Studies of Ecstasy confirmdebilitating effects on users
The overheating effect ofecstasy is exacerbated by the following factors:
- Users are thought to dance well beyondthe point of which a 'normal' person would tire and sit down.
- DJ's play seamless sequences of recordswhich keep dancers active, and therefore producing more heat,over long periods of time.
A club's atmosphere is usually hot and humid.The evaporation of sweat is an essential body defence mechanismto prevent overheating and beyond a certain level of ambient humidityskin stops evaporating sweat - the result is one cannot unloadwater as efficiently into an atmosphere, which is already damp.Hypothermia sets in which causes the blood to clot or coagulateover a widespread or disseminated area of the circulatory systemand elements in blood which are normally there to block holesare activated.
The blood coagulation process uses the blood's elements involvedin clotting faster than they can be replaced. This leads to anabsolute decline in the quantity of these elements. The resultof this decline mimics the result of anticoagulation; blood eventuallyrefuses to clot. Bruising takes place. Gums bleed. There is hemorrhage.With an ecstasy death, this process takes place very quickly.Hypothermia leads rapidly to Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation(DIC) and the victim bleeds to death (in the most severe cases)."He continued, "DIC is a complication of the hypothermia.Hypothermia is a complication of the use of the drug and its circumstancesof use."
One of the marked side effects of the Ecstasy use is that theuser experiences incredible thirst and the first inclination isto drink lots of water because of the feeling of overheating anddrinking too much water has reportedly killed several people asa result.
It has been pointed out the main danger of taking the drug isoverheating and water is essential in order to sweat. In turndrinking too much water can be harmful if you drink more thanyour body is able to excrete and consequently, the blood can becomediluted which will cause swelling of the bodies tissues. The dangerin this is that the brain cannot swell inside the skull and thepressure can build up to a dangerous level.
Another danger is that Ecstasy masks discomfort and pain and theuser may carry on an activity which under normal circumstancethey would stop. For example, under normal circumstance if a personis dehydrated and hot they will feel sick and look for relief- but under the influence of Ecstasy the normal response mechanismsare not operating and a persons temperature can reach a fatallevel, only a few degrees above normal, and he or she can literallydrop dead.
In other cases people who are asthmatic have died from attackswhilst on Ecstasy. It can also cause your blood pressure to increase,which can be fatal to a person with a weak heart. There are alsobad reactions recorded for people with allergies and interactionswith other drugs can also cause fatalities in some instances thingsas simple as inhalers used by asthmatics and ordinary over thecounter pain killers like simple panadol. Using the drug can bea fatal combination with almost any other form of drugs, alcoholor medication, prescription or otherwise. Users risk losing theirlife when ingesting Ecstasy -- and that is not a very 'fun' idea.