Should you carry the opioid overdose rescue drug naloxone?

The US Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, recently released an advisory on naloxone and opioid overdose. In his advisory, Dr. Adams writes: For patients currently taking high doses of opioids as prescribed for pain, individuals misusing prescription opioids, individuals using illicit opioids such as heroin or fentanyl, health care practitioners, family and friends of people who have an opioid use disorder, and community members who come into contact with people at risk for opioid overdose, knowing how to use naloxone and keeping it within reach can save a life. This was the first surgeon general advisory issued in 13 years. The previous one raised awareness about the dangers of alcohol use in pregnancy. But let’s look at this advisory and attempt to figure out if it will actually help solve the opioid epidemic. What is naloxone? Naloxone has been around since the 1970s and has been used as a mainstay treatment of opioid overdose since that time. Naloxone (often referred to by its trade name, Narcan) is a competitive antagonist of the “mu” opioid receptor. This receptor is responsible for the pain-relieving effect of opioids, but when overly activated can lead to a life-threatening decrease in respiratory rate. In my own practice in the emergency department, naloxone has been part of the “coma cocktail” that we consider giving to patients who are unresponsive, along with medicines like glucose for suspected low blood sugar. For years, naloxone was an inexpensive, gen...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Addiction Health Source Type: blogs