Naloxone Programs
Naloxone is a medication that can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist, which means that it binds to opioid receptors and blocks the effects of other opioids. This allows a person to breathe again and reverses the overdose.
Naloxone is not a controlled substance and has no potential for abuse. It can be administered by minimally trained laypeople, which makes it ideal for treating overdose in people who have been prescribed opioid pain medication and in people who use heroin and other opioids.
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- Naloxone works by knocking opioids off of opioid receptors in the brain. This allows a person to breathe again and reverses the overdose. Naloxone only works if a person has opioids in their system; it has no effect if opioids are absent.
- Naloxone may be injected in a muscle, vein, under the skin, or sprayed into the nose. Naloxone that is injected comes in a lower concentration (0.4mg/1ml) than naloxone that is sprayed up the nose (1mg/1ml). It is a temporary drug that wears off in 30-90 minutes.
Opioid overdoses are a major public health problem. Many people who die from opioid overdose fail to receive proper medical attention because their peers and witnesses delay or do not call 911 for fear of police involvement. Naloxone is a safe and effective medication that can reverse an opioid overdose. However, in most jurisdictions, naloxone is only available in hospital settings and carried by emergency medical personnel. As a result, it is often not available to people experiencing overdose until they have already suffered severe harm. Take-home naloxone programs have been established in approximately 200 communities throughout the United States to expand naloxone access to people who use drugs and their loved ones. These programs provide comprehensive training on overdose prevention, recognition, and response in addition to prescribing and dispensing naloxone. Fatal overdose is the leading cause of death for people in the U.S. under 50 years old. Providing overdose prevention, recognition, and response education to people who use drugs, their neighbors, friends, families, and the service providers who work with them is a harm reduction intervention that saves lives.
References
Opioid Overdose Basics - Harm Reduction Coalition. (2019). Harmreduction.org. https://harmreduction.org/issues/overdose-prevention/overview/overdose-basics/
