Lidocaine Patches-Anyone ever seen someone purposefully od on them?

Question

I have a friend who thinks that he can stick like 20 patches on himself, and leave them on for longer than the recommended time. I myself think that this is just a cry for help and that these patches are a non-lethal way of attempting suicide. He told me "At my weight 20 patches will do the trick". He weighs roughly about 300 pounds. If someone has the medical expertise to tell me if this is possible that would be great. He has been threatening for a while now and I need to know how soon I need to act. I think he is collecting them

Answer 1

whether its lethal or not you need to act now and talk to someone about this. As for lidocaine it will affect the heart rythmn and is used in I.V. form to stop Atrial fibrillation.So in other words No atrial fib. and you could possibly cause a fibrillation that could lead to death. Talk to your local police and tell them what is going on and what can be done to stop this.

Answer 2

Absolutely not! I think 2 patches are the max for no longer than the reccomended time, usually 12 hrs. That is a dangerous situation. Your friend needs to see a doctor or you should make the call about that.

Answer 3

That sounds like a tough way to go. They are very dangerous if over used in fact I quote "call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911." this is from
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/medmaster/a603026.html#overdose
and they seem to know their stuff.

I wouldn't play around, if he is threating suicide, seek help now. He may be reaching out for help, be there to help. Call the police if you have to but get him help before it is too late.

Answer 4

At his weight, he'd probably need to cover himself head to toe!

I've never seen anyone purposefully OD on lidocaine patches, and I doubt that it would be successful.