It was a tragic early end to actress Brittany Murphy. A coroner has ruled that the drugs that killed the 32-year-old were common cold medications mixed to create “multiple drug intoxication.” Murphy had a cold and respiratory infection and self-medicated before she was found dead in her Hollywood Hills home December 20. The coroner says she had multiple medication-hydrocodone, acetaminophen and chlorpheniramine. She also had L-methamphetamine in her body.
How does one get these medications? Likely from your own medicine chest. Acetaminophen and hydrocodone make up Vicodin. Chlorpheniramine is an active ingredient in some over-the-counter medications. And L-methamphetamine is found in some inhalers. These are legal drugs. Murphy reportedly suffered heavy menstrual periods and had a chronic iron deficiency. That leaves someone vulnerable to infection. The drug Vicoprofen relieves pain from menstrual cramps and includes hydrocodone and ibuprofen. At the time of her death she was suffering from pneumonia. The coroner has concluded that this death was accidental and entirely preventable.
Over-the-counter drugs are generally taken without a doctor’s supervision and are considered safe when used as directed. There are exceptions. Remember the 14 pediatric cold and cough formulations pulled from drug store shelves in late summer 2007? In children the drugs had reportedly caused hallucinations, heart problems and even death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports unintentional poisoning deaths increased from 12,186 in 1999 to 20,950 in 2004. OTC drugs also do not generally come with a warning about combining them with other drugs. Then a third reaction is possible and not predictable. For example, Tylenol (and its active ingredient acetaminophen) is in a lot of other drugs such as Vicodin and Percocet. So if you take Tylenol that day as well as Vicodin, you may be overloading your liver, and damaging it. Murphy joins the ranks of other celebrities who didn’t think there could be anything wrong with over-the-counter drugs, after all they are legal. That includes Heath Ledger, Chris Farley and Michael Jackson, and those are only the famous folks. Everyday people take OTC drugs and assume they are safe. What’s interesting is that reports indicate that she was not a drug user, referring to illegal drugs, but when OTC drugs can have the same lethal consequences, the only difference is the law. #
Source Article: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/25/brittany.murphy.autopsy/
