special subjects
Body Packing and Body Stuffing
Treatment of Body Packing and Stuffing
Treatment for complications of drug overdose Removal of drug packets Sometimes specific antidotes Doctors treat people with symptoms of overdose (and presumed packet rupture) with symptom-specific supportive care, including support of breathing and blood pressure, and antiseizure medications. Sometimes, specific antidotes for certain drugs, if available, are used. Usually, unruptured packets in the digestive tract can be removed by a procedure called whole-bowel irrigation, in which the digestive tract is flushed out with large amounts of electrolyte solution. However, once packets rupture, doctors try to immediately remove all packets using surgery or an endoscope (a nonsurgical procedure using a flexible tube with a camera). Surgical or endoscopic removal can take time, however. Death commonly occurs with rupture of drug packets in body packers because the quantity of drug released is large and the drug is pure, so the dose is very high. People with an intestinal blockage ( Intestinal Obstruction ) or tear ( Doctors can usually remove vaginal and rectal packets with a gloved hand. Body packers or stuffers who are symptom-free should be observed until they have passed all the drug packets and several packet-free stools. Some doctors use whole-bowel irrigation to prompt passage of the packets. If a person has symptoms of potential drug toxicity or overdose, doctors may need to do an endoscopy procedure to remove packets. 