Narcan Saves Lives
You may have heard about Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, which can prevent people from dying from a drug overdose. It’s been in the news lately because our country is seeing an increase in opioid deaths and there is a movement to make it widely available, including in Santa Clara County.
Parisi House has naloxone on hand just in case there is an overdose. While not likely, it’s important to have it available because naloxone is a critical tool in reducing opioid deaths.
Opioids are a class of drugs that are used to control pain. They work by interacting with opioid receptors in our brain cells, which signal the brain to muffle our perception of pain and increase feelings of pleasure. They include the illegal drug heroin as well as fentanyl, oxycodone, codeine, morphine and many others.
The rise in fentanyl use has helped to increase the number of opioid deaths. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Because fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, it is sometimes mixed with other drugs like heroin and cocaine, so users may not even know they are taking it.
Naloxone works by attaching to opioid receptors and reversing or blocking the effects of other opioids. It can quickly restore normal breathing to someone who has overdosed and can be administered through an injection or nose spray. It is also easy to use and not addictive. Giving it by mistake is not an issue because it’s not harmful even if the person doesn’t have opioids in their system.
“We applaud the move to make naloxone more widely available in Santa Clara County,” says Pat Mitchell, Executive Director of Parisi House. “Our hope is that this will prevent more tragic deaths from drug addiction.”
Narcan Saves Lives
You may have heard about Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, which can prevent people from dying from a drug overdose. It’s been in the news lately because our country is seeing an increase in opioid deaths and there is a movement to make it widely available, including in Santa Clara County.
Parisi House has naloxone on hand just in case there is an overdose. While not likely, it’s important to have it available because naloxone is a critical tool in reducing opioid deaths.
Opioids are a class of drugs that are used to control pain. They work by interacting with opioid receptors in our brain cells, which signal the brain to muffle our perception of pain and increase feelings of pleasure. They include the illegal drug heroin as well as fentanyl, oxycodone, codeine, morphine and many others.
The rise in fentanyl use has helped to increase the number of opioid deaths. Synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the U.S., according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Because fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, it is sometimes mixed with other drugs like heroin and cocaine, so users may not even know they are taking it.
Naloxone works by attaching to opioid receptors and reversing or blocking the effects of other opioids. It can quickly restore normal breathing to someone who has overdosed and can be administered through an injection or nose spray. It is also easy to use and not addictive. Giving it by mistake is not an issue because it’s not harmful even if the person doesn’t have opioids in their system.
“We applaud the move to make naloxone more widely available in Santa Clara County,” says Pat Mitchell, Executive Director of Parisi House. “Our hope is that this will prevent more tragic deaths from drug addiction.”