The drug of choice: medicine against diarrhea

The difference between medicine and poison is the dose - especially for uncontrollable evacuation

Appearance of a stomachache, many runs hydrochloride loperamina, the name of the active ingredient in drugs like Imosec. But there are people taking six boxes remedy the effects of euphoria it causes in large quantities.

Since the drug has been created, it is known that loperamina is an opioid - like heroin and oxycodone painkiller that Dr. House is hooked. But scientists found that contrary to his colleagues, the loperamina was completely absorbed by the intestine - solving the uncontrolled escape - and not reach the brain.

Like most good insights and bad ideas, that using medicine for diarrhea to get stoned gained popularity in the internet forums. In these posts, 25% of users took the pills exclusively for the feeling of euphoria. But 70% of them were trying to reduce the impact of heroin withdrawal symptoms - and loperamina began to be called "poor methadone."

Users even take 30-200 mg loperamina a day - for you to get an idea of ​​exaggeration, in the treatment of diarrhea, they are recommended only 16 mg. And there are people dying from it. A survey of New York Intoxicaçã Center studied two cases of overdose, men 24 and 39 years, both with drug abuse history, using the "poor methadone" to deal with addiction.

According to the researchers, the number of posts that talked about the drug increased 10 times from 2010 to 2011. And from 2011 to 2014, the number of emergency room visits in the United States the people who took huge doses of Imosec increased 71%.

The authors are concerned because the drug has low cost and is very affordable, and not be associated with any negative social stigma, like other drugs. With the study, they hope to pressure the regulatory bodies so that the drug can only be purchased with prescription - which can complicate a little the lives of those who have an intestinal emergency.