What You Can Do About an Opioid Overdose

The opioid crisis started in the 90’s after a huge increase in doctors prescribing people drugs like oxycodone, codeine and morphine. This led to the current widespread and problematic opioid use, alongside something even more sinister. Nowadays, we’re seeing fentanyl, a very powerful opioid, being laced into weaker opioids and other drugs like Xanax, diazepam and midazolam. The opioid crisis has claimed the lives of celebrities like Prince, Mac Miller, Tom Petty, Lil Peep with millions more opioid overdoses around the world. So, what can you do?

Get to know Naloxone

You may have heard about Narcan or Naloxone in the media and news. From articles asking what exactly is it¹, stories of how it has saved people’s lives², to debate about government policy³, and even in celebrity news⁴. Naloxone⁵ is a pharmaceutical drug used to temporarily reverse⁶ or reduce the effects of an opioid overdose. It’s most commonly an injection in the muscle or a nasal spray. The important thing to remember is that naloxone only works temporarily; after giving someone naloxone you still need to call an ambulance.

What are opioids?

Opioids are a type of medication typically used to reduce severe pain. Some examples⁷ include: morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, and oxycodone. Opioids come in different strengths, Fentanyl for example, is 50-100 times stronger than morphine⁸.

Opioids have a high potential for substance dependence, addiction, and overdose. Currently, due to the number of people dying or becoming injured due to opioid overdose, there is an international public health emergency known as the Opioid Crisis. Additionally, because of cross-contamination⁹, opioids are being found in the non-opioid illicit drug market, furthering the risk of injury or death in people who use substances other than opioids.

How can opioids cause overdose?

When a person takes too high a dose of opioids, or a hit of an opioid that is stronger than their tolerance, there is a potential to overdose¹⁰. The main feature of an opioid overdose is the reduced ability to breathe, or even not being able to breathe at all.

Symptoms of an opioid overdose¹¹ can include:

• Slow or absent breathing. You may hear snoring or gurgling sounds - this isn’t proper breathing
• Blue lips, pale or grey skin that is cold to touch
• Tiredness, dizziness or
• Eyeballs rolling back
• No response to shouting
• Limp body (although it can conversely be rigid in some cases)
• No pain response

How to treat an opioid overdose

It is incredibly important to remember that Naloxone only takes over temporarily. Emergency services need to be contacted immediately because soon as Naloxone wears off, the person will start overdosing again¹². An overdose might also cause someone to stop breathing so it’s important to know Basic Life Support.

• Administer Naloxone⁵
• Rescue breathing ¹³

Remember, Naloxone is our tool to tackle the Opioid Crisis and save lives.

Naloxone kits can be purchased.¹⁴

Remember, anyone can overdose

We need to be aware that an overdose can happen to anyone at any time. From someone taking opioids as prescribed by their doctor, to a partygoer unknowingly using a drug that has been contaminated. Therefore, learning about the actions you should take can potentially help save the lives of the people we love. Read Drugs and Me’s latest guide about overdose here.

References

¹ Menato F. (2018). Everything You Need To Know About Narcan & Demi Lovato's 'Overdose' . Women's Health. Accessed: 28 Feb 2020.

² BBC (2017). Life-saving drug' reverses 98 overdoses. BBC News. Accessed: 28 Feb 2020.

³ Ailes E. (2016). 'Heroin antidote saved my life'. BBC News. Accessed: 28 Feb 2020.

⁴ Scaccia A. (2018). Naloxone: How Overdose-Reversing Drug Saved Demi Lovato, Thousands More Rolling Stone. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

⁵ Toward the Heart (2022). 'How to use naloxone: learn how to recognise and respond to an opioid overdose. Toward the Heart. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

⁶ Harm Reduction Coalition (2020). Understanding Naloxone. Accessed: 5 February 2020.

⁷ Bellum, Sara (2014). Real Teens Ask: What Are the Different Types of Opioids? NIDA for Teens. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

⁸ Keating, Dan and Granados, Samuel (2017). 'See how deadly street opioids like 'elephant tranquilliser' have become.' The Washington Post. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

⁹ Canada.ca (2021). Canada H. Fentanyl. Canada.ca. Accessed: 28 Feb 2020.

¹⁰ WHO (2021). Opioid overdose. WHO. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

¹¹ Harm Reduction (2020). OPIOID OVERDOSE BASICS. RECOGNIZING OPIOID OVERDOSE. National Harm Reduction Coalition. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

¹² Harm Reduction (2020). [OPIOID OVERDOSE BASICS. RESPONDING TO OPIOID OVERDOSE.] (https://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/overview/overdose-basics/responding-to-opioid-overdose/administer-naloxone/) National Harm Reduction Coalition. Accessed: 28 February 2020.

¹³ (https://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/overview/overdose-basics/responding-to-opioid-overdose/perform-rescue-breathing/).

¹⁴ Bristol Drug Project (2022). Naloxone (UK only). Bristol Drug Project. Accessed: 10 Jan 2022.