Posted on 10/01/2023 11:20:07 AM PDT by grundle
In September, Narcan — the first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration without a prescription — was rolled out to pharmacies and drugstores across the United States with a retail price of $44.99 for a pack of two devices. Experts have already hailed the widespread availability of the medication, which quickly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, as a "lifesaving" tool amid alarming rates of drug overdose deaths. In 2021, more than 75% of those deaths involved opioids, with fentanyl contributing to more than 77% of adolescent overdose deaths that year. Indeed, New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued an advisory this week urging New Yorkers to "carry naloxone and know how to use it," noting that fentanyl was detected in 81% of the city's drug overdose deaths in 2022.
But do enough Americans know enough about Narcan, the brand-name nasal spray form of naloxone, and how to use it to make a difference? According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, just 28% of respondents said they had heard "a lot" about Narcan; a further 43% had a "little" awareness about the over-the-counter medication. And 29% of those surveyed reported hearing "nothing at all" about it. Broken down by age, respondents ages 18 to 29 were least likely to be informed about Narcan, which is credited with saving pop star Demi Lovato during a 2018 overdose; 50% in that demographic had heard "nothing at all" and just 17% had heard "a lot."
The poll also found that just 7% of respondents had purchased Narcan, and only 8% had been trained to administer it in the event of an emergency.
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
Finally, I can now SAFELY take opium. I’ve been waiting for this day my whole life!
Well, no. Not really. No.
Wife: “Look honey, there’s a person passed out on the sidewalk with a needle sticking in their arm. Should we use the Narcan in our med kit to help them?”
Husband: “If we do, we’ll be late for Sunday dinner with the kids.”
Wife: “You’re right, dear. Hit it.”
Not only that, but why would I want to spend minimum $50 OTC save the “life” of a drug addict? Darwin needs to keep on keeping on. I’m not standing in the way of a druggie who is ready to go.... don’t need the hassle nor the potential lawsuit.
Nope. Not interested. EMTs and physicians will be indemnified for intervention, RandomJoe, not so much. Not willing to risk my family’s future by interfering with a stranger’s roulette life choices.
Who cares? Those who OD are just thinning their gene pool.
Yup.
Yup. We invite millions of terrorists into this country and worry about druggies? We got our priorities straight, that’s fer sure.
Rush Limbaugh was addicted to opioids.
Buy it? They hand out like it is candy. Party til you die, but don’t worry we will bring you back to life.
Anyone who uses street drugs these days is insane
not only would i not accept any Narcan offered for FREE, you couldn’t PAY me to accept any ...
opioid addition seems to me like a self-correcting problem if a laissez faire approach is taken ...
Exactly. I do know people who died of OD, but they weren’t people I made it a point to socialize with.
There’s no reason to carry it.
“Anyone who uses street drugs these days is insane”.
You have that right! Most of it is laced with (or even fully) fentanyl. People conflate the prescription oxycodone pain pills with the opioids that people are killing themselves with on the streets. They are two different things for the most part. There are people who dependent-on or addicted to pain medicine due to their pain. And there are people taking illegal street drugs laced with fentanyl. It is the street drug version that people are dying of on the streets.
When the government starting cracking down on opioids, they went after those who take it for chronic pain and the doctors who prescribe it. Meanwhile, the wide-open border is bringing in the fentanyl killer drugs non-stop. Those people are seldom caught or prosecuted. Instead, they pass another law or go after the doctor who prescribes 15 more pills than recommended to some guy who has had his spine fused together with steel rods, or the lady who suffers pain due to a leg amputation caused by a car accident.
Every time some politician speaks of the opioid crisis without mention the border and the drugs being manufactured and brought in to our country deliberately, you know they aren’t serious about the issue. It’s easier and more profitable for them to go after the legal drug manufacturers here than it is to close the border.
Precisely
So 40% of Americans are morons. Good to know.
Low Dose Naloxone is in wide use as an off-label treatment for autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus and arthritis. It works by counteracting food-born opioids.
Narcan (naloxone) is the same stuff in much more concentrated dosage. I’m going to research the needed autoimmune dosage and titration for this nasal form.
Low Dose Naltrexone:
https://weillcornell.org/news/what-you-need-to-know-about-low-dose-naltrexone
~~~~~
Naltrexone is safe, non-toxic, and inexpensive, and has been used in the United States since the FDA first approved it in 1984.
Though physicians previously prescribed Naltrexone to treat opioid addictions, they now are employing the drug in off-label uses to aid patients with conditions ranging from pain and a dysfunctional immune system, to inflammation, cancer, and mental health issues.
Here’s what else is new: the WCM team is not prescribing the old, high dose that had originally been considered standard, 50 mg to 100 mg per day. Their patients are using “low” or “ultra-low” doses of Naltrexone.
“We’ve discovered that, if you give patients doses far less than 50 mg, we may be able to achieve pain relief,” says Dr. Mehta says. “In fact, some of the doses we give in tablet or liquid form range from as low as 0.01 mg to six to eight milligrams. We usually start patients with a 1.5 mg dose on an empty stomach at night, and then look for a response after a few weeks.”
Keeping a close watch on patient’s symptoms and use, a WCM physician may increase the Naltrexone dose to 3 mg, and then perhaps 6 mg.
Naltrexone works by temporarily binding and blocking a mechanism called the MU receptor, which is linked to pain. Blocking the receptor tells our bodies that we aren’t producing enough endorphins (our natural pain relievers), and then releases them.
~~~~~
It will seriously harsh their buzz.
Closer to 50% are morons if you go by the number of people who vote Democrat
I agree, like sending food to Africans starving, let them self select to exit the stage. Stupidest policy ever was feeding those who won’t feed themselves. Not can’t, as in Americans who are disabled. Those who won’t even try.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.