Urgent information

Information and advices that could be useful:

If you suspect that your friend or relative has taken an overdose of drugs or alcohol, but you are not sure, here are some symptoms for recognizing.

Overdosing with depressants

Overdosing with depressants – heroin, morphine, methadone, alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines (different kinds of sedatives or sleeping drugs, sold with a recipe) – the functions of the body slow down and the following symptoms could appear:

A slow, shallow and irregular breathing;
Lips turned blue or the skin under the nails turned blue;
Vomiting;
Chest pain, tightening, suffocation;
Cold or pale skin;
Slow or elusive pulse;
Loss of consciousness;
Impossibility for the distressed person to be restored to consciousness.

In such cases you can do the following:

Try to keep calm. Try to get an answer from the person by calling his/her name, pinching his/her palm’s back or massaging his/her chest bone with the finger bones.
If the impaired person reacts, try to lift him/her and make him/her walk; try to keep him/her alert.
If you are not receiving an answer, make sure that the respiratory organs are not blocked (it is possible that he/she has vomited and swallowed his/her tongue).
Check if the suffering person is breathing. You can do that by putting your palm or a little mirror in front of the nose and the mouth of the person. Try to see if his/her chest is moving up and down.
If there is no breathing or it is very weak, if you can not sense the pulse, perform mouth to mouth breathing and a heart massage, but only if you know how. If you are not in condition to do that, turn the person to lie on one side in recovering position.
Call First Aid at number 150! If you are not alone, it is best if one of you calls Firs Aid immediately while the other is giving first aid to the suffering person.

When overdosing with stimulants

When overdosing with stimulants such as amphetamines, methamphetamines, cocaine, XTC the following symptoms can occur:

Frequent pulse;
Muscle spasms;
Convulsion;
Paranoia;
Psychosis;
Disorientation;
Vomiting;
Overheating;
Loss of consciousness;
Stopping of the heart beat.

In such cases you can do the following:

Stay with the person and help him to stay calm.
Take him to a quiet and calmer place.
If possible, put a wet compress on his neck or forehead.
If he is unconscious, turn him to line on one side in recovery position.
Call First Aid at number 150!

What to do if someone under drugs or alcohol influence threatens your safety?

Try to go as far as possible from the person who threatens you and if possible put a kind of barrier between him/her and you.
Try to keep calm and avoid confrontation with the person.
Call the Police at number 166!
Try to attract attention of other people – people from the street or neighbors.

What to do if someone under drugs or alcohol influence threatens their own life and health?

Call the Police at number 166!
Stay with the person until the police or first aid get there and try to calm him/her down.
Encourage the person to talk to you and listen to him without judging no matter what he is telling you.
If the person is consuming drugs or alcohol in the moment, try to convince him/her to stop.
Assure him that the crisis is caused by the drugs/ alcohol use and will pass by when the effect of the substances is over.

What to do if you yourself have taken drugs or alcohol and need urgent help?

If you are afraid that you have taken an overdose, call immediately First Aid at number 150.
If you are having a panic attack, go to quiet and calm place and call the drugs info line at number 0888 99 18 66 and you will receive assistance.
If you are afraid of suicide, try not to stay alone, find someone to listen to you or call the drugs info line at 0888 99 18 66.
Do not forget that except for the overdose cases, the effects of the drugs and alcohol are transient and will pass away no matter how unpleasant they are.

For emergency calls please dial: