Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic Overdose Prevention

Each person responds differently, and reactions are hard to predict. Many people who are directed to go to the emergency department may not develop any physical signs of poisoning. It is important that more is done to prevent overdoses and deaths. Prevention activities help educate and support individuals, families, and communities and are critical for maintaining both individual and community health.

Anyone who uses opioids could potentially experience an opioid overdose. Overdoses can happen to people during their first time using opioids, to people who’ve taken them multiple times or to people who have opioid use disorder. Your doctor, your local poison center, or the emergency department of your local hospital may be able to help determine the seriousness of a suspected drug overdose. Development of any symptoms after drug overdose requires immediate and accurate information about the specific name of the drug, the amount of the drug ingested, and the time when the drug was taken. Often, the bottle the drug came in will have the information needed. Symptoms of a drug overdose may include breathing difficulties, changes in heart rate or body temperature, seizure, stroke, and more.

Can a Drug Overdose Be Treated at Home?

Naloxone has virtually no effect in people who have not taken opioids. Public health officials also point out that improvements in drug overdose deaths over the last year have largely benefited white communities. Some Black and Native American communities have actually seen drug overdose deaths rise. Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the United States, with opioids being the most common cause.

Health Care Providers

A doctor can help recognize the signs of drug overdose and provide treatment recommendations. If you misuse drugs, quitting is the best way for you to prevent a drug overdose. Know that certain ways of taking drugs can be riskier than others. Inhaling or injecting drugs may cause them to get to your brain more quickly and also increases your chance of using an amount that can severely harm you.

The following are some questions people frequently ask about drug overdose. To avoid an alcohol overdose, avoid drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a short time. Drinking a lot of alcohol in a short time (binge drinking) can rapidly drug overdose meaning increase the amount of alcohol in the blood. This makes it difficult for the body to remove alcohol from the bloodstream and can harm other body parts. Individuals experiencing a stimulant overdose should stay hydrated and cool. If they begin to have a seizure, ensure no harmful objects are close to them.

How can I prevent an opioid overdose?

The nitazene detection comes as industry groups, including QNADA, released an overdose plan for Queensland. “One of the fears is that, as overdoses decline, there will be complacency,” said Dr. Brian Hurley, head of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Medical personnel may pump the person’s stomach to eradicate the substance and administer activated charcoal or medicines to counteract it.

1. They may perform other forms of medical care other than naloxone, such as intubation to help with breathing.
2. It is important that comprehensive, community-based prevention and response efforts incorporate culturally responsive actions that address disparities in drug overdose deaths and the inequities that contribute to them.
3. When taking a prescription medication, always follow a doctor’s instructions and take the medication exactly as they prescribed it.
4. If a person has overdosed on opioids, the rapid administration of Narcan (naloxone) can save their life.
5. The nitazene detection comes as industry groups, including QNADA, released an overdose plan for Queensland.
6. Although many drug overdoses involve the use of illegal drugs, it is also possible to overdose on prescription medication.

Of course, moderating the consumption of alcohol and other substances can be challenging for individuals with a substance use disorder. This chronic condition involves the ongoing overuse of a substance. After calling 911, stay with the individual experiencing an alcohol overdose. If they begin vomiting, help them lean forward so they do not choke. Alternatively, if they have lost consciousness, an individual can place them in the recovery position. This article will explain what an overdose is, the signs and symptoms of overdose to watch for in yourself and others, and what to do in case of an overdose.

In creating the synthetic controls, Oregon and Washington were excluded from each other’s donor pool. The donor pool for the synthetic controls included all other 48 states and the District of Columbia, for a total of 49 donor units. The synthetic control group estimation was based on monthly fatal overdose rates in the prepolicy period in the treated and donor pool units. Once we obtained well-fitting synthetic controls for Oregon and Washington, we compared the postpolicy fatal drug overdose rates of each treated state with its synthetic control through March 31, 2022.

You should call if you have any questions about an overdose, poisoning, or poison prevention. Your health care provider may refer to an overdose as an ingestion. If you take too much of something on purpose, it is called an intentional or deliberate overdose. The first step when responding to an overdose of any kind is to contact emergency services. If you suspect someone may be overdosing, do not leave them alone.

Accidental overdoses result from either a young child or an adult with impaired mental abilities swallowing a medication left within their grasp. An adult (especially elderly persons or people taking many medications) can mistakenly ingest the incorrect medication or take the wrong dose of a medication. Purposeful overdoses are for a desired effect, either to get high or to harm oneself. It is important that comprehensive, community-based prevention and response efforts incorporate culturally responsive actions that address disparities in drug overdose deaths and the inequities that contribute to them. Evidence-based prevention interventions are informed by research, practice, and indigenous knowledge.

Drug overdose is a leading cause of injury mortality in the United States. In 2019, drug overdose deaths totaled 70,630, an increase of 4.8% from 67,367 in 2018 (1,2). Since 2009, an increasing proportion of drug overdose deaths have been caused by opioids, which accounted for 70.6% of all drug overdose deaths in 2019. The increased involvement of cocaine and psychostimulants with abuse potential has also been noted in drug overdose deaths in recent years (3,4). Some credit better addiction healthcare and the widespread use of the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone.