5 of the Most Common Signs and Symptoms of Ecstasy Overdose

In all of the 18 cases of ecstasy overdosepatients to be exact) who experienced seizures
recorded by the Los Angeles County Departmentwith ecstasy overdose. This symptom can occur
of Public Health for the New Year's Eve of 2010,in a matter of seconds and minutes and is usually
experts used a list of signs and symptoms thatmanifested by change in consciousness, emotion,
indicate such condition in the patients affected.vision and skin sensation. Sometimes, a person
There are actually 5 common signs andmay lose muscle control with this sign of ecstasy
symptoms established with the use of this drug.overdose. Muscle tension and twitching may also
Some of these may manifest altogether in onebe apparent during seizures.
person. On the other hand, some may occur as a4. Rhabdomyolysis. This is also one of the
stand-alone symptom in the victim.common symptoms of ecstasy overdose which
Relating these symptoms to the New Year's raveshowed up in two of the 18 victims for this LA
party ecstasy overdose cases as presented inincident. This is actually derived from two words
the MWRR report, here are 5 of the signs and– "rhabdomyo" or the skeletal muscle and
symptoms experienced by the victims."lysis", meaning rapid breakdown. Putting these
1. Agitation and aggression. The report showedtwo terms together, the symptom is the rapid
that 16 out of the 18 cases manifested suchbreakdown of the skeletal muscle resulting from a
ecstasy overdose signs in patients. This is 89% ofmuscle tissue injury. This can be a result of
the total. Agitation may be defined in a number ofbiological, physical and chemical factors.
ways. It can be an emotional state characterized5. Hyponatremia. Also present in 2 out of the 18
by stirring or shaking. This ecstasy overdosecases for this MMWR report, hyponatermia is a
symptom may also result to restlessness orsymptom of ecstasy overdose that is
excitement. Aggression, on the other hand, is ancharacterized by low serum sodium concentration.
action that can cause harm or pain to anotherThis may also be a complication of other illnesses
person.where sodium is lost. It may be a result of
2. Mydriasis. Eight out of the 18 (44%) individualsvomiting, diarrhea and in some cases, excess
who were reported to have ecstasy overdosewater accumulation in the body. This comes with
experienced this symptom. This is characterizedother symptoms such as nausea, headache,
by the dilation of the eye's pupil and maylethargy, confusion and loss of appetite.
commonly be linked to drug abuse, disease orThese are five of the most common symptoms
trauma. This can easily be detected due to theof ecstasy overdose. As mentioned, all can
fact that the pupil remains enlarged even whenmanifest in one person after intake of the drug.
there is a bright light inside a room.But in most cases, only one or two of the signs
3. Seizure. There were 11% of the 18 cases (2may be seen in the victim.