Man Collapsed, Died After Trying To Ease Pain Of Toothache

A 38-year-old man in the U.K. collapsed and died after using his partner's prescribed medication to ease the pain of his toothache, an inquest heard Thursday.

Alan Alder, of Quedgeley, Gloucester, in England, took the painkillers when he was at his partner's home in Sapphire Close, Tuffley, in July, Gloucestershire Live reported.

Alder's unidentified partner said in a statement to the Gloucester inquest that she noticed Alder sweating profusely when she tried to wake him up at 9:20 a.m. on July 25.

The man suddenly started thrashing about in the bed and then began coughing up blood. Alder fell to the floor and lay very still, prompting his partner to begin chest compressions and calling for help.

Alder was later pronounced dead at the scene.

The partner explained in her statement that Alder had been suffering from severe toothache and had been medicating himself, according to assistant Gloucestershire coroner Roland Wooderson. This had included taking his partner's prescribed medication.

Prior to his collapse, Alder also took cocaine by snorting and rubbing it on his gums, his partner said. He had used between £80 ($106) and £100 ($132) worth of the drug on each of the three days leading to his death.

Alder had died of morphine toxicity, according to a postmortem report.

"He had toothache and had been consuming morphine belonging to his partner and may also have consumed alcohol and cocaine," said Sgt. Matthew Jones of the Gloucestershire Constabulary.

According to the coroner’s findings, it did not appear that there was anything untoward or suspicious about Alder's death. The coroner ruled that Alder died a "drug-related death."

If not treated immediately, a toothache can lead to serious complications, including possible death, according to Your Time Dental. A toothache could become infected, and the infection could spread to other parts of the body.

In 2017, a California man died from a tooth infection after it spread to his blood and lungs.

Truck driver Vadim Kondratyuk, 26, had complained of toothache when he set off for New York from his home in California in January 2017, KCRA reported. He stopped at a dentist in Oklahoma City, where he was treated for an infection and prescribed antibiotics.

After arriving in New York, Kondratyuk called his brother to say that he was in too much pain and may not be able to make the trip back to California.

During his return trip, the pain became unbearable, so Kondratyuk's brother took him to a hospital in Utah. Just days after being told by doctors that the infection had spread to his lungs, Kondratyuk died with his wife by his side.