We interrupt this usual blog post for an important commercial announcement.  Please buy this product!!!  I hesitate to tell anyone to do what I’ve done (because I’m so often unable to follow through on things and don’t want to be a hypocrite),  but, please, in this case, I’m strongly hoping you do, because it just may save a life.  Last Monday the FDA made an important step and allowed Naloxone (brand name  NARCAN) to be purchased over the counter.  I bought a two dose pack for myself and each of my daughters to have on hand.  I pray we never have to use it, but I’m so grateful that we have it just in case.  And now, a quick description of what naloxone is, how it works, and how to use it to reverse a potentially tragic overdose.

Naloxone is a medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids, including fentanyl, heroin, and prescription medications by blocking the effects of opioids on the brain and restoring breathing.  A person can’t get high from naloxone and it’s been shown to be safe for practically anyone to use.  Most often the drug is sprayed into the nose and takes only two to three minutes to work.  If someone doesn’t  wake up in three minutes, a second dose can and should be given.  Naloxone won’t work for an overdose on drugs other than opiates, but it’s safe to administer.  If given to someone who isn’t on opioids, it’ll simply make them uncomfortable, so you don’t have to worry.  It’s also non-addictive.

In order to feel comfortable using Narcan, the first step is to know the potential signs of an opioid overdose.  Typically, someone who is experiencing an opioid overdose will have small constricted pupils, be falling asleep or losing consciousness, be slow, weak, or have no breathing, a limp body, cold clammy skin, discolored skin (especially the lips and nails), and may be making choking or gurgling sounds, vomiting, or having a slow or erratic pulse.  If you’re not sure if someone is experiencing an overdose, it’s best to go ahead and give the Narcan, as it can save their life if they are, but won’t harm them if they aren’t.

Once you become aware of someone exhibiting these symptoms, call 911 immediately.  If they’re not breathing, administer rescue breathing by moving them onto their back, tilting their head back, lifting their chin, and breathing two normal breaths into their mouth.  Next, administer the Narcan spray into their nostril.  Continue rescue breathing if needed, giving one breath every five seconds until they begin breathing on their own.  Try to keep the person awake and lay the person on their side to prevent choking.  Stay with the person until help arrives.

In 2021 there were nearly 108,000 overdoses from opioid drugs according to the CDC.  In more than one in three of these overdose situations, studies found a bystander was present.  Equipping people with Narcan will, and has, saved lives.  The goal of distributing naloxone is a public safety measure in order to educate and equip people to prevent these deaths from happening.  And for anyone concerned about increasing opioid abuse with the availability of naloxone can feel reassured that studies have found that making naloxone available did not encourage people to use opioids at any increased rate.

In fact, professionals are hoping to de-stigmatize the conversation around naloxone and to make it a part of any first aid preparation kit.  Even people who don’t use drugs or opioids should keep it in their purse or in their car for the chance they may need it.  Parents of teenagers are encouraged to have it at home and educate their child on how to use it.  According to the CDC, carrying naloxone is no different than carrying an Epi-pen for someone with an allergic reaction.  “It simply provides an extra layer of protection for those at higher risk of potential overdose.”(CDC website)

For years, medical professionals have been advocating to make Narcan an over the counter medication so that anyone can have it available.  Relying on people using drugs to ask their doctor for a prescription was not an effective approach to prevention.  “There was no medical or moral reason to keep this medication behind the counter,” argued Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, the chair of the American Medicine Association’s Substance Abuse and Pain Task force.  And it seems to me, there is no medical or moral reason why we all shouldn’t buy it now that it’s finally available.

Just as I was reviewing this post for edits, a story in the news caught my attention.  At a daycare center in NY, four children, ages 8 months to 2 years, were found to be unresponsive and showing symptoms of having come into contact with fentanyl.  “Tragedy struck the daycare on Friday when a 1-year-old baby boy died.  Three other children were taken to a hospital where Narcan, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, was used to revive them” (News Nation, NY).  I can’t help but think of that little baby boy who might also have been saved if someone had a dose of Narcan on site.