What is Naloxone?

Drug addiction is a very big thing right now in our world, with things like the opioid crisis happening in our neighbourhood. Due to the opioid crisis 115 Americans die everyday from overdoses alone. That's a huge amount of people! Because of the astonishing amount of people that die everyday in the united states, they have unveiled a plan that is said to help fight the opioid crisis. This plan includes training and arming more first responders with naloxone and teaching them how to use it. But what is naloxone?

Naloxone is a life saving drug that has already saved thousands of people , and most importantly it is not addictive. It can reverse the effects of an opioid related overdose if it is given in time. Naloxone binds the opioid receptors in your body and it blocks or reverses the effects that opioids such as heroin, morphine, ect. could have on somebody. This helps many people because the drug binds to receptors on nerve cells that controls things such as breathing says James J. Galligan, Ph.D., a professor of pharmacology and toxicology and director of the neuroscience program at Michigan State University. Naloxone releases the opiate from the receptors that are on the nerve cells that control things such as the respiratory system. Not only does this drug save many lives, but the way it works is amazing.

There are a few different ways that naloxone can be delivered to someone who is experiencing a drug overdose:

-Evzio auto-injector (The first auto injector that has been approved for a non-clinical setting, it has a retractable needle, when a certain button is pressed it is injected into a person who needs the medication and it sticks to them. It is supposed to be injected into the thigh and can go through clothes.)

-Nasal spray ( This one is quite simple, the sprayer goes into one of your notrails and is then squirted up your nose.)

-Injection via syringe (It is in the form of a syringe and can be injected into the muscle either in your upper arm or in your upper thigh.)

-Nasal atomizer (Much like the nasal spray but instead it is administered through a atomizer)

Naloxone is also time dependent meaning the earlier it is used on someone suffering an overdose the more likely it will work. People tend to die within 1-3 hours after they overdose, so it is crucial to get the drug to them as soon as possible. Naloxone is an amazing drug and can be used to help save the lives of many who may have otherwise died from an overdose. Although it is good, there is always a con to go with a pro and in this case it is that although Naloxone helps save one's life it does not help cure them from there chronic illness; addiction. I think that this could be a step in battling the overdose crisis and hope that people learn more about it so we can help save more lives through the use of this drug.