THE HSE urges people to “seek help immediately” if they start to worry that their drink has been spiked during the festive season.
Drink spiking is the unauthorized addition of substances to a drink to make a person feel vulnerable or to cause harm.
1
It can occur with any type of drink, alcoholic or non-alcoholic.
HSE tweeted: “If your drink is spiked, it’s unlikely you’ll see, smell or taste a difference.
“If you’re feeling weird or more drunk than you need to be, get help right away.”
There are several ways to spike your drink.
- alcohol
- illegal drugs
- The “date rape” drug
- Prescription drugs
Drinkers should not accept drinks from strangers after seeing them being poured.
It is best not to leave the drink unattended and to throw it away if it tastes strange.
Victims are unlikely to immediately notice that their drink has been spiked.
The effects of drink spikes vary depending on the substance used, dosage, and individual alcohol consumption.
Spike “why”
HSE said on its website: “So-called ‘date rape drugs’ may be used to spike drinks prior to sexual assault.
“They are the most common drugs used to spike drinks. Date rape drugs come in powder or liquid form.
“They may not have an unusual taste or smell. There are many reasons why someone spikes a drink.
“The most common reasons are:
- commit sexual assault or rape
- make a physical attack
- commit theft
- entertainment
“Drink spikes aren’t just for women. Anyone can be a target.
“Spiking a drink is a crime for whatever reason it is done.”
Most date rape drugs take effect within 30 minutes and symptoms usually last several hours.
HSE continued, “But when you pass out, it’s hard to know the full impact.
“Even after a full night’s sleep, you may still feel the symptoms of date-rape-drugs.”
Main signs of a drink spike
Symptoms include:
- reduced inhibition
- difficulty concentrating or speaking
- Unbalanced and difficult to move
- Visual impairment, especially blurred vision
- amnesia (amnesia) or “fainting”
- Feeling confused or disoriented, especially after waking (if you are asleep)
- Paranoia (fear and distrust of others)
- Have hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or touching things that are not there) or “out of body” experiences
- nausea and vomiting
- unconscious
“Like a snow globe”
Earlier this month, after a friend’s drink was “spiked” at a popular Dublin pub, a woman issued an urgent warning to anyone going out over the Christmas period.
The woman shared an image on social media of a wine glass that appeared to have a white substance floating in it.
The woman claimed white powder had been added to her glass even though she had been drinking the drink all night.
Thankfully, her friend noticed a worrying change before continuing to drink.
She said: ‘Be careful with your drink!
“This was my friend’s glass of wine, and so was her 7up.
“This is the second time the drinks have been spiked here.
“Never again!! It is absolutely infuriating that this is something you are against.
“Thank you for letting the cops show me the drink before she drank it because I wouldn’t!!”
The woman urged people to stay vigilant while out and about.
She said: “I can’t stress this enough. Please be careful and watch out for each other. This morning could have been different.”
“The main focus of this wine glass is the white substance floating on the sides of the glass, and the fish shapes all over the glass are reflections of my flash or camera tricks, but the glass itself looks like a snow globe. did.
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;
n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,
document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘752905198150451’);
fbq(‘track’, “PageView”);