Dangerous Drug Combinations: Why Mixing Substances Can Be Fatal
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People use drugs to briefly step out of reality. Addicts light up to escape the real world for a moment. An alcoholic takes another drink to revisit that “better place” the beverage creates for him. But no one (excluding the suicidal) takes that sniff, puff or sip thinking, “This is how I can kill myself” or “This might kill me in 5 minutes.”
It is important to know two things:
1. Suicide is never the answer.
Life can be very hard and nearly everyone has days where they want to give up. If you are having such a day in your life and your mind is asking the question “how to kill yourself”, then you need to remind yourself that there is hope as well as help. You can browse treatment centers here for help.
2. There is no fastest way to kill yourself.
There is no method to kill yourself that is quick or easy. Often times taking pills or drugs results in significant pain and health consequences and is not certain to result in death. Browse this page for help.
As a child, you learnt not to put certain things in your mouth because of what it could do to your little body. As adults, it may be time to revisit that child-like mentality as we approach certain substances.
Abusing Drugs and Alcohol as a Way to Kill Yourself
Let us not forget that drugs and alcohol are poisonous; they merit our respect and consideration before use. Don’t join the millions that found out too quickly that when you fool around with toxic substances, you allow your life to swing in the balance.
How Drug Cocktails Can Kill You
A vast majority of drug-related deaths begin with a mixture. In a 2003 report, the Drug Abuse Warning Network cautioned us that an average, 2.7 drugs were used in fatal overdose cases. The body reacts to different drugs in different ways. As an effect, when one drug affects breathing, and the other disturbs brain activity, the body can’t keep up and eventually shuts down. The effect is synergistic, and through teamwork and toxic tendencies, the drugs can kill.
Using drugs purchased illicitly can be very dangerous because you don’t know what might be in the drug. Drugs sold on the street are often cut with various unknown chemicals and have different levels of purity so you don’t know what a safe dosage might be. It is important to never use a drug that is not prescribed and to not mix drugs with alcohol.
Glutamate is generally acknowledged as the most important transmitter for normal brain function. Alcoholic drinks can decrease the effects of glutamate, impairing the judgment of an individual. When this effect is combined with other drugs it can become life-threatening. It is important to carefully read the labels of any prescribed medications and many have warnings regarding mixing with other drugs or alcohol.
There are reported cases where people took a drug cocktail and within five minutes painfully died through suffocation due to the various interactions within the body.
Heroin, Brown Sugar and Other Opiates
Overdoses of heroin kill more people than any other single drug on the market but that does not make heroin overdose a reliably fastest way to die. The initial high given by the drug causes mental confusion, slowed breathing, nausea, and sedation.
But when used in excess, the immediate effects of heroin build up and often result in respiratory failure. This means the body quite literally forgets to breathe and deprives itself of oxygen eventually killing the user.
Government officials warn of various strains of brown sugar and other opiates that may cause overdose, there is no “safe” level of unprescribed opiates since drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil could be cut into the drugs and are highly lethal.
Can Alcohol Kill You?
The effect of alcoholic beverages is directly related to the amount consumed. Through a process called “metabolising,” your liver does its best to eliminate the toxic alcohol from your blood, but it can only handle so much. The excess alcohol is left to circulate throughout the body.
The more alcohol circulating, the more intense its effect; and the more intense the effect, the slower the user breathes. Hence, an alcohol overdose can cause coma and even death by preventing your brain from getting enough oxygen.
The effect of alcoholic beverages is directly related to the amount consumed. Through a process called “metabolising,” your liver does its best to eliminate the toxic alcohol from your blood, but it can only handle so much. The excess alcohol is left to circulate throughout the body.
Can Nicotine Consumption Kill You Quickly?
Can cigarette smoking kill you in a matter of minutes? No, but research from the World Health Organization shows that smoking does kill up to 50% of users and over 8 million people worldwide. Smoking is one of the fastest ways to ensure you will die early. Smoking causes many diseases including painful cancers.
Cocaine
Cocaine, like other stimulants, boosts the release of adrenaline-like hormones causing increased motor activity, heart rate and blood pressure. Cocaine also causes blood vessels to narrow down.
This dangerous release of hormones and thinning blood vessels are connected to heart attacks, brain damage, overheating, and respiratory failure.
Heart Attack: The increased motor activity demands the heart to produce more oxygen. But as the blood vessels narrow, blood supply significantly decreases which often leads to a heart attack.
Brain Damage: The spike in blood pressure can cause blood vessels in the brain to rupture resulting in a cerebral haemorrhage.
Overheating: Because of the boost in motor activity, the body heats up and needs to be cooled. But altering adrenaline hormone levels can influence the body’s ability to cool itself. The result is organ failure and eventual death.
Respiratory Failure: Similar to the effects of Alcohol and Heroin, Cocaine can inhibit a person from breathing, which can lead to death.
Addiction to Deadly Drugs
Beyond the direct and sometimes deadly effect of drugs and alcohol, each of these substances has a direct effect on the mind. They can temporarily distort reality, and influence the user’s perception of what’s around him or her. These distortions are dangerous and addictive.
Think of drugs and alcohol as a poison a toxic substance that can destroy you and the people around you. The best way to take drugs is to take them seriously, and never take them in the first place.
Your life is valuable. Avoid drug cocktails, unknown tablets, charas, heroin, methamphetamine, alcohol, nicotine and cocaine, don’t take a chance with your life.
There are several rehabilitation centres present across many cities in India and abroad which offer numerous programmes to help people having addiction problems.
Looking for intensive care? These centres can help.
Please note: If this is an emergency, please call a helpline first — you’ll find numbers at the top of this page.
If you or someone you love needs structured, residential support, the centres below offer intensive de-addiction and recovery programmes. (These are sponsored advertisers on rehabs.in)
Alpha Healing Center
A luxury residential de-addiction and rehab centre set in a quiet natural setting in Jambughoda, near Vadodara, treating alcohol, drug, and behavioural addictions with a mix of evidence-based and holistic care. It’s one of the few centres in India offering rTMS and neurofeedback, with clinical governance by Adayu (a Fortis Group company).
Sanctum Wellness and Healing
A luxury inpatient centre in Chattarpur, Delhi, combining evidence-based therapy (CBT, DBT, MBCT) with holistic care. Alongside alcohol and drug dependence, it treats behavioural addictions like gambling and gaming and co-occurring conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, and OCD.
Lotus Wellness and Rehabilitation Center
A holistic luxury residential rehab in Coimbatore offering medically supervised detox and de-addiction programmes (typically 14–180 days) for alcohol and drug dependence. It runs 12-Step and AA/NA support, and takes a deliberately non-labelling approach — stepping away from “addict/alcoholic” framing to focus on the underlying causes of use.
Abhasa Rehabilitation & Wellness
A luxury residential network with centres in Tamil Nadu and near Mumbai, blending evidence-based, holistic and experiential therapies for addiction, mental health and eating disorders. Its Coimbatore flagship offers neurofeedback-based brain mapping, and it also runs India’s first women-exclusive rehab.
Jagruti Rehabilitation Centre
One of India’s largest neuropsychiatric and de-addiction networks, with 17+ centres nationwide, founded by psychiatrist Dr. Amar Shinde. They have centers in Delhi, Mumbai, Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, and many more cities in India. It offers 24/7 monitored residential care spanning substance dependence, dual diagnosis, and conditions like dementia and schizophrenia.
Sources:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10807/
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/heroin/the-destructive-effects-of-heroin.html
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/drinking-and-driving.html#understandinghowalcoholaffectsthebody
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Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels