If you are able to identify the signs of opioid overdose, this could help you to prevent a potentially life-threatening situation from developing.
Drugs in the opioid class include:
Heroin
Prescription painkillers like oxycodone and hydrocodone
Opioids, also known as narcotics, were first used for the management of pain in those with cancer.
During the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies aggressively marketed opioid-based painkillers like oxycodone (OxyContin, informally known as hillbilly heroin). Lobbying doctors, companies like Purdue Pharma claimed that opioids were non-addictive, persuading doctors to prescribe opioids for the management of severe pain relief. Prescription opioids proved to be highly addictive, and the actions of pharmaceutical companies fanned the flames of an opioid epidemic that continues to ravage the United States today.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains that the opioid epidemic first began with pain medicines and prescription opioids, moved to a rise in heroin addiction, and is currently caused by synthetic opioids like heroin.
Although opioid addiction, clinically described as opioid use disorder, is one of the most concerning aspects of opioid abuse, as it can lead to opioid overdoses and death. Today’s guide will help you to recognize the signs of an opioid overdose. Learning the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose could save your life, or the life of a loved one dealing with drug abuse and drug dependence.
Signs of Opioid Overdose
It can be difficult to differentiate between an opioid high and the signs of opioid overdose. If you are unsure, you should deal with the situation as though it is a medical emergency. Taking prompt action could be life-saving.
Some of the most common signs that an individual is high on opioids, whether heroin or prescription painkillers, include:
Very small pupils
Slurred speech
Loss of consciousness
Slack muscles
Scratching continuously
One of the earliest signs of an opioid overdose is when someone makes strange noise while sleeping. Wake the person if possible.
Now, while opioid overdoses can be fatal, death seldom occurs suddenly. This presents an opportunity for timely intervention that can nearly always prevent life-threatening complications.
If any of the above signs are apparent, this could indicate that the person is high on opioids. Here are some of the main differences between the signs of opioid euphoria and the signs of opioid overdose:
If a person is high on opioids, they will typically respond normally to external stimulation like pinching or shouting. In the event of an opioid overdose developing, though, the person is unlikely to respond to any vocal or tactile prompts.
If someone is experiencing an opioid overdose, this will dramatically impair breathing. If gurgling manifests – this is known as the opioid death rattle – you should take decisive action and call 911 immediately.
People often nod out – lapse in and out of consciousness – whether high on opioids or overdosing on opioids. That said, the effect is considerably more pronounced in those experiencing the start of an opioid overdose.
Opioid Overdose Symptoms
These are the most common opioid overdose symptoms:
Nausea and vomiting
Slow or shallow breathing
Conscious but unable to speak
Unresponsiveness to external stimulation
Blue tinge to the skin
Dark blue tinge to lips and fingernails
Choking sounds
Pale, clammy face
Limp body
Lack of pulse
Slow, erratic pulse
Unconsciousness
Breathing stopped completely
Why can an opioid overdose cause death, then?
Why Can Opioid Overdose Cause Death
Opioids are Schedule II controlled narcotics that carry a high risk of drug abuse, dependence, and substance use disorders in the form of OUD (opioid use disorder). Chronic opioid abuse heightens the chance of experiencing an opioid overdose.
The most common reasons and risk factors for opioid overdose include:
Taking opioids for their rewarding effects.
When people combine opioids with alcohol, prescription medications, or illicit drugs.
When people misuse opioids or use opioids without a prescription.
Deliberately or accidentally taking more opioids than directed.
Overdosing during medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence.
Using a prescription for opioids that was written for someone else.
WHO (World Health Organization), states that opioid overdose can be deadly because of the way in which opioids affect the areas of the brain responsible for governing your breathing.
A lethal opioid overdose is identifiable by a trio of symptoms:
Tiny pupils.
Total unconsciousness.
Breathing difficulties.
If you take high doses of prescription opioids, your brain can become overwhelmed, and your natural desire to breathe can become inhibited. During a lethal opioid overdose, breathing will slows and then stop completely, causing a higher risk brain damage or death.
Opioid Overdose Treatment
If you take opioids other than as directed, this can trigger a potentially life-threatening. Drug overdose deaths and fatal opioid overdoses results from breathing slowing and then stopping completely.
If someone you know has had a suspected opioid overdose, you should respond immediately. Call emergency medical help now.
If you or health care providers can administer naloxone promptly, this nasal spray can reverse the effects of opioid overdose.
Having said that, prevention is the most effective way to prevent opioid overdose. SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) states that the optimum method of preventing prescription opioid overdose is to engage with an evidence-based opioid addiction treatment program before overdose occurs. Meanwhile, due to the increases of opioid overdoses, naloxone distribution is very high across the country.
Most opioid use disorders (and controlled substances in general) respond favorably to a combination of MAT (medication-assisted treatment), counseling, and psychotherapy.
The FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approves the following medications for treating drug abuse and opioid addiction:
Buprenorphine
Methadone
Naltrexone
MAT can be effective during detox, reducing the intensity of opioid withdrawal symptoms and mitigating cravings for opioids. Additionally, MAT can be beneficial during ongoing treatment for prescription opioid use disorder.
If it is too late to intervene and prevent an opioid overdose from occurring, swift action can reverse its effects.
Naloxone is an FDA-approved opioid antagonist that can counter the rewarding effects of opioids by binding to the natural opioid receptors in your brain. Naloxone can also dampen the effects of respiratory depression, a potentially fatal outcome associated with prescription opioid overdose, this essentially can help reverse opioid overdose.
The medication naloxone can be administered by the following routes:
Intravenous
Subcutaneous
Intranasal
Intramuscular
Naloxone has no abuse potential and will deliver no effects at all opioids are present in your system.
Get Help for Opioid Addiction at Renaissance Recovery
At our beachside facility here at Renaissance Recovery , we can help you combat opioid addiction with treatment programs designed to address both the physical and psychological components of drug addiction.
At our opioid rehab, we specialize in the intensive outpatient treatment of prescription opioid addiction, offering the following substance abuse treatment programs:
IOPs (intensive outpatient programs)
PHPs (partial hospitalization programs)
Virtual IOPs (remote rehab programs)
For anyone requiring a supervised medical detox to kickstart their recovery, we can put you in touch with licensed medical detox centers to help reduce the risk of overdose and prevent death during withdrawal symptoms.
Our dual diagnosis treatment program is designed for anyone with opioid use disorder and a co-occurring mental health condition. Integrated treatment of both conditions yields the most favorable outcomes, and we can help you with that here at Renaissance Recovery.
Whatever type of treatment program best suits your circumstances, you’ll have access to MAT, counseling, psychotherapy, therapy with family members, and holistic therapies at our affordable luxury outpatient treatment center.
Reach out to admissions today and start embracing life opioid free. Call 866.330.9449 for immediate assistance.
