A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.[2][3] Typically it is used for cases when a risk to health will potentially result.[2] An overdose may result in a toxic state or death.[3]
Classification
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Timeline of US drug overdose death rates by race and ethnicity.[4] Rate per 100,000 population.
The word "overdose" implies that there is a common safe dosage and usage for the drug; therefore, the term is commonly applied only to drugs, not poisons, even though many poisons as well are harmless at a low enough dosage. Drug overdose is sometimes used as a means to commit suicide, as the result of intentional or unintentional misuse of medication. Intentional misuse leading to overdose can include using prescribed or non-prescribed drugs in excessive quantities in an attempt to produce euphoria.
Usage of illicit drugs, in large quantities, or after a period of drug abstinence can also induce overdose. Cocaine and opioid users who inject intravenously can easily overdose accidentally, as the margin between a pleasurable drug sensation and an overdose is small.[5] Unintentional misuse can include errors in dosage caused by failure to read or understand product labels. Accidental overdoses may also be the result of over-prescription, failure to recognize a drug's active ingredient or unwitting ingestion by children.[6] A common unintentional overdose in young children involves multivitamins containing iron.
The term 'overdose' is often misused as a descriptor for adverse drug reactions or negative drug interactions due to mixing multiple drugs simultaneously.