Have you heard of NARCAN/Naloxone? NARCAN is a brand name of naloxone as there are other formulations of naloxone. Naloxone is a medication, referred to as an opioid antagonist, that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. An opioid antagonist will attach to the opioid receptors and will rapidly began to reverse and block future effects of opioids for a period of time once administered.
One of the effects of an opioid overdose is that the individual may stop breathing. Administering Naloxone can restore the breathing of the individual that is experiencing an opioid overdose.
Naloxone can be administered in four different ways to an individual experiencing an overdose such as intranasal spray (nose spray), intramuscularly (injected into the muscle), subcutaneous (under the skin) and intravenous (into the veins). The most common administration of naloxone treatment is intranasal spray. Naloxone is not harmful to any individuals in any way.
Narcan/Naloxone is readily available in Montgomery County for free. Naloxone nasal spray is available in Montgomery County via Naloxone boxes or NaloxBoxes. In Montgomery County, these boxes are located at the Mobile Integrated Health Building, Wabash Avenue Presbyterian Church, Health Department, Recovery Rec Center, VFW Post 1431 and Montgomery County Probation. At these locations, there is access to free naloxone along with fentanyl test strips. The items in these boxes are free of charge and are available to all members of the community 24/7.
What do you do if you encounter someone that is overdosing and you have naloxone available to use? Prior to beginning the steps for administration, call 911 and place it on speaker to begin the steps. Explain to the 911 operator that you are administering naloxone.
Step 1: Peel open the naloxone package to prepare for administration.
Step 2: Place the tip of the nozzle into either side of the nose.
Step 3: Press the red plunger while the nozzle remains in their nose.
While waiting for emergency services to arrive, a second dose of naloxone can be administered after two to three minutes of the first dose if there is no response from the individual that is potentially overdosing.
Training for naloxone administration is available to members of the community to be able to properly administer naloxone. There will be free trainings held in the community, which will be advertised on social media, the newspaper, and website of drugfreemoco.org. Professionals who are certified in naloxone administration conduct these trainings.
For further questions about trainings, reach out to Diamond Justus, director of Drug Free Montgomery County Coalition, at diamond@mcysb.org.
As always, many resources can be found on the Drug Free Montgomery County’s website at drugfreemoco.org. Drug Free Montgomery County is a program of the Youth Service Bureau. The YSB is a United Way in Montgomery County partner agency and is also supported by the Montgomery County Community Foundation.
Jessica Dixon authored this guest column for the Journal Review.
