{"id":11072,"date":"2019-01-28T12:27:29","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T17:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/?page_id=11072"},"modified":"2019-01-28T12:33:50","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T17:33:50","slug":"overdose-education","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/care\/research-studies\/project-recover\/overdose-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Overdose Education"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is an overdose?<\/u><\/strong>
\nOverdose (OD) happens when a drug overwhelms the body. Opioid overdoses happen when there are so many opioids or a combination of opioids and other drugs in the body that the person is not responsive to stimulation and\/or breathing is weak. This leads to passing out, coma, and then death. Within 3-5 minutes without air, brain damage starts to occur, soon followed by death. Fortunately, this process doesn\u2019t happen instantly; people slowly stop breathing which usually happens minutes to hours after the drug was used.<\/p>\n

Risk Factors<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Mixing Drugs, Low Tolerance, Using Alone, Change in quality, Change in consumption<\/p>\n

Signs of Overdose<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unresponsive, Slow breathing, Lack of breathing, Blue lips\/fingertips<\/p>\n

What is Naloxone (Narcan)?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Naloxone (also known as Narcan\u00ae) is a medication called an \u201copioid antagonist\u201d used to counter the effects of opioid overdose, for example fentanyl and heroin overdose. Naloxone only works if someone has opiates in their system, and there is no known risk of using Naloxone if someone does not<\/u> have opiates in their system.<\/p>\n

Accessing Naloxone (Narcan)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n