What Is Ketamine And What Is It Used For?
Ketamine is a drug with narcotic and hallucinogenic properties. Its use in medicine is limited and it is mainly used as a fast-acting anesthetic.
It is also widely used in veterinary medicine to calm large animals, especially horses. It was originally made for this specific purpose and was put into use in the late 20th century.
Ketamine has acquired a bad reputation as a potent hallucinogen through abuse . It is also known as a drug used in rape because of its narcotic properties.
How does it work?
Ketamine is a derivative of phencyclidine. Both belong to the family of NMDA receptor antagonists. NMDA is an abbreviation for N-methyl-D-aspartate, a glutamate agonist.
- If a substance is an agonist, it means that it enhances the effect of another substance.
- On the other hand, when a substance is an antagonist, it means that it blocks the action of another substance.
Ketamine is an anesthetic because it blocks the activity of the NMDA, which is responsible for increasing the activity of glutamate.
Glutamate is a neurotransmitter responsible for most connections in various parts of the nervous system and brain. For example, the cerebral cortex has many glutamate receptors because this is the area where learning and memory reside.
Because ketamine blocks glutamate, the synapses do not transmit the information and the nervous system enters a state of relaxation. Depending on the dose, the drug acts more like an analgesic or a sedative.
What is the purpose of ketamine?
As mentioned above, ketamine is mainly used as a sedative and anesthetic in veterinary medicine. However, doctors rarely use ketamine because of its many and dangerous side effects.
In addition, they also avoid it in the medical field because it is a psychoactive substance. This means that it is a substance that can alter one’s mental state. However, in less developed countries, ketamine is often used as an anesthetic because it is cheaper than many alternatives.
Why is ketamine a psychotropic substance?
Ketamine is a potent hallucinogen that has a dissociative nature. That means it changes the patient’s sense of his body in space. Usually people describe feelings of lightness, floating, leaving their bodies, etc.
When they first used it in low doses for children and the elderly, many patients shared how they felt under the influence of ketamine. Because there were so many strange cases, doctors conducted countless studies until they finally discovered that ketamine has potent hallucinogenic properties even at very low doses.
That is precisely this property that makes the drug so dangerous. In addition, it is difficult to determine the correct dosage, because the side effects occur immediately. For example, in small amounts it has a relaxing effect. However, even a little bit more can lead to a kind of near-death experience.
What are other side effects of ketamine?
Aside from hallucinations, ketamine can alter a person’s memory and cause concentration problems. Larger amounts may cause problems with the speed or rhythm of the heartbeat. Other cardiovascular complications include:
- high bloodpressure
- slowed heart rate
- heart failure
- increased pressure in the head
There is also a risk of death in children because the drug can cause spasms of the larynx, which blocks the airways. In addition, children may suffer from seizures or dystonia.
Dystonia is the medical term for involuntary muscle contractions. When caused by ketamine, they are usually very painful and indicate malfunctioning of the nervous system.
For all the reasons mentioned above , doctors almost never use ketamine. Because there is often a chance of many dangerous complications, there are more disadvantages than advantages. In addition, the use of ketamine is even more dangerous when used simultaneously with other substances such as alcohol.
If you think someone has ingested ketamine, call 911 immediately. Then place the person in a quiet room. Dim the lights and make the room as quiet as possible to reduce stimuli.
