After discovering a heap of empty Imodium A-D boxes in a teen’s bedroom, an Upstate New York mother wasn’t aware that her son was sick or struggled with any intestinal issues that would require so much of the popular over-the-counter drug to treat diarrhea. As she would soon find out, that’s not at all why he was using it.

In Watertown, New York, stores are selling out of the common medication, and it’s not the only state in the nation seeing an influx in Imodium sales. While it may not seem like much to be concerned about, it’s proof of a sickening new trend that many parents and average citizens had no clue even existed, until officials finally came out with a warning.

In the ongoing pursuit of a cheap fix, curious kids and addicts alike are ingesting the diuretic by the handful, since in large doses it replicates the same high as heroin. While the pills are perfectly harmless when taken as directed, it’s having fatal consequences on abusers of the drug who are taking an alarming amount in a single dose, to the tune of 50 to 300 pills per day, CBS News reported.

Due to the cost compared to heroin, the availability of it, and that it’s completely legal, the troublesome trend is on the rise — not just among heroin addicts looking to stave off withdrawals, but curious kids who want to give it a try. However, the consequences of just experimenting it, could be permanent, as health clinics in this town have seen firsthand.

Clinical toxicologist Dr. William D. Eggleston reported an increase in calls to his office at Upstate Medical University, seven times the amount of the typical traffic flow, all in regards to Imodium overdoses and other antidiuretic medications containing the drug loperamide, according to the Daily Times. Patients are suffering problems like heart failure and severe stomach cramps, which in rare cases can even lead to death.

Many people in the town and across the country had no clue that this was a problem in their communities, such as Lynette Robinson, who was interviewed by CBS and shocked to hear about this new high. Although not experiencing the problem on a personal level, Robinson said she can’t believe that “it’s come to that now,” proving the heroin epidemic is worse than she realized.

As parents, we need to be aware of these things so that if we see several boxes of Imodium, we don’t pass the problem off as a simple case of diarrhea, when in fact you could have an addict on your hands. We also need to instruct our loved ones that intentionally overdosing on Imodium is not even something to try one time, on the flawed assumption that since it’s sold in without a prescription, it must be safe.