detection of poisoning,most especially poisons which can cause harm to humans.
How about toxicity?
I simply define Toxicity as drugs which were metabolized to toxic products.
I simply define Toxicity as drugs which were metabolized to toxic products.
Applying this with my own experience, I can share to you what happened to me when I always experience migraine. Whenever I’m in pain, I immediately take in Paracetamol. This will somehow lessen the hurt in my head. But as time goes by, it seemed that taking 1 tablet of 500mg paracetamol everytime my head aches was not as effective as before. That is why I started taking 2 tablets whenever I have headache. Later on, I’ve experience, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, euphoria and mood swings, not knowing that these are some of the symptoms of Paracetamol overdose.
Excessive use or overdose of Paracetamol can lead to Paracetamol toxicity which can cause liver injury. Paracetamol toxicity is one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide. There are no symptoms during the first 24 hours following overdose. Some may have nonspecific complaints such as vague abdominal pain and nausea. But when the disease progresses, signs of liver failure may develop which includes low blood sugar, low blood pH, easy bleeding, and hepatic encephalopathy.
Some may be treated, but cases which are untreated may result in death.
Another experience I had was an overdose of Augmentin, a drug prescribed by my dentist 3 days before the surgical removal of my impacted tooth. Since I’m really suffering from the pain caused by my tooth, I didn’t follow the prescribed 375 mg Augmentin, instead I bought 625 mg of the said drug. I continued to take this in twice a day for almost 3 days. I then experienced diarrhea, nausea and vomiting which are the common adverse effects of the drug.
Another experience I had was an overdose of Augmentin, a drug prescribed by my dentist 3 days before the surgical removal of my impacted tooth. Since I’m really suffering from the pain caused by my tooth, I didn’t follow the prescribed 375 mg Augmentin, instead I bought 625 mg of the said drug. I continued to take this in twice a day for almost 3 days. I then experienced diarrhea, nausea and vomiting which are the common adverse effects of the drug.
Probably now that I know the risks of taking in drugs that are beyond the prescription of a dentist or taking in more than the prescribed dosage, I surely will follow the doctor’s advice for they know better than I do.
