The Atlantic

Do Overdoses Look Different Now?

The symptoms are the same, but the entire context has changed over the past few decades.
Source: Illustration by Paul Spella / The Atlantic. Sources: Getty; Shutterstock.

Most likely, the person’s skin color will change. An ashy tone might creep in, or they could turn a shade of blue. If too much fluid pools in their mouth or lungs and mixes with air, foam will appear at their lips. There might be a sound, too—that of light snoring. These are some of the main symptoms of an overdose. Although the drug causing the reaction might be different, the symptoms look the same. “An overdose is an overdose,” Soma

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