A recent study in the Lancet
showed that people with ADHD are most likely to die from accidents, and that
the rate of accidents is elevated even if you take away interfering factors
such as oppositional defiant disorder and substance abuse. Adult women
seemed to be at highest risk for accidental death.
Accidents are unavoidable in many cases.
However, when we see that a disease places us at higher risk, we have to
ask if there is anything we can do to prevent more accidents from occurring.
How could ADHD place people at higher risk for accidental death?
The most important causes of accidental death
are motor vehicle accidents and poisoning.
People
with ADHD are at higher risk for motor vehicle accidents for two important
reasons. One is inattention to the road. The second is impulsive
driving habits. There are three things that we know can help lower the
risk of death.
1) Medication lowers the risk of
automobile accidents in teens with ADHD. Although the decision to use
medication is a complex one, impulsive driving habits or inattention to the
road are serious issues that need to be fixed soon for the safety of yourself
and others.
2) Seat belts save lives but don't
change your risk of having an accident.
3) Turning your cell phone off or having
it in a mode where you are not tempted to text or answer the phone while you
are driving also helps.
Another issue that can be a big problem for
adult women drivers is driving with children. It is very important to
learn to pull over if you need to deal with your child's needs, or if you need
to discipline your child.
Poisoning
includes all kinds of poisoning deaths except for suicides. Accidental
overdose of medications such as opiates are a big player here. People
with ADHD are prone to substance abuse, but even among those without an active
substance abuse problem may have a higher risk of poisoning. This might
be due to patients impulsively taking more medication thinking "more is better",
or due to forgetting and taking another dose when it wasn't needed. It
could also be due, in part, to mixing other medications with ADHD medications. To reduce your risk of poisoning you can:
1) Never mix your medications unless you
know for sure it is safe. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are
unsure. Better safe than sorry!
2) Don't take medications that are not
yours, especially prescription medications.
3) Always ask your doctor how much pain
medication you are allowed to take and never take more than is prescribed.
If your pain control is not adequate, try other methods, such as
exercise, relaxation techniques, and counseling to try to manage your pain.
Ask your doctor for a referral to a pain management specialist to get
started. If you cannot control how much you take, it is better to be in
pain than to die of overdose.
4) Keep your medicines in a locked
cabinet. Put them in a pill minder box with the days of the week on it so
that you know if you have taken your medication or not.
5) Keep
the number for poison control near your phone.
Other common ways adults can be poisoned
include using household or automotive products or pesticides in an incorrect
way. Patients with ADHD may be less inclined to take the time to read directions
or to take the time to purchase or locate personal protective equipment.
If you find you don't take the time to keep yourself safe consider the
following actions:
1) Keep personal protective equipment in
several places in the house, near the hazardous substances.
2) Minimize the use of toxic chemicals
in your environment. For example, there may be natural alternatives to
pesticides or household cleaners.
3) Ask a professional to handle toxic
chemicals instead of doing it yourself. Although a professional
exterminator may be expensive, it may be well worth your while if you prevent
yourself from being poisoned.
No comments:
Post a Comment