Overmedication

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Overmedication is when a doctor prescribes unnecessary or excessive medication to a patient. This may happen because the doctor is unaware of other medications the patient is already taking, because the doctor or pharmacist is unaware of how a drug may interact with another chemical or target population, or because of other human error. Sometimes, the extra prescription is intentional (and sometimes illegal), as in the case of the use of excessive psychoactive medications as "chemical restraints" for elderly patients in nursing homes.^[1]

Possible side effects of overmedication may include:

• Slowed reaction: speech, movement and thought
• Sleeplessness
• Increased confusion
• Unsteady gait
• Constipation
• Dry mouth
• Blurry vision
• Increased agitation
• Uncontrollable repetitive movement of the tongue, feet, hands and trunk
• Hallucinations

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