Caffeine overdose: Causes, symptoms and treatment

According to the Mayo Clinic, the recommended amount of caffeine for an adult is 400 milligrams per day. Teens should limit themselves to no more than 100 mg of caffeine per day. Particularly for pregnant women should limit drinking less than 200 mg of caffeine per day, because caffeine can be harmful to the fetus. Exceeding this limit can lead to a caffeine overdose. However, the safe amount of caffeine consumed by each person is different, because it depends on many factors such as: age, weight, and health status.
It takes an average of 1.5 to 9.5 hours to break down 50% of the original caffeine. This means it can take between 1.5 and 9.5 hours for your blood caffeine level to drop to half of its original amount.

A caffeine overdose occurs when you get too much caffeine through drinks, foods, or medications. However, in exceptional cases, there are some people who can consume more than the recommended daily amount of caffeine without any problems. In fact, this is only a recommendation because caffeine overdose can cause health problems like caffeine poisoning, irregular heartbeat, and seizures. Consuming high doses of caffeine on a regular basis can also lead to hormonal imbalances.
If you rarely use caffeine, your body may become especially sensitive to it. So avoid eating/drinking caffeine-containing foods too much at once. Even if you regularly consume large amounts of caffeine, it's still a good idea to stop when you feel any unpleasant symptoms.

Some of the symptoms that occur when you have an overdose of caffeine such as:
Dizziness Diarrhea Thirst Insomnia Headache Headache Fever More severe symptoms may appear:
Shortness of breath, chest tightness Vomiting Hallucinations irregular or fast heart Uncontrollable muscle movements Convulsions Young children and infants can also overdose on caffeine . This happens when breast milk contains too much caffeine. Children with an overdose of caffeine may experience a number of symptoms such as nausea and muscles that constantly tense and then relax. More serious signs of caffeine overdose may include: vomiting, rapid breathing, and shock.
If you or your baby experience these symptoms, seek medical care for diagnosis and treatment.

Diagnosis: To diagnose caffeine overdose, the doctor can rely on the emergency and take several measures such as: monitoring breathing, heart rate and blood pressure, urine test or lab tests. blood.
Treatment: Several effective treatments for caffeine overdose:
Activated charcoal to remove caffeine from the body Use medication to prevent caffeine from entering the digestive tract. If caffeine has entered the digestive tract, the patient is prescribed a laxative or even gastric lavage. Gastric lavage involves using a tube to wash caffeine out of the stomach. During this time, the patient will be monitored heart rate through electrocardiogram or breathing support devices when necessary.
To prevent caffeine overdose, you should avoid consuming excessive amounts of caffeine. A caffeine overdose can be treated without causing long-term health problems. But the condition can be fatal, especially for young patients such as infants and young children.
Reference source: healthline.com