“If you spend time with someone who uses drugs or are a drug user, the County strongly encourages you to carry naloxone with you."
I just wanted to share this article with you guys… my friend recently died from fentanyl overdose but she could have been saved if she had naloxone.
You can get it in in some states without a prescription. I encourage all opiod drug users to carry this, it could save you or someone elses life. I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware. We dont need to lose anymore lives to this disease. Of course abstinence is the best answer.
I’m a certified NARCAN trainer in the State of New York. I have also reversed two overdoses using NARCAN. If any one has questions regarding NARCAN please let me know.
Probably not available to the public in many cases. However, there is an IM version that is still used, though being phased out. If you do come across IM (or the nasal injection, which is different from the spray) please let me know as I can explain how to do those as well.
I am actually getting trained to use Naloxone for my place of work in November We each get our own kit as well. I didn’t realize there were different forms of it. The one in our kit is for the muscle.
In Australia we are also given training on how to use it but it takes a few to work, if even then… And the unfortunate reality is here that no one carries it with them ever. It may be In people’s homes that use h, it’s rare but it’s sometimes found. Even then it’s not on hand, it’s lost somewhere in the mess of a users house… It’s actually told to us when we did the training, that we are now legally bound to help someone if they are over dosing and we are near them…with h, majority of users as soon as they od, and they come to waking up and realise someone has given them the injection to stop the od, they are super pissed that there gears wasted and they will get on straight away as soon as possible that moment they can and sometimes , a lot of the time, just Inject too much and just od right all over again… It’s a vicious cycle…
Naloxone is only effective for 30-90 minutes. Even if a person does not use more they run the risk of sliding back in to an overdose. That’s why good samaritan laws are important. In NY a person is protected from prosecution (exceptions apply) if they seek medical treatment for an overdose. My training policy is generally to teach people to call for an ambulance every time. Of course there are situations when that is not feasible or advisable, but calling for an ambulance is best practice.
It’s the same in MA. I thought it was and I just looked it up.
I’ve also said to friends who say they wouldn’t try and do cpr on anyone that it’s better than NOT doing anything, falling under that law also.
Isn’t it true that giving narcan is relatively safe so if you are on the fence about whether or not someone is actually ODing shouldn’t you administer it anyway to be safe?
Always err on the side of narcan unless you are sure it’s not an overdose. Narcan is safe at any level and will not cause complications if it isn’t an overdose. Last guy I reversed I used 24 mg (standard dose is 4mg).
It’s important to gather as much information you can at the scene. When was the last use? How much was used? What was used? Route of administration? Age of the person? Their name?
All of this information is helpful for the first responders. Also keep track of how much narcan you’ve administered.
Hello!! I did Narcan training in IL until my grant was cut BUT I’m just popping on here to say that IL also has a Good Samaritan law for those in that area!
NJ has a new law where doctors have to prescribe narcan when they’re prescribing opiods to patients with chronic pain. This came about during covid due to the increase in overdoses. I don’t have any friends that are using these days but I do keep Narcan in my purse just in case. You never know when you may come across someone that needs it while out and about.
Thanks for sharing this. Recently, My brother bought some cocaine that was laced with fentanyl and he was in cardiac arrest somewhere in a homeless district where he lives. Thank God a bystander called 911 because they finally got his heart beating again and the Narcan is what saved him. He needed to be kept in a medically induced coma for almost 3 weeks while his body detoxed and healed, and he is beyond lucky that he didn’t die. The doctors said he will have chronic pain in his legs for the rest of his life, but I guess that beats being dead. We are in Canada, not sure how easy it is to get the training but I would love to if possible.
We each get our own kit as well. I didn’t realize there were different forms of it. The one in our kit is for the muscle.
BUT I’m just popping on here to say that IL also has a Good Samaritan law for those in that area!