Barbiturates are a kind of depressant or sedative drug. They belong to an old class of drugs that relax the body and help people sleep. In the 19th century, these drugs were first developed, and in 1960 and 1970, the use of barbiturates as a drug for recreation became popular, causing drug abuse in many cases.
Use and abuse of barbiturates have significantly decreased but this decline is because of the rise of new and safe drug alternatives. Barbiturate consumption also carries the risk of psychological and physical addiction. The risk of overdose is higher with barbiturates as compared to other drugs.
Know more about barbiturates
Barbiturates are a drug group that helps calm the body. They produce effects similar to alcohol, from mild relaxation to inability to feel pain or consciousness. Barbiturates enhance the brain’s chemical activity, which assists in transmitting signals. This chemical is called gamma amino butyric acid.
Barbiturates as a medicine help in the reduction of muscle spasms, relief from anxiety, sleep induction, and prevention of seizures. Some of the effects produced by barbiturates are
- Relaxing effect and euphoria
- Decreased inhibition
- Unclear speech
- No coordination
- Confusion
How long it takes for barbiturates to work, how long do barbiturates stay in your system and how long their impacts last usually varies. They are classified as ultra-short, very short, intermediate, and long-acting. When people take barbiturates by mouth, its effects initiate within 30 minutes of swallowing it and lasts 4-16 hours.
Use of barbiturates
One of several medicinal uses of barbiturates is treating seizures. On some occasions, barbiturates are used by doctors for treatment such as
- Epilepsy
- Enhanced skull pressure
- Serious trauma in the skull
- Some kinds of convulsions
Barbiturates can also be used as an anesthetic. Some of the label uses of barbiturates include
- Migraines
- Alcohol and benzodiazepine and withdrawal
- Trauma
- Jaundice
But instead of all those uses, they are not very popular because they risk bad outcomes and side effects. Barbiturates are available in the form of pills, rectal, liquid and injectable forms.
Barbiturates side effects
When used as per the instructions, some of the common side effects produced by barbiturates are feeling drowsy, relaxing effects, and feeling sick. Some of the serious side effects are
- No coordination
- Headache
- Confusion
- Vomiting
- Respiratory arrest
- Facing issues in remembering things
One of the major problems is they can lead to tolerance and dependency. Tolerance is something when a good amount of drug is needed to obtain the required effect and dependence is something when symptoms of withdrawal happen when the person stops the use of the drug.
How long do barbiturates stay in your system?
The time taken by the body to process the barbiturates until they are excreted is different than the time taken for their effects to start weakening. You might still have the drug in the body even if you do not experience its side effects. Other than that several different factors affect how long barbiturates stay in your system:
- Mass of your body: Your body mass is determined by your height and weight. People with high body mass mostly take high doses, which take a long time to process. This results in lengthy detection times.
- Body metabolism: Irrespective of body mass, people also possess variable metabolism rates. People with slow body metabolism will hold barbiturates longer in their system than those with a high rate of metabolism.
- Other health issues: Kidney or liver issues, disorders of blood circulation, and other such health conditions that hinder drug processing can also affect the average timelines.
- Substances that contraindicate: Some drugs slow down or speed up the processing time of barbiturates. Instead, consuming some food before consuming that drug slows down the metabolic process.
- Number of times and the dosage amount: A high dose of barbiturates calls for a long processing time. Those exhibiting the signs of barbiturate abuse might have traces of this drug in their system for an extended period.
By staying aware of these factors, you can easily understand that your barbiturate detection time might not align with general timelines. But, when you fail to present differentiating factors, you can refer to the typical timing.
- In urine: The duration of time barbiturates stay in urine highly relies on the variant of medication that has been used. With short and long-acting barbiturates, the drug can stay up to 24-72 hours. For long-acting barbiturates, it can be detected in the urine until one week. To know how long the barbiturates are detectable in urine, you should know about the kind of drug you are using and go beyond the average timelines for every variant to prevent its detection.
- In blood: The drug is processed faster in the circulatory system than in the excretory system. Thus, barbiturates are detectable in your blood for an average of 72 hours.
- In saliva: Saliva tests are not common like urine analysis, but they can be given. On average, the barbiturates stay in saliva for 3-7 days, depending on the variant used.
- In hair: Some trace of barbiturates stays for a long time in the hair, for an average period of 3 months. If you take a drug test that needs the presentation of a hair sample, this might require you to go beyond the average timelines in a hair to avoid test detection.
Symptoms of withdrawal
When you suddenly stop the use of barbiturates, it can suddenly result in withdrawal symptoms such as
- Restlessness’
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Stomach cramping
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Suicidal thoughts
- Hallucinations
Withdrawal symptoms of barbiturates can be fatal sometimes as some individuals who withdraw from barbiturates might get one or more seizures in addition to confusion and increasing body temperature. A lot of people might get delirium for many days. The confusion is the same as seen in alcohol withdrawal called delirium tremens. People withdrawing might experience anxiety, disorientation, and also visual hallucinations. If left untreated, this withdrawal can lead to high fever, heart issues, and sometimes death.
Conclusion
Barbiturates are prescribed medicines that have several relaxing effects on the human body, from mild sedation to even coma. These drugs are often associated with higher dependency rates and a small window between efficient and fatal doses.
