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CHOW FACT SHEET

CHOW Project. Reducing Harm. Optimizing Health.

Frequently Asked Questions about Naloxone

What is naloxone and why is it important?

Naloxone (also known for its brand name, Narcan) is a prescription medicine that reverses opioid
overdoses and saves lives. It cannot be used to get high and is not addictive.
Naloxone is safe and effective; emergency medical professionals have used it for decades.

Does naloxone work to reverse overdoses from other substances?

Naloxone will only reverse an opioid overdose. Opioids include heroin, morphine, oxycodone
(Oxycontin), methadone, hydrocodone (Vicodin), codeine, and other prescription pain medications. It
does not prevent deaths caused by other drugs such as benzodiazepines, cocaine, ice or alcohol.
However, naloxone may also be effective for polysubstance overdoses such as a combined opioid
and alcohol overdose.

How does naloxone help?

Naloxone is an antidote to opioid drugs. Opioids can slow or stop a person's breathing, which causes
death. An overdose death may happen hours after taking drugs. Naloxone restores the overdose victims breathing. If a bystander notices that a persons breathing has slowed, stopped, or an overdose
is suspected, naloxone can act as a bridge between the call to 911 and when help arrives to keep the
person breathing.

Can naloxone harm someone?

No. If you suspect an opioid overdose, it is safe to give naloxone. Naloxone has no known effect on
someone who has no opioids in their system. People who are dependent on opioids may wake up
with withdrawal symptoms. Acute withdrawal is an extremely unpleasant experience, but the overdose victim is alive and can seek further medical care. Always call 911 as an overdose victim may
need other care.

How long does it take for naloxone to work?

Naloxone acts in 2-5 minutes. If the person doesnt wake up in 5 minutes, bystanders should give a
second dose. Rescue breathing should be done while you wait for the naloxone to take effect so that
the person gets oxygen to their brain. Oxygen is the key to survival for someone experiencing an
overdose or overmedication.

Can naloxone wear off before the drugs that cause the overdose?

Yes. Naloxone typically wears off in 30-90 minutes and the person can stop breathing again unless
more naloxone is available. For this reason, it is safest to call 911 and have the person taken for medical care.

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Arent there other things that work just as well as naloxone to bring someone
out of an overdose?

There are many myths about what can help reverse an opioid overdose. Some of these myths include giving someone a shot of cocaine or ice to balance them out, injecting them with salt water, putting them in a cold shower, hitting them, giving them coffee, etc. NONE of these things
are real antidotes, as they dont deal with the actual problem. Only naloxone does.

Can someone overdose on naloxone or what if I give too much naloxone?

It is not possible to give so much naloxone so as to seriously harm a person. However, if a person
is dependent on opioids (including people without substance use disorders, but on chronic pain
medication) or has a habit, the more naloxone they get, the more uncomfortable they will be because of withdrawal symptoms. Vomiting is a possibility be sure they dont aspirate (inhale) the
vomit, that is very dangerous. If the person gets too much naloxone, try to explain to them that
the withdrawals will fade in a half hour or so.

What is the risk period for an OD to reoccur after giving naloxone?

It depends on: the persons metabolism (how quickly the body processes things); how much drug
they used in the first place; the half-life of the drug they used (i.e. methadone has a much longer
half-life than heroin), how well the liver is working; and if they use again. Naloxone is active for
about 30 90 minutes in the body. So if you give someone naloxone to reverse an opioid overdose, the naloxone may wear off before the opiates wear off and the person could go into overdose mode again.

Is naloxone just a safety net for drug users?

Research studies have investigated this common concern and found that making naloxone available does not encourage people to use opioids more. The goal of distributing naloxone and educating people about how to prevent, recognize and intervene in overdoses is to prevent deaths. Other
goals, such as decreasing drug use, can only be accomplished if the user is alive.
The death of a peer or a near death experience does not teach drug users a lesson. Increased
psychological distress or trauma can actually increase substance use. The actual definition of addiction (called dependence or abuse by the American Psychological Associations DSM IVTR) includes one important criteria that relates to this issue: Use continues despite knowledge of
adverse consequences (e.g., failure to fulfill role obligation, use when physically hazardous). This
means that someone who is addicted by definition may not modify behaviors based on bad outcomes such as overdose.

Is naloxone widely used?

As of July 2015, 37 states had enacted laws on prescribing policies and medication administration
to expand access to naloxone.
These naloxone FAQs were compiled and edited from existing lists on
harmreduction.org, stopoverdose.org and nchrc.org.

These naloxone FAQs were compiled and edited from existing lists on harmreduction.org, stopoverdose.org and nchrc.org.
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