Opioid-reversal medications save people who are overdosing. But sometimes people don't even realize they took fentanyl in counterfeit Adderall or Xanax pills or while smoking meth.
Young people are unknowingly taking fentanyl and dying.“It is the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced.” says Anne Milgram, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration , referring to the threat of fentanyl in the United States. She should know.and nearly 12,000 pounds of fentanyl powder so far in 2024 . The fentanyl seizures represent more than 157.6 million deadly doses; 70% of the counterfeit pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.
Such is the fentanyl crisis as of June 2024. As i will describe in this blog post, there are treatments of last resort and medications designed to reverse the effects of fentanyl when caused by fentanyl alone. Wonder medicines that counter the effects include the widely-used naloxone and much-less-used opioid overdose reversal drug nalmefeneas a wonder drug capable of reviving a person who has overdosed, appeared to have died, or nearly died.
If it is suspected that someone has overdosed on fentanyl and they are given naloxone, they may start breathing again and become conscious. With less potent opioids, naloxone can cover someone for 60 minutes. But someone with a supply of fentanyl in body fat depots can renarcotize several times. It is important to call 911. Additional doses of naloxone may be given as the patient is transported to the ER or hospital, where oxygen and other life support is available.
Synthetic opioids like fentanyl are now the most common drugs involved in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. Nalmefene is 10 times more potent than naloxone and has an 8- to 10-fold longer half-life , reducing the likelihood of re-overdosing from long-acting opioids.and other adulterants illegally added to opioids in the U.S. have also received attention for generating zombie-like behavior in people. Such additives make overdose reversal more difficult.
However, it’s unclear whether giving opioid overdose patients more doses sequentially is the optimal strategy in dealing with fentanyl. A very nice study bysuggests it’s a good idea to have higher doses of intranasal naloxone available, as it appears that a large first dose at once is superior to the same dose given sequentially.
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