Any medication that provides feelings of euphoria or causes a hormonal imbalance in the body is harmful. Many pharmaceuticals engage with your body and brain to produce serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins, all feel-good hormones. People feel pleasure upon releasing these chemicals, which may lead to the body becoming dependent on the substance to keep things in chemical balance.
It also creates a physical reliance on the drug since the brain links drug usage with a sense of euphoria and a good experience. Most harmful medications have the potential to provide an adverse effect on both the body and the psyche.
On the other hand, some substances are more addicting and, as a result, more harmful. Thus, it’s best to undergo drug rehabilitation before reaching the tipping point of an overdose.
Because everyone is diverse, their systems may react in different ways to various medications and dosages. On the other hand, certain drugs are powerful and frequently cause overdose fatalities due to this addiction.
Semi-Synthetic Opioids
OxyContin, Percocet, and Vicodin are examples of semi-synthetic opioid medications. Doctors recommend most of these drugs for acute pain, but they can also prescribe them for other conditions, including diarrhea or cough. Because of their high dependence and abuse potential, these medicines should only be used under strict supervision. Abuse of semi-synthetic opioids can lead to hypoxia, which occurs when the brain receives insufficient oxygen.
It is possible to die from hypoxia and go into a coma or suffer irreversible brain damage. When mixed with other substances like alcohol and cocaine, opioids pose a substantial risk of death from an overdose. Because of the ubiquity and high overdose rate of opioid medications, the United States is now experiencing an opioid crisis, making opioids the list’s last most hazardous type of substance.
Heroin
In the form of heroin, experts converted morphine into an illegal social opioid narcotic. They extracted morphine from different opium poppy seed pods. Users either snort or inject the drug, and it comes in black, brown, and white powder forms and a gooey black material called black tar heroin. The increased incidence of heroin use and the severe medical ailments it causes in consumers place it at number two on this ranking.
Complications include kidney disease, gastrointestinal abscesses, respiratory difficulties, heart lining infections, collapsed veins for those who use it through injection, and damaged tissue in the nose who snort or sniff the drug. As per the CDC, the population of heroin users has increased twice as much in the last five years, and around 80% of new consumers come from prescription opioids to heroin as a gateway drug. And over 42,000 people died in the United States alone in 2016 from opiate abuse, such as those caused by heroin.
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are another popular drug class on the listing of the most hazardous medicines. Included in this are well-known brand names such as Restoril and Vanax and generics like Ativan and Klonopin.
Since they are potent sedatives, several prescription medicines in this category are among the most hazardous. These medications can provide comfort if prescribed for seizures, anxiety, and sleep, but people also abuse them and unlawfully market them as depressants. If used alongside opioids, they have the potential to be deadly.
Cough Medicines
Theraflu, Robitussin, and NyQuil are popular cough suppressants. When you have a cold, bronchitis, or another lung ailment, these drugs can help you stop coughing. There is considerable potential for misuse and various side effects with cough medications, which places them at number four on our list. When used excessively, a cough medicine’s main active component, dextromethorphan (DXM), is hazardous and can cause dissociation and hallucinations.
When used in excess, they can cause severe lethargy and even death due to respiratory depression. As previously mentioned, hypoxia may have both long- and short-term consequences on the neurological system, including unconsciousness, death, and irreversible brain damage, making hypoxia a medical emergency. There is an increased risk of fatal overdose when people use these medications with other substances like cannabis and alcohol.
Alcohol
Alcoholic products include any malt liquor, wine, and beer. The substantial health issues and accidents linked to alcohol usage place it fifth on the list. Every year, around 88,000 individuals die as a result of liquor-related causes. Excessive use of alcohol can lead to various adverse health effects, including but not limited to the following: fetal damage, heart disease, hypertension, liver damage, and cancer. Overindulgence in alcoholic beverages is the third most significant cause of mortality in the United States because of these causes.
Always Use Caution When Taking Medications
These medicines are incredibly harmful, yet they are only a tiny portion of the many that kill thousands of civilians every year. It’s critical to remember that any drug, even prescription pharmaceuticals, may be deadly if misused or in conjunction with other narcotics.
