Is it possible to attempt suicide by taking lots of tablets but NOT have to have your stomach pumped?
My friend told me he attempted suicide and was taken to hospital. I asked did they pump your stomach and he said something like "no, they don't do that now" which seems totally fake to me.
Is it possible that they (hospitals) have some other way now ? Or was it all attention seeking and they took like 1 extra tablet and called it an overdose?
I don't want to bring it up again in case they were for real. They don't like to talk about it supposedly so I respect that but I have been wondering...
sorry if wrong section but as it is about medicine and how lethal it is etc i felt it might be ok here. Don't know what kind of tablets it was though.
2006-11-14 11:02:47 · 6 answers · asked by hey_world 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
He's not lying. "Stomach pumping" is not something that is routinely practiced any longer.
The other way would be to charcoal the patient.
2006-11-19 23:22:41 · answer #1 · answered by Morning Glory 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
your friend is telling the truth. very few emergency rooms "pump" stomachs anymore. Canada stopped doing this years ago. US a little slower to progress with the practice but it has been found to actually do more harm than good. giving charcoal by mouth (or nasogastric tube if the patient is uncooperative or vomiting) is the treatment if the ingestion was within a certain time frame. the purpose of the charcoal is to absorb the medications and most times it has sorbital added so that it will come out in the stool hours later.
irregardless if your friends overdose was attention seeking or not, he/she was still asking for help and i hope they get it.
2006-11-14 17:53:06 · answer #2 · answered by bella36 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They try to determine which pills were taken and how long ago. They will give you some charcol ipecac to help absorb the medicine in your stomach and make you vomit it up. If after determining type and time and looking at any emises (vomit), they will decide if they will do a stomach lavage (pump your stomach). Some doctors will lavage no matter what!! They usually give an injection of Narcan which counteracts the effects of any narcotics that may have been taken.
2006-11-14 11:36:16 · answer #3 · answered by Michael I 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I'm not sure if they still pump or not, but maybe if he was alert enough to tell them what he took, they could have given him something to counteract the effects of the tablets.
2006-11-14 11:12:21 · answer #4 · answered by Billy FZ1 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
as far as I know, I think they DO still pump your stomach out....
but maybe it depends on what kind of pills you take.
2006-11-14 11:09:29 · answer #5 · answered by Zippy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
omg..thats almost kinda scary sounding..!!!
2006-11-14 11:04:50 · answer #6 · answered by Chelc 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋