Take Home Naloxone
Take Home Naloxone is available from Woody Point Pharmacy, free from cost and judgement..
Your safety and the safety of your loved ones is important to us..
Feel free to ask our friendly team for Naloxone.. It might just save your life of the life of one close to you...
What is Naloxone??
Naloxone is a part of the emergency treatment for known or suspected opioid overdose/severe adverse reaction. Take Home Naloxone program enables pharmacies and other authorised suppliers to provide naloxone to people at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose/severe reaction, free of charge and without a prescription.
About Opioids
• Opioid drugs are commonly prescribed to for pain or for treatment of opioid dependence (e.g. oxycodone, morphine, codeine, fentanyl, buprenorphine, methadone).
• Opioids are also used by people who take/inject drugs for non-medical purposes.
• The most serious side effect of opioids is loss of consciousness and slowed breathing which can result in death.
• This is sometimes referred to as opioid overdose, opioid severe reaction, opioid poisoning or opioid toxicity.
• Although commonly used, the term opioid overdose
can be misleading. The effect on breathing can occur at any dose of prescribed or non-prescribed opioids, depending on the person’s tolerance and other risk factors.
Factors which increase the risk of experiencing an opioid severe reaction
• Taking high doses of opioids
• Combining opioids with alcohol or other sedating medicines (e.g. sleeping tablets, antipsychotics, other pain medicines)
• Changes in your health (e.g. liver, kidney or lung disease)
• Having a break from taking opioids or taking a lower dose for a period of time (e.g. being in a custodial setting, undergoing detox or a drug withdrawal program)
Signs of opioid severe reaction
• Loss of consciousness / cannot be woken up
• Slow, shallow or erratic breathing or not breathing at all
• Choking/gurgling sounds
• Pale or clammy face
• bluish purple skin (in lighter skinned people) or greyish or ashen skin (for darker skinned people)
• Blue or purplish black fingernails and lips
• Pinpoint (very small) pupils
Naloxone
Naloxone is a medicine which temporarily reverses the effect of opioid drugs. When given to a person experiencing an opioid overdose/severe reaction it helps them to breathe again and it can save their life. Naloxone is safe and easy to use.
It is available for free and without a prescription from pharmacies and other suppliers who participate in the Take Home Naloxone program. These may include alcohol and drug treatment centres, needle and syringe programs and custodial release programs.
Naloxone is available as an injection or a nasal spray and you can have more than one. Your pharmacist or an alternative authorised supplier can give you 2 naloxone products at each visit, and you can make multiple visits in a day. They can show you and your family or friends how to use it and provide written information for you to keep.
The effects of naloxone are temporary, and naloxone is not an alternative to calling for help. Always call 000 for an ambulance. Naloxone can be administered every 2-3 minutes if the person is not responding.
Keep it with you or in an easy to reach place where you and others know it is kept. Replace your supply of naloxone if you use it or it expires.
For further information about naloxone speak to us here at Woody Point Pharmacy
Instructional Resources available
Prenoxad Administration Flyer Prenoxad Adminstration Video
Symptoms of Opioid Overdose
The symptoms of opioid overdose are primarily related to central nervous system (CNS) depression. These include drowsiness and loss of consciousness, miosis (excessive constriction of the pupils) and respiratory depression. Respiratory depression is the most significant symptom as it is associated with an increased risk of mortality.
Other symptoms of opioid overdose include nausea and vomiting, ventricular arrhythmias, acute mental status changes, peripheral vasodilation and seizures. However, these presenting symptoms are less easy to discern in an emergency situation.
The time gap between a person taking or using opioids and slipping into overdose can vary from a few minutes to several hours.
Someone who is experiencing overdose may exhibit some of the following symptoms:
No response to voice prompt or pain stimulation (i.e., calling their name, shaking their shoulders, sternal rub*)
Loss of consciousness
Body is very limp – floppy arms and legs
Breathing problems - deep snoring, gurgling or choking sound
Very infrequent (less than 8 breaths per minute), irregular or no breathing
Pale, clammy skin
Constricted (pinpoint) pupils
Blue skin tinge (usually lips and fingertips show first), for darker-skinned people, skin turns greyish or ashen
Possible vomiting
*Sternal Rub is a commonly used method for testing a person’s response to stimulation. To do this, locate the sternum (breastbone) in the middle of the chest, where the ribs meet. Rub your knuckles up and down the sternum. Make sure it’s a firm rub. It can be useful to practice on yourself to get a better idea of how much pressure you need to use. Be careful as it can be quite painful if the person is conscious, and they might hit out at you. If you are concerned about safety, just call out and shake the person as per normal first aid.
What NOT to do when responding to opioid overdose
Do not:
Leave the person alone
Place them in the shower
Give them stimulants to counteract the depressant effects
Inject them with anything except naloxone
Induce vomiting
Slap them
Safety of Naloxone
Naloxone is very safe, and most people do not experience any side effects. It will not cause harm when administered even if the person is not experiencing an opioid overdose. It has low potential for misuse as it does not cause euphoria, the feeling of being "high".
Adverse Effects of Naloxone
People with opioid dependence may experience an acute withdrawal syndrome, e.g. anxiety, agitation, tachycardia, confusion, nausea, vomiting and seating.
Opioid-dependent people may occasionally experience more severe effects, elgl seizures, pulmonary oedema, ventricular arrythmias.
Administration of Naloxone
It is important to note the time of administration of naloxone and inform the paramedics. The therapeutic effects of naloxone last for 30 to 90 minutes (the half-life of naloxone is <1 hour which is shorter than all the opioids). After this the patient is still at risk of overdose, in particular if they have had long-acting opioids or those with active metabolites when narcosis may persist for longer than 24 hours. This is why it is important to educate patients and carers about the importance of seeking immediate medical help, even if they feel like complete recovery has been achieved with naloxone.
It is recommended that those who respond to naloxone should be observed for 2–3 hours after naloxone is administered. It is also really important that the person doesn’t take further opioids to cope with the withdrawal symptoms. Taking additional opioids after naloxone will increase the risk of another overdose.
Higher doses of naloxone are occasionally necessary in overdose with partial opioid agonists (e.g., buprenorphine) or fentanyl overdose, however, failure to respond to 2mg usually indicates another cause of unconsciousness.
Naloxone’s main role is in the reversal of opioid induced respiratory depression. It does not reverse other toxic effects of opioids (e.g. seizures due to norpethidine).