Nurses working in critical care are seeing an increasing number of Ecstasy overdoses. This article describes the effects of Ecstasy and discusses the need for nurses to know more about the drug and the consequences of overdose

If a person becomes ill after taking Ecstasy, their friends are often reluctant to seek medical help until the person becomes dehydrated or collapses (Cook 1995). When they do seek help, they may be reluctant to tell hospital staff what their friend has taken, fearing that anything they say may be passed on to the police (Jones and Owens 1996).