Naloxone, widely known by its brand name Narcan, is a lifesaving medicine capable of stopping an opioid overdose in minutes.
Health educator Amy Bland brought members of the We Can Be Drug Free coalition up to date on its use during their monthly meeting on Tuesday.
Bland works for the Butler County Health Department, which recently installed a vending machine providing free, anonymous access to Narcan. Individual doses are sprayed into the nasal passage of an overdose victim, and the medicine works by ejecting then blocking opioids from receptors in the brain. The effects last for 30-90 minutes, which is usually plenty of time for first responders to arrive.
Besides detailing naloxone’s use, Bland gave some vital advice: never try to prime a Narcan sprayer by pumping it into the air. Each capsule has only one shot.
“If you prime that before (you use it), you’ve got no Narcan,” she said. Narcan comes in two-dose boxes in case a second dose is needed after the first wears off.
Overdoses can be identified by shallow or absent breathing, pinpoint pupils and a depressed mental status or unconsciousness. A victim does not need to be unconscious for Narcan to be administered. In fact, early intervention prevents the risks associated with passing out, such as choking.
“You don’t have to wait, it won’t hurt them,” Bland explained.
Community Resource Council Executive Director Rebeca Pacheco believed “families really should have Narcan on hand” to save a life, especially since those at risk of an overdose do not always match the public perception of an opioid user. Senior citizens prescribed opioids for chronic pain are one such at-risk group whether they deliberately abuse their prescriptions or not.
“All these folks are at risk, and I would say high risk, of overdose on opioids because of the prescriptions they’re given,” Pacheco said. She and Bland further stated Narcan can save children from an accidental overdose if they get into an adults’ medications.
The Butler County Health Department is located at 1619 N. Main St. in Poplar Bluff. More information can be found on its website at butlercountyhealth.org or by calling 573-776-4310. We Can Be Drug Free is a branch of the Butler County Community Resource Council located at 644 Charles St. They can be reached at thecrc.org and 573-776-7830.