The nightlife is real life, yet a lot of punters forget this fact and the results can be as simple as embarrassment or as tragic as death, sure to spoil everyone's good time. So if you encounter someone suffering the effects of their stupidity, here's how best to handle them...

IF THEY'RE TENSE AND PANICKY

This can sometimes happens when someone has taken hallucinogenic drugs like acid (LSD) and magic mushrooms.

It can happen with drugs that speed you up like Piko (amphetamine), and Ecstasy (E), and occasionally when someone has smoked a large amount of cannabis. If they're feeling out of control, or frightened, or tense and panicky you can take the following steps:

1 Try to calm them down and reassure them that everything 's going to be all right.

2 Keep them away from loud noises and bright lights which might make them feel worse.

3 Try to help them if they're breathing too quickly (hyperventilating) or gasping for breath as this can make them feel dizzy and sick and increase their panic. Try to get them to copy you as you breathe slowly and regularly.

4 Explain to them exactly where they are and what's happening and that you're with them and are going to help them.

IF THEY'RE OVERHEATED AND DEHYDRATED

This tends to happen with drugs like Piko (amphetamine) and Ecstasy when someone dances for a long time. Ecstasy raises the temperature of the person's body and in a hot place like a club, their body temperature rises even further.

Because drugs like Ecstasy and speed also give you an energy boost, people often go on dancing for long periods of time which makes them even hotter still. As they carry on, getting hotter, their body loses a lot of fluids, sometimes as much as a half liter an hour.

The result of all this is that you can become seriously overheated and dehydrated. This can be extremely dangerous and has been the main reason for the deaths of people who have taken Ecstasy. Take the following steps:

1 Move them to a cool place.

2 You can sponge them down with cool water to help cool them down.

3 Call for medical help.

4 Give them plenty of water to drink. But this should not add up to more than about a half liter an hour.

IF THEY'RE DROWSY BUT CONSCIOUS

This can happen with the downer drugs which slow the body down like alcohol, tranquilizers, and heroin, but it can sometimes happen with solvents like glue. Take the following steps:

1 Try to keep them awake and as alert as you can as you don't want them to become unconscious. Don't put them to bed as they might fall unconscious there.

2 If they want a drink only give them sips of lukewarm water.

3 After taking these steps call for medical help.

4 Do not leave them on their own.

IF THEY FAINT OR LOSE CONSCIOUSNESS

This can happen when someone has taken downer drugs like heroin, alcohol and tranquilizers, or solvents like glue or aerosols. But it can also happen if someone has a bad reaction to Ecstasy or speed, or overheats. Take the following steps:

Phone the local emergency number for an ambulance. Explain clearly and as calmly as possible what has happened, what you think they've taken if you know, and what steps you have already taken.

1 Put them face upwards on the floor. Check ABC.

• A: Airway - Open by tilting head back and lifting chin.

• B: Breathing - Look, listen and feel for signs of breathing.

• C: Circulation - Feel with your fingers for a neck pulse.

2 If they are NOT breathing, do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Tilt head back and lift chin. Close nostrils with your thumb and finger. Take a deep breath and place your mouth over their open mouth. Blow into their mouth until chest expands, making sure there is no leakage of air around the mouth. Repeat once.

3 Check for a pulse. If there is no sign perform 15 chest compressions. Find notch at bottom of breastbone. Measure 2 finger widths above this. Place both hands on breastbone. Press down firmly, steadily and smoothly 15 times, at a rate of 80 times per minute.

4 Keep repeating steps 2 and 3 until you get a pulse and breathing.

5 When they are breathing put them in the recovery position and loosen any tight clothing which might be restricting their breathing.

6 Keep them warm with coats or a blanket but take care not to make them too warm.

REMEMBER - If you are in any doubt about whether you can deal with the situation, dial ??? for an ambulance and expert care.

Drug Types:

Ecstacy.

You've probably heard quite a lot about Ecstasy already. Ecstasy is sold as white or brown tablets or capsules. Because it's relatively new (although discovered in 1898) not all medical effects are clear.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS: The effects come on after 20 minutes to an hour and can last for several hours. It can make people feel very energetic and carefree. One of the well-known dangers of Ecstasy is that it raises body temperature and causes fluid loss.

If you've taken Ecstasy and you're in a hot place and dancing a lot, you can suffer from heat-stroke. So it's important for people taking E to make sure that they drink water, about a half liter an hour, and take rests.

This helps prevent dehydration. Although it's very rare, people have died from drinking too much water, so it's important not to drink more than this. Keeping your body's salt levels up matters too. A packet of salted crisps or nuts or a soft drink will help. There have already been a number of tragic deaths in Europe involving people taking Ecstasy. Also, mixing alcohol at the same time as this makes the dehydration worse. Another problem for some people who've taken Ecstasy is that they can feel very depressed once the 'feel good' effects have worn off.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS: If you use Ecstasy regularly you can become anxious, confused and have problems sleeping. There's also some evidence that it can cause liver damage or trigger epileptic fits. As you no doubt know, there have been a number of tragic deaths involving people taking Ecstasy.

Acid (LSD).

Normally sold in small amounts soaked into blotting paper printed with various designs. When taken it leads to hallucinations. The way people hear, see, and feel the world changes both at the time of taking the drug and by the rare flashback that may occur afterwards.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS: The trip usually starts within about an hour of taking it. It can take up to 12 hours for it to wear off. People taking LSD might see bright colors, hear strange sounds or even see weird visions and have weird thoughts. They may see and hear things which aren't there, or might do something dangerous to themselves or others. The experience can vary a lot. A good trip or a bad trip depends on what someone feels like and what they see, feel or hear when the drug is affecting them.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS: Evidence suggests that long term damage to the body and long-term change or damage to personality or behavior is not likely. However people can have flashbacks when they might re-experience the trip without having taken the drug again. These flashbacks can be very frightening to the person affected and upsetting to others around them, although they should know the experience from before. Taking LSD might trigger some types of mental illness.

Magic Mushrooms.

Magic Mushrooms grow wild throughout the Czech Republic and are usually collected in autumn. They are dried and eaten, or sometimes diluted with water to make mushroom tea. They are very popular here because they are free.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS: Magic mushrooms have similar effects and dangers to LSD but the effects are not as strong. The extra danger with these mushrooms is picking a poisonous mushroom by mistake and eating it.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS: There are no long-term effects known.

Methamphetimine

"Speed" is usually sold as a white or off-white powder in a folded scrap of paper.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS: Piko can make people feel more confident and have a lot more energy. Loss of appetite while on Piko is common. Feeling very depressed when the high wears off is very likely. People who take Piko can also feel irritable and on edge.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS: The more somebody uses Piko, the more your body becomes used to it and the more you have to take to get the same effect. If you take a large amount of it heavily for a long time, you run the risk of becoming mentally ill, your heart packing in or having a blood vessel bursting in your head. The mental illness can be helped when somebody stops using it, but they may need specialist treatment and several months to recover. Recent research at Charles University also links Piko with liver damage.

Cocaine.

Cocaine is sold as a white powder and is usually sniffed, but can be smoked as well. Crack, a very powerful form of cocaine (said to have been invented by the CIA to suppress African-Americans) comes as small crystal rocks and is smoked - it's especially dangerous as you can become addicted very quickly. Cocaine is expensive and isn't widely used in The Czech Republic, and neither is crack.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS: The effects are similar to Piko but stronger. People can feel on top of the world. The effects also wear off more quickly than Piko. It's more powerful than Piko and people who take it run a higher risk of heart failure.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS: Regular use affects the mind and body in a similar way to Meth. Using the drug a lot and taking a great deal of it leads to addiction. Sniffing the powder can damage the inside of your nose and smoking crack can lead to breathing problems.

Cannabis.

Pot is the dried leaves of the cannabis plant and the other names refer to the resin or oil. It's smoked in a joint or spliff with tobacco, but it can be smoked without tobacco in pipes. Skunk is the best type of cannabis, the only kind worth smoking, according to aficionados.

SHORT-TERM EFFECTS: Cannabis makes you feel relaxed and because it's a mild hallucinogen, you can find colors and sounds brighter and sharper. It can cause anxiety, affect short-term memory and make you less able to carry out complicated tasks.

LONG-TERM EFFECTS: If you smoke regularly or very heavily, you could have heart, lung and breathing problems, as with cigarettes. You might also feel depressed and restless. And anyone who has any mental problems should not smoke cannabis regularly.