What Is a Sedative?

Sedatives are drugs that can reduce the activity of certain organs or tissues and inhibit the central nervous system for sedative effects. Large doses can cause sleep and general anesthesia. It helps relieve depression and anxiety. They are used to treat mental illness and do not affect normal brain activity. However, while exerting a therapeutic effect, sedatives also show various adverse reactions, especially when used inappropriately, poisoning and addiction can also occur. ^[1]

Sedatives ^[2]

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These drugs are widely used medically, with about 12% of prescriptions in general hospitals, and they have become the main drugs used in psychiatry and neurology.

Reports of abuse and acute poisoning have attracted attention and determined the fate of the drug itself. For example, barbitur is gradually replaced by drugs with low dependence in sedation and hypnosis. Soon after the advent of hypnone, it was eliminated by some countries (including China). Addiction and abuse of sedative hypnotic drugs has become one of the serious social problems in many countries in recent years.

Acute poisoning is usually caused by accidental taking or suicide. It may also be caused by too large an intravenous dose, which is too fast. Those who are poisoned mainly show excitement and delirium, followed by lethargy, shallow breathing, skin cyanosis, disappearance of pain, dilated pupils, and coma. In the early stage, it is mostly caused by respiratory paralysis, and in the later stage, it is mostly caused by respiratory failure, cerebral edema or combined with pulmonary infection.

Chronic poisoning manifests as drowsiness, difficulty in thinking association, memory loss, poor judgment, emotional instability, and irritability. When the symptoms are severe, speech is unclear, nystagmus, slow walking, and are often accompanied by mental symptoms such as visual hallucinations, delusions, panic and mania.

Benzodiazepine's representative drug-diazepam, high selectivity of anxiolytic effect, good therapeutic effect, large safety range, long-lasting effect, relatively few dependence, mild withdrawal symptoms, and strong anticonvulsant effect . Medical applications are widespread. However, after taking the drug for a long time, mental symptoms may appear: anxiety, fear, restlessness, insomnia, headache, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, limb trembling, muscle clonics, etc. Intravenous injection of such drugs can lead to hypotension and respiratory depression.

Drug resistance is a common feature of sedative hypnotics. If taken for a long time, the efficacy will decrease, and the dose needs to be increased continuously to maintain the effect. Increased tolerance is always associated with the development of addiction.

Sedative hypnotics are highly addictive, and abrupt withdrawal after a long period of use can produce withdrawal symptoms. Withdrawal symptoms include anxiety, sleep disturbance, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, high fever, hypotension, tremor, convulsions, disorientation, and hallucinations.