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Barbiturate Overdose Meaning, Symptoms, Effects, and Risks

Anyone affected by a barbiturate overdose may find it helpful to learn what barbiturates are and what they are used for, as well as the symptoms, effects, and hazards involved. Keep reading to learn more about this condition.


What Is Barbiturate Overdose? Barbiturate Overdose Meaning

What Is A Barbiturate Overdose? Anyone affected by a barbiturate overdose may find it helpful to learn what barbiturates are and what they are used for, as well as the symptoms, effects, and hazards involved.

Whats A Barbiturate Overdose? Barbiturates are a class of sedative-hypnotic medicines that can be used for anesthesia and to treat conditions such as newborn withdrawal syndrome, insomnia, preoperative anxiety, and seizure disorders.

Barbiturates are used and abused illegally across the country, as with most medications that have comparable effects. Barbiturates are frequently abused to relieve some of the side effects of illegal narcotics, induce sleep, lower anxiety, lower inhibitions, or cause modest euphoria.

What’s A Barbiturate Overdose? What Does Barbiturate Overdose Mean

Due to their significant abuse potential, barbiturates can cause tolerance and physical dependency with continued usage. A person with a higher tolerance may frequently seek out a higher dosage to get the desired results, which could lead to dependence and addiction. Within 8 to 15 hours of quitting the drug, frequent barbiturate users may develop significant withdrawal symptoms.

Barbiturates have historically been a secondary drug of abuse for persons who abuse alcohol and heroin as their major drugs of choice. Polydrug use has long been linked to barbiturate consumption.

The risk of an overdose is greatly increased when barbiturates, alcohol, opioids like heroin, and benzodiazepines are combined. These drugs and barbiturates interact additively, making their combined consumption extremely harmful.

For those who have severe respiratory or kidney disorders, barbiturates are especially harmful. Pregnant women should stay away from these medications since they put the fetus’s health in danger. Barbiturate use throughout the third trimester in pregnant women can result in the delivery of addicted children who experience a protracted withdrawal syndrome.

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Barbiturates Factsheet

What are Barbiturates?

Barbiturates belong to the class of medications known as sedative-hypnotics, mainly referring to their effects on inducing sleep and reducing anxiety. Barbiturates can be quite risky due to the uncertainty surrounding the ideal dosage. A little overdose might result in death or a coma. Barbiturates can potentially result in a life-threatening withdrawal crisis and are also addictive.


Barbiturates Abuse Symptoms

Barbiturates might be viewed as so-called brain relaxers in general. Additionally, a brain relaxant, alcohol. Barbiturates and alcohol have very comparable side effects that, when combined, can be fatal. Antihistamines, sleeping aids, and painkillers have side effects comparable to barbiturates.

Barbiturates are abused by those who use them to get a “high,” compared to being drunk or negating stimulant substances’ effects.

Barbiturates Addiction Treatment

Barbiturate misuse or overdose is often treated with supportive therapy. Depending on the person’s symptoms, different levels of help may be needed:

  • The only action may be to constantly monitor the patient to see if they are alert but sleepy and can swallow and breathe without a problem.
  • A breathing machine is used if the patient is not breathing to ensure that they can till the effects of the medication wear off.
  • Most patients receive activated charcoal in liquid form to bind to whatever medicines they may have in their stomachs. This can be accomplished by having the person drink it or inserting a tube into their stomach (via their mouth or nose).
  • Most patients are either admitted to the hospital or kept in the emergency room for several hours, and occasionally, they may need to be admitted for additional monitoring and care.

Barbiturates Statistics

Anyone affected by a barbiturate overdose may find it helpful to learn what barbiturates are and what they are used for, as well as the symptoms, effects, and hazards involved.


Last year, barbiturates were responsible for 396 deaths, some directly related to the drug and others to other drugs, suicide, accidents, or mental illness.

Source: NIDA

1,493 Emergency Room Visits

In the past year, 1,493 emergency room visits were attributed to barbiturates.

Source: NIDA

Overdoses with barbiturates are thought to result in more than 3,000 deaths annually in the United States. Of these, 42% are categorized as suicides, with the remaining 48% occurring accidentally due to overdosing from combining barbiturates with other drugs or alcohol.

Source: NIDA


What’s Barbiturate Overdose? Barbiturate Overdose Symptoms (Symptoms Of Barbiturate Overdose)

Barbiturates are frequently abused to relieve some of the side effects of illegal narcotics, induce sleep, lower anxiety, lower inhibitions, or cause modest euphoria.
Barbiturates are frequently abused to relieve some of the side effects of illegal narcotics, induce sleep, lower anxiety, lower inhibitions, or cause modest euphoria.

Overdose Of Barbiturates Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of barbiturate intoxication include:

  • Altered or decreased consciousness.
  • Coordination problems and muscle weakness.
  • Clouded thinking.
  • Lack of balance/vertigo.
  • Nausea.
  • Slurring of speech.
  • Slow heart rate.
  • Decreased urine output.

Signs and symptoms of barbiturate overdose include:

  • Shallow breathing.
  • Clammy skin.
  • Dilated pupils.
  • Weak and rapid pulse.
  • Respiratory failure.
  • Coma.
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Responding to an Accidental Barbiturate Overdose & Barbiturate Overdose Death (Barbiturates Overdose Death)

Call 911 immediately if you suspect a barbiturate or multiple drug overdose, especially if you notice any breathing issues. The arrival of medical personnel can increase the likelihood of surviving the potentially fatal overdose.

When medical personnel arrives on the scene, it can be helpful to know whether or not a person took a barbiturate with an opioid because naloxone may be an effective rapid treatment. Naloxone is a medication that can aid in regaining consciousness and undoing the effects of an opioid overdose, but it cannot undo a coma brought on by barbiturates.

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Barbiturate Overdose Treatment & Treatment Of Barbiturate Overdose (Barbiturates Overdose Treatment)

Withdrawal can be a difficult and dangerous procedure for someone who is physically dependent on barbiturates or who uses barbiturates in conjunction with alcohol and/or opiates and often necessitates medical treatment.

Barbiturate withdrawal symptoms include:

  • Restlessness
  • Anxiety
  • Tremors
  • Low body temperature
  • Sweating
  • Insomnia
  • Anxiety
  • Seizures
Withdrawal can be a difficult and dangerous procedure for someone who is physically dependent on barbiturates or who uses barbiturates in conjunction with alcohol and/or opiates and often necessitates medical treatment.
Withdrawal can be a difficult and dangerous procedure for someone who is physically dependent on barbiturates or who uses barbiturates in conjunction with alcohol and/or opiates and often necessitates medical treatment.

Detoxification should take place in a rehabilitation center that offers round-the-clock medical supervision. To completely wean a patient off barbiturates, doctors will first taper medicine dosages. Patients will then start cognitive behavioral therapy after tapering off (CBT). The U.S. National Library of Medicine states that CBT looks at how feelings, thoughts, and actions are related and how those who are recovering are affected by the substance they are addicted to.

Anyone struggling with addiction can recover with medical specialists and a treatment plan. Long-term sobriety can be attained with the help of family, friends, medical professionals, local support groups, and the new behaviors learned in therapy.

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Barbiturate Overdose Meaning & We Level Up Dual Diagnosis Treatment

The definition of dual diagnosis (also referred to as co-occurring disorders) can differ between institutions. However, it is generally described as the specific treatment of someone diagnosed with a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder simultaneously. Treating dual-diagnosis clients is a critical aspect of our inpatient treatment experience because co-occurring disorders are strongly correlated with instances of substance abuse.

Creating a treatment plan that addresses the physical aspects of withdrawal, the psychological connection with drug use, and managing underlying mental health disorders is part of setting clients up for success.  A thorough mental health analysis identifies possibilities for treatment.  Meeting with mental health counselors and medical care providers means access to behavioral therapy and medication treatment. At our dual diagnosis treatment center, We Level Up can implement the highest quality of care. 

We recognize the fragile complexities of how mental and substance abuse disorders can influence others and sometimes result in a vicious cycle of addiction.  That’s why we offer specialized treatment in dual-diagnosis cases to provide the most excellent chance of true healing and long-lasting recovery.

Accepting that you may be living with a mental illness can be challenging. However, treating the presenting substance abuse case can be magnitudes easier once properly diagnosed and treated. Only a properly trained medical professional can diagnose these underlying conditions.  If you believe you are suffering from a disorder alongside addiction, we urge you to seek a qualified treatment center to begin your journey to recovery. Call We Level Up today.

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