Opioid Overdose. Prompt Administration of Naloxone Saves Lives.
According to the CDC, opioid overdoses killed nearly 50,000 people in the United States in 2019, the equivalent of one opioid overdose death every 12 minutes. Recent numbers suggest there has been an acceleration of death from opioid overdose during the covid pandemic.
Signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose include:
Loss of consciousness
Marked confusion, delirium, or acting drunk
Unable to be awakened
Extreme sleepiness
Extremely small pinpoint pupils
Slow or stopped breathing or heartbeat
clammy skin
bluish skin around the lips or under the fingernails#
Vomiting
A limp body
Extremely pale face
Gurgling noises
Once opioid overdose is suspected, you should call 911 immediately. Be sure to specify your location. After calling 911, follow the dispatcher’s instructions. provide rescue breathing if the person is not breathing on their own, and administer one dose of naloxone immediately.
One of the most important treatments for opioid overdose is immediate naloxone administration.
Naloxone binds to the same receptors in the brain as opioid drugs. It blocks the effects of opioids on the brain, and reverses the effects of opioids, including respiratory depression, sedation, and hypotension for 30 to 90 min after administration. This can provid enough time for additional life-saving medical interventions to arrive. Naloxone is short acting and may require multiple doses over time to block the effects of opioids on the brain.
In this video, I briefly described the usage of naloxone such as Evzio and Narcan for opioid overdose reversal.
You can get naloxone at the pharmacy with or without a prescription depending on which state you live in.
Narcan which contains 2 4mg naloxone nasal sprays costs $126.88 at many pharmacies with a goodRX coupon.
Evzio, which has 2 2 mg Naloxone auto-injectors, costs $208 at Walgreens with a goodRX coupon.
Generic Evzio costs much less. 2 syringes of 2 mg Naloxone is priced at $25 to 63 with a goodRX coupon.
The take-home message of this video is that early recognition and detection of opioid overdose and immediate use of naloxone saves lives.