Shawn asked
What happens if you give a hydrocodone to the wrong person? Its been a day since given? At work I gave a hydrocodone to the wrong person. its been a day but i am still concerned. Person did complain of stomach pain today and she took tums and it seemed better. Help I'm very worried!
Answer
There certainly is a little bit of a concern if hydrocodone is accidentally given to the wrong person, or to a person for whom it wasn't prescribed. Since you may not know their medical history, they could be at serious risk of drug interactions or adverse events.
Nevertheless, if a person accidentally ingested a small dose of a hydrocodone product, there most likely won't be significant problems, given they don’t have an allergy to it, are taking other pain meds or have respiratory problems.
However, extended-release hydrocodone products are available is very high strengths. While an immediate-release hydrocodone product will contain anywhere between 2.5 mg and 10 mg, extended-release products, such as Hysingla, go up to 120mg per tablet. Adverse reactions, especially severe ones, are increasingly likely with high doses.
It is essential to either report errors of this nature (if you are a medical professional) or, if it is in a personal setting, call Poison Control (at 1800-222-1222) for appropriate guidance.
You did mention that this error happened yesterday and the individual who took the dose not intended for them is feeling well. We can be pretty confident in saying no further side effects should occur as hydrocodone is a short-acting medication (around 4 hours for the immediate-release versions) and is almost eliminated from the body in less than a day.
