Where is euthanasia legalized?
Currently, euthanasia is officially permitted in the following states:
- Netherlands. The law was adopted in 2002. At the same time, a list of conditions was approved that are a significant justification for making this decision. Moreover, each case of euthanasia is reviewed by a special “ethics committee”, which approves or rejects the procedure.
- Belgium. The country also adopted a law in 2002, following the Netherlands. Its provisions apply only to citizens of the state permanently residing in Belgium. The basis for euthanasia is unbearable physical suffering that cannot be alleviated by existing medications.
- Switzerland. In this country, the procedure is allowed to be carried out not only by citizens, but also by foreigners who have expressed their will to die. Special clinics have been created in the state to carry out euthanasia.
- USA. The procedure is not legalized throughout the country. Oregon was the first state to allow euthanasia. Then Washington followed suit, and then Montana. Several years ago, “artificial death” was allowed in seven more states, including California, Hawaii, New Jersey and some others.
- Canada. By law, euthanasia can be carried out only by citizens of the state who have reached the age of majority. The procedure is not performed for foreigners. Most of the country's population actively supports allowing euthanasia, which can help sick people stop suffering and die peacefully. Canadians believe that death must be “justified and foreseeable.”
- Mexico. In this country, euthanasia will be allowed in 2022. Then the “Law on Death with Dignity” was adopted and conditions were approved in which the procedure would be justified.
In 2022, New Zealand held a referendum and vote to legalize euthanasia. The initiative was supported by more than 60% of the country's residents. The law is currently under development and will come into force very soon.
Shelf life of Lidocaine
Like any other anesthetic, it has an expiration date. Regardless of the release form, it is always indicated on the original cardboard packaging. Most often you can see it on the front or side of it.
The drug goes on sale in several varieties:
- Solution for injection and intravenous administration. Shelf life 5 years
- Gel . Maximum storage time 3 years.
- Ointment . Maximum storage time 3 years.
- Eye drops . Shelf life: 2 years.
- The spray can be stored for 3 years.
Important! The drug belongs to list B and does not require special storage conditions in the refrigerator.
All forms of the drug can be used during the entire shelf life, even if no more than 5 days remain until its effect expires. During this entire period, Lidocaine completely retains all its qualities.
It is unacceptable to use defective or spoiled Lidocaine . Before use, you must examine the packaging for damage and also check the expiration date. If the medicine has an unpleasant foreign odor rather than a menthol aroma, a heterogeneous consistency and a cloudy color, it should not be used.
Attention! After opening the package, the shelf life of Lidocaine changes:
- ampoules with solution should not be stored open;
- drops can be used for one month;
- gel, spray and ointment can be used for one year.
The use of lidocaine during this time is allowed only if storage conditions are met.
How the procedure works
In order for euthanasia to be approved, it is necessary to write an application, perhaps even more than one. This is done in order to confirm the patient’s sincere desire to take such a serious step. A special commission, which must include doctors, psychologists and lawyers, considers the indications for the procedure, studies the patient’s medical history and makes a final decision.
The commission members also evaluate the patient’s ability to make independent, informed decisions. The attending physician must make sure that the pathology is indeed incurable and there are no methods that can alleviate the patient’s condition.
If the patient does not change his decision during the inspection, and the commission finds compelling reasons to approve euthanasia, the preparation of documentation and the selection of medications begins. The procedure can only be performed by a doctor.
First, the patient is administered strong narcotic analgesics, and then drugs intended directly for euthanasia. They are made on the basis of barbiturate. The medication is administered into the patient's body parenterally.
Pain-relieving teething gels can be hazardous to children's health.
“Children’s gels based on lidocaine are dangerous due to the classic side effects of lidocaine, which, in addition to its local analgesic effect, is also an antiarrhythmic - a drug for the treatment of certain heart rhythm disorders. In addition, when using lidocaine-containing gels in children, other undesirable effects were observed: convulsions, often leading to traumatic brain injuries, breathing problems, swallowing, and - the most serious complications - heart rhythm disturbances and death.
Strictly speaking, such gels are ineffective. The effect of local anesthetic drugs is due to their local action; in the oral cavity they are washed off with saliva and swallowed by the child, which leads to a very short-term analgesic effect.
It should be borne in mind that the form of the gel is not very convenient for use: not all parents read the instructions on the dosage of the gel in millimeters, frequency of use, etc. That is, the danger of an overdose of such gels is quite high. It is generally quite difficult to predict the proarrhythmogenic effect of a drug. Accordingly, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in its ban, was guided by the balance of harm and benefit of this drug. Roughly speaking, we do not expect serious complications from teething pain, so the use of a drug that can lead to the above complications and even death seems unreasonable.”
Pediatrician
Natalya Vasilyeva
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“I want to say right away: in our practice we have not used gels with lidocaine for a long time. Back in June 2014, the website for doctors medscape.com published information about their dangerous side effects. Gels with lidocaine in overdose can cause cardiac conduction disturbances, even leading to cardiac arrest in a child. Another serious side effect is seizures. There is also evidence that lidocaine gels can affect the composition of hemoglobin and the ability of blood to carry oxygen. An overdose can happen very easily. The fact is that all these gels give a very brief and insignificant effect, easing the child’s condition for just a couple of minutes. Because of this, parents have to smear the child’s gums with gel again and again, and this is very dangerous.
Pediatrician at the Fantasy Clinic,
Candidate of Medical Sciences
Ruzanna Avanesyan
Intramuscular drugs
It is important to remember that subcutaneous, intramuscular and intravenous injections should not be performed without appropriate preparation. Such analgesics should only be administered by a healthcare professional.
For this reason, they cannot be purchased in pharmacies without a prescription. Medicines in injections are more potent than tablets. They have a number of contraindications. Exceeding the permissible dosage causes respiratory and cardiac arrest . Violation of the process of introducing a particular drug leads to serious consequences.
Emergency physicians often use synthetic morphine substitutes - Promedol and Moradol. They act quickly and safely, but have their side effects. Moradol is not administered to persons under 18 years of age. If there is a threat of life-threatening painful shock, the doctor may inject morphine.
Painkiller pills
The next step is taking analgesics - special medications that block pain . Before using them, you should make sure that the victim is not allergic to the components and has no contraindications to their use.
The most common medications that are present in every home medicine cabinet are Analgin and Tempalgin. Effective painkillers also include Dollar (Dolaren), Pentalgin, Nise, Solpadeine. All of them have a number of contraindications and side effects, so care should be taken to prevent the victim’s condition from worsening. Some medications may increase bleeding from open wounds.
You should not expect rapid action from tablets: they require time to dissolve and be absorbed into the blood. Therefore, if the victim feels tolerable, it is better to wait for a doctor who will administer the necessary drug intravenously or intramuscularly . If the medicine was nevertheless taken, doctors should be notified about this so that when providing assistance there is no incompatibility of medications.
How to store Lidocaine
Home conditions are quite suitable for storing this drug. Optimal conditions are temperatures ranging from 10 to 25 degrees, humidity not higher than 70% and protection from direct sunlight. It is best to store the medicine in a special home medicine cabinet or a tightly closed cabinet.
Lidocaine does not tolerate freezing; during freezing, the drug in various forms partially loses its properties.
Analogs of this medication are:
- Articaine.
- Lawn.
- Lycoin.
- Ecocain.
- Lidochlor.
- Dinexana.
These drugs have the same pronounced local anesthetic effect.
Possibility of intoxication
Lidocaine anesthesia has a persistent analgesic effect. This is a fairly powerful drug.
Its dosage is often calculated in just a few milligrams. Therefore, it has very strict rules and regulations for application.
Causes
What causes intoxication? Most often, an overdose of lidocaine occurs due to the fault of health workers. It is recommended to use a lower dose to ensure a lasting effect.
Therefore, one of the reasons leading to lidocaine overdose is incorrectly calculated dosages.
Dosage regimen
The volume of the injected composition is determined by the area of tissue that needs to be anesthetized, as well as the type of surgical intervention.
Traditional methods
Some victims or first aid providers often use alternative medicine techniques. Doing this is strictly prohibited. Traditional methods of treatment can be used at home during the healing process of injuries or for first-degree burns.
- A compress of grated raw potatoes relieves pain well. The pulp is squeezed out, placed between layers of gauze and secured to the affected area with a bandage. Leave for 15-20 minutes.
- Aloe pulp or juice effectively eliminates pain, disinfects the surface and cools it. The plant mass is applied to the damaged area and fixed for 30 minutes.
- Lubricating with fermented milk products (kefir, sour cream, yoghurt, fermented baked milk) cools the skin and neutralizes the burning sensation.
Such treatment methods can be used in conditions where quick medical care is not available, for minor closed injuries and only after cooling. They should not be used on open, oozing, inflamed or infected wounds .
Basic information
There are several dosage forms: solution, gel, ointment, spray, eye drops. In medical institutions, an injection form and spray are used.
Mechanism of action
Drugs belonging to class IB are used to reduce ventricular arrhythmia.
Although they are not strong enough antiarrhythmics, they have minimal effect on the atrial myocardium. In addition, they do not directly close potassium channels.
Pharmacodynamics
The local anesthetic effect is possible due to the stabilization of neuronal membranes, which reduces their permeability to sodium ions. This blocks the reproduction and transmission of nerve signals, suppresses the transmission of both pain and other modalities of signals.
Alcohol for burns
Many people believe that alcohol can serve as an anesthetic in any situation. But, from the point of view of medicine and human physiology, this method is not only useless, but also dangerous.
- Alcohol increases blood circulation, which can worsen the situation with open wounds and bleeding.
- It is incompatible with many medications, changes their properties, reduces their effectiveness, or creates a toxic compound with them that poisons the body.
- If the victim is weak, taking alcohol-containing products can lead to loss of consciousness and fainting.
The choice of anesthetic method always remains with the patient or the first aid provider if the victim is unconscious. But, as practice shows, the use of traditional medicines is much safer and more effective. Therefore, your home first aid kit should always have a reliable remedy that will help out in such an emergency as getting a burn .
