It's Possible To Take An Overdose of Caffeine and Here Are the Symptoms

Getting your buzz on with coffee, tea or energy drinks doesn’t sound very dangerous or life-threatening, but death by caffeine is, in fact, possible — especially for people with certain health conditions. The recent caffeine-related death of a 16-year-old high-school student raises the question: Who is at risk of a caffeine overdose, and what are the signs?

A study published in Food and Chemical Toxicology determined that a healthy adult can consume up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day (which amounts to four 8-ounce cups of coffee or six shots of espresso). But that’s just an average, explains osteopathic physician Dr. Christopher Calapai in a press release, and the safe limit for caffeine actually varies from person to person.

“It’s difficult to assign an exact amount for everyone because people can have different sensitivities or reactions to caffeine based on age, medical history and tolerance," says Calapi. The good news is that there is enough research available to make a recommendation based on an individual’s weight.

People with anxiety, panic disorder, heart arrhythmia, high blood pressure and diabetes, and those who take medication, can likely tolerate even less caffeine than the average person, and should see a doctor about how much caffeine is safe for them to consume.

In the case of South Carolina teen David Allen Cripe, who collapsed during class in late April, drinking a McDonald’s latte, a large Mountain Dew and an energy drink in a short period of time was too much for his body to handle. Coroner Gary Watts determined Cripe's death was due to a “caffeine-induced cardiac event causing a probable arrhythmia."

When an arrhythmia (also known as an abnormal heart rhythm) occurs, the heart can’t always pump enough blood to the body, which in turn affects the brain, heart and other organs. While the three drinks Cripes consumed don’t seem like they would contain enough caffeine to kill him, it wasn’t the total amount consumed that resulted in his death, it was the fact that he consumed the amount in such a short timespan.

"We're not saying that it was the total amount of caffeine in the system, it was just the way that it was ingested over that short period of time, and the chugging of the energy drink at the end was what the issue was with the cardiac arrhythmia," the coroner said in a statement.

But how exactly does caffeine kill someone? Calapai explains to IPRESSTV.COM that, similar to other stimulants, caffeine temporarily shrinks blood vessels and increases blood pressure and heart rate. “In excess, the effects can be deadly by causing a heart attack, stroke or other cardio-vascular-related problem.”

Fortunately, death by caffeine is extremely rare. A 2017 study by Alan Wayne Jones determined that there were 51 caffeine-related deaths between 1959 and 2010 and the majority had high levels of caffeine in their blood (the equivalent of drinking 30 cups of coffee in quick succession).

Check out the caffeine levels in these common drinks so you can keep your consumption in check:

-Starbucks Coffee (16 fluid ounces): 320 milligrams of caffeine

-5-hour energy (1.93 fluid ounces): 207 milligrams of caffeine

-Dunkin Donuts regular coffee (16 fluid ounces): 203 milligrams of caffeine

-Starbucks Latte (16 fluid ounces): 150 milligrams of caffeine

-Coffee, brewed (8 fluid ounces): 133 milligrams of caffeine

-Red Bull Energy Shot (2 fluid ounces): 80 milligrams of caffeine

-Red Bull (8 fluid ounces): 80 milligrams of caffeine

-Tea (8 fluid ounces): 53 milligrams of caffeine

The symptoms of a caffeine overdose aren’t exactly pleasant, even if they aren't particularly lethal. Here are some common symptoms that are important to watch out for: jitters and restlessness; nervousness and anxiety; increased heartbeat; nausea; heart palpitations (cardiac arrhythmia); insomnia; sweating; dizziness; vomiting; cardiac arrest.

Most of these symptoms will subside once the caffeine has left your system, which can happen naturally or with the help of medical treatments like activated charcoal, laxatives or a gastric lavage. At-home remedies include drinking lots of water, doing mild exercise or eating potassium- and magnesium-rich foods.

If you are concerned about your caffeine consumption, keep in mind that there are some unlikely products that contain the jitters-inducing drug. According to Calapai, these seemingly caffeine-free products include decaffeinated coffee, chocolate, ice cream and frozen yogurt, breakfast cereals, pudding, hot cocoa, PMS medication and headache remedies.

What Do YOU Think?

Are you worried about overdosing on caffeine? How do you avoid overdoing it with caffeinated products?

Never You Do These Things Whenever You Are Sick

Just about anyone with Internet access and a body that occasionally goes haywire has had the experience of googling their symptoms and watching, horrified, as the results stream in. Headache = brain tumor! Sharp pain in your side = punctured lung! Sore post-workout legs = deep vein thrombosis!

"Yes, you might have a rash, and, yes, you might have seen something somewhere about cancer," says functional medicine doctor Robin Berzin, M.D., founder of Parsley Health. "In your case, however, it's probably just eczema."







Dr. Berzin isn't making light of how jarring the experience can be, nor is she against the Internet as a health tool. Instead, she's spilling her tips on googling for good, not evil, when it comes to your personal wellness:

Never self-diagnose. Spending time furiously searching symptoms on your iPhone, then declaring you've got X, Y, or Z can be downright dangerous. First off, it can keep you from getting the help you actually need. (Yes, "eye herpes" is a thing. But reading more about it doesn't cure whatever's happening actually with your eye.)
 

Restrain yourself from acting on Dr. Google's advice. "It's one thing to try a vegan diet or a Paleo diet because you've read good things about them online," Dr. Berzin says. "But it's a very different thing to go out, read information about a health condition, and then try to apply it to yourself."

Always consider the source. "A lot of times, people read a personal story and they say, Hey, that sounds like me. That's my problem too!' and they get very worked up, and may even take a course of action that isn't actually relevant to them," Dr. Berzin says. "On the flip side, some of the big academic centers have really reliable information, but they're taking the broadest, 1,000-foot view of a particular condition."

Look for credentials. Just because someone has a popular blog does not mean they know what they're talking about, whether they're dishing about fitness, a particular treatment, or something nutrition-related. "Pretty pictures of food do not equal expertise," Dr. Berzin warns. And don't just fall for good SEO—the first Google results aren't necessarily the most accurate.

Take your symptoms to a doctor. "I'm in a different camp than a lot of physicians, because I think it's awesome that there's lots of information out there," Dr. Berzin says. "It's an interplay, and you have to be an active participant in your own health." But treatment doesn't come from reading an article (or worrying about an article). That's what an M.D. does.

Here is A Disease Gradually Eating Women Away And People Don'T Talk Much Of It

The Real Deal on Endometriosis: The Chronic Condition That Affects 1 in 10 Women

On Monday, Girls creator and star Lena Dunham announced on Instagram that she won't be doing a press tour for the show's sixth season due to health issues.

"As many of you know I have endometriosis, a chronic condition that affects approximately 1 in 10 women's reproductive health," she captioned a photo of her hand resting on bed sheets. "I am currently going through a rough patch with the illness, and my body (along with my amazing doctors) let me know, in no uncertain terms, that it's time to rest."

Dunham, 29, has been open about her struggle with endometriosis in the past. In November, she wrote an essay in her *Lenny *newsletter detailing how her condition can become so painful, it can impact her ability to work.

Unfortunately, Dunham isn't alone. About 5 million American women suffer from endometriosis, a painful disorder in which tissue that normally grows inside the uterus grows outside of it, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Endometriosis can cause cysts and scar tissue to develop, which often results in severe pain when a sufferer has her period.

While pain is the most common symptom of endometriosis (including severe period cramps, long-term back and pelvic pain, and pain during and after sex), infertility, bleeding, and digestive problems are also symptoms.

Flare-ups like Dunham's aren't uncommon, especially during reproductive years, says ob-gyn Alyssa Dweck, M.D., an assistant clinical professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

However, not all endometriosis sufferers experience them, says Jason James, M.D., medical director at Miami's FemCare Ob-Gyn. "Endometriosis is a chronic disease that can vary significantly in severity from patient to patient," he says. "Some women may be completely asymptomatic, while others can have flare-ups that can be quite debilitating."

What causes these rough patches, exactly? It's often due to a woman's menstrual cycle, James says, but stress can also influence how often the flare-ups happen, how long they last, and how severe they will be.

Since endometriosis is different from patient to patient, treatment for flare-ups often is as well. Rest, like Dunham is doing, can help limit the severity of the symptoms and how long they last, James says, along with pain medication like anti-inflammatories or narcotics.

Hormonal therapy, like the Pill may also be helpful, Dweck says, as well as getting an injectable medication called Lupron, which "puts the ovaries in a quiet state."

Diet modification, especially by adding more fruit and green vegetables and lowering your intake of red meat may help, and there may be some benefit to using acupuncture therapy, says James, but there isn't a lot of great data to support alternative therapies to help minimize flare-ups.

Unfortunately, there's no cure for endometriosis or its rough patches, short of removing a woman's ovaries, tubes, and uterus, which also can have significant negative health effects.

James notes that there are a variety of medical treatments available for endometriosis and flare-ups, all with different potential side effects. However, their effectiveness really depends on the patient.

"Hopefully we will have better treatment options in the future with more efficacy," he says.